Kelly, Kuggeleijn inflict heavy defeat on Wellington

Nick Kelly struck 118 runs and Scott Kuggeleijn and Jono Boult took three wickets each to lead Northern Districts to a 135-run win against Wellington in Whangarei.

Choosing to bat, Northern Districts recovered from 62 for 3 in the 20th over to finish on 285 for 6 in their 50. Kelly was their innings' primary driver; his 103-ball knock included partnerships of 89 with Daryl Mitchell (27), 52 with Kuggeleijn and an unbeaten 64-run with Brett Hampton, who hit 35 runs off 21 deliveries.

Wellington's chase started poorly. Opener Michael Papps fell in the third over followed by ducks from Stephen Murdoch and Hamish Marshall - all of them being dismissed by Kuggeleijn. Matthew Pollard scored 30 off 52 balls and by the time he was out, Wellington were struggling at 85 for 6. Matt Taylor hit six fours to score 45 runs, but there was too much for Wellington's lower order to do. They folded for 150 in the 35th over courtesy three late strikes from Boult. The win took Northern Districts to the top of the Ford Trophy table.

In Palmerston North, Otago completed a 23-run win over Central Districts after Jack Hunter's four wickets dented the latter's chase. This after Michael Bracewell struck 92 to take Otago to 287 in their 50 overs.

The chase of 288 for Central Districts was hit by the constant fall of wickets. Hunter removed both openers in his first spell, Christi Viljoen removed the set Will Young (63) while Nathan Smith took two lower-order wickets. Their middle order chipped in with some useful contributions - notably Josh Clarkson's 44 and Navin Patel's 37 - but those knocks proved futile.

Earlier in the match Liam Dudding took three wickets, but Otago went on to accumulate runs guided by Bracewell's 92. He was ably helped by Josh Finnie (39), Anaru Kitchen (24) and Derek de Boorder (31).

Canterbury chased down the target of 210 set by Auckland to complete a five-wicket win at Rangiora's Mainpower Oval. The win was set up by a 105-run partnership for the second wicket between Tom Latham (59) and Henry Nicholls (76) after Canterbury's bowlers troubled the Auckland batsmen.

Auckland chose to bat and their openers Jeet Raval (30) and Glenn Phillips (33) gave them a 58-run partnership. But Tim Johnston struck three times between overs 14 and 21 to reduce Auckland from 58 for no loss to 71 for 3. Rob Nicol scored a patient 67 as Auckland managed 209 for 8 in their 50 overs.

Canterbury's chase was driven by the century-stand between Latham and Nicholls. Latham's seven boundaries and Nicholls' nine all but secured the win. Despite Auckland's quick strikes that followed, they reached their target with 70 balls to spare. Todd Astle (24) and Johnston (21) took them home.