Auckland remain on course for final
A round-up of matches in the penultimate rounds of the State Twenty20
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Auckland's experienced attack was unable to peg back Wellington who reached 182 for 7, an innings built on Jesse Ryder's 27-ball 66 and then given a late boost by Graham Napier's 48 from 19 balls.
Wellington had to restrict Auckland to under 105 to have any chance of reaching the final themselves, but on a batsman-friendly pitch that was never likely. Scott Styris and Lou Vincent added 96 for the third wicket off 9.2 overs, but Styris' dismissal checked what was until then a routine chase. Auckland needed 20 from two overs and 11 off the last, bowled by Napier, but Hopkins clobbered a four and then the match-winning six.
At the weekend, Northern Districts slipped to second place after losing by 19 runs to Canterbury in Christchurch, Johann Myburgh's 68 - the only fifty of the match - the difference between the sides in a low-scoring contest.
Central Districts took over at the top of the table with an easy six-wicket defeat of bottom side Otago in New Plymouth, coasting to the target of 173 with four overs in hand.
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Dist | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +2.072 | 768/76.0 | 640/79.4 |
| Northern Dis | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +0.306 | 793/94.2 | 810/100.0 |
| Canterbury | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | -0.673 | 658/100.0 | 706/97.2 |
| Wellington | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.552 | 735/94.2 | 794/95.1 |
| Auckland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | -0.668 | 604/79.4 | 660/80.0 |
| Otago | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.064 | 739/100.0 | 687/92.1 |
Auckland now need to beat Central Districts in the last match on Wednesday, and do so convincingly enough to lift their net run-rate above that of Northern Districts. If they manage that then they will again meet Central Districts in the final next Sunday.
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