Canterbury and Northern take bonus points at Provincial A

Canterbury, Northern Districts and Auckland all had wins from today’s round of competition play at the national Provincial A tournament in Lincoln, with Canterbury and Northern both coming away with a bonus point.

Canterbury eased to an emphatic nine-wicket victory over Otago, with the opening pair of Ben Rae and Todd Astle both scoring 78 – Astle’s knock being unbeaten. For Auckland, it was another strong batting performance from Dushan Hakaraia’s, with an unbeaten 99 off 79 balls.
Auckland is already assured of a place in Tuesday’s final, but there’s likely to be intense interest in tomorrow’s matches to see whether Northern, Otago or Canterbury go through to the other final spot.
Otago v Canterbury

Otago batted first in their match against southern rivals Canterbury. It was a disappointing batting effort by Otago who were all out for 173 in 44.4 overs. Anthony Bullick, batting at number eight, top scored with 46. For Canterbury Michael Davidson took 3/32 off nine overs.
In reply Canterbury coasted to victory, losing only opener Ben Rae for 78 off 114 balls when the scores were tied. The opening partnership had been worth 173 runs. Todd Astle, the other opener, was unbeaten on 78 off 100 balls to give Canterbury a comprehensive win.
Otago 173 (Anthony Bullick 46, Sam Wells 39, Michael Davidson 3/32) lost to Canterbury 177/1 (Ben Rae 78, Todd Astle 78*) by 9 wickets

Wellington v Auckland

Wellington won the toss and chose to bat first in their match against Auckland. Openers Josh Brodie and Steven Murdoch put on 57 for the first wicket while Michael Pollard and Brodie put on 66 for the third. There was then a collapse before Jarrad Sewell and Darren Cudby put on 84 for the seventh wicket, with Sewell scoring 61 off 43 balls. For Auckland Greg Morgan took 3/41 off 9 overs and Andrew De Boorder 3/48 off seven overs.

Auckland started well with Mark Turner and Jeet Raval putting on 101 for the first wicket. Raval made 37 and Turner 50 but the highlight was Dushan Hakaraia’s 99 not out from 79 balls, including eight fours and six sixes. He was involved in an unbeaten 118-run partnership for the fifth wicket to guide Auckland home in the 48th over. For Wellington Jarred Sewell took 3/40 off his 10 overs.

Wellington 261/9 (Josh Brodie 66, Jarrad Sewell 61, Greg Morgan 3/41, Andrew De Boorder 3/48) lost to Auckland 262/4 (Dushan Hakaraia 99*, Mark Turner 50, Jarrad Sewell 3/40) by 6 wickets

Northern Districts v Central Districts

CD batted first after ND won the toss and chose to field. Opener and captain Tim Lythe top scored with 43 off 68 balls but the innings never really gained momentum and CD was all out for 206 in the 46th over. Pace bowler Te Ahu Davis took 4/34 off 9.3 overs.

In reply ND won in the 40th over, after a second wicket partnership of 106 between Cameron Merchant and Brad Wilson had set them on their way. There were also useful contributions from Ian Page with 39 and Tamati Clarke, 21, to see them to victory and the bonus point. For CD left-arm spinner Andrew Mason was the most successful bowler with 2/24 off his 10 overs.

Central Districts 206 (Tim Lythe 43, Dave Meiring 38, Te Ahu Davis 4/34) lost to Northern Districts 210/7 (Cameron Merchant 43, Brad Wilson 49, Ian Page 39) by 3 wickets

Tomorrow’s [Monday] matches which will determine the second semi-final placing, include Wellington v Otago, ND v Auckland and CD v Canterbury.
Points at the end of Round 4

Auckland 16

Northern Districts 13

Otago 10

Canterbury 9

Wellington 4

Central Districts 0