CD night watchman Ajaz Patel watches, with ND bowler Mitchell Santner and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert, as Scott Kuggeleijn (not in frame) snaffles his ballooned shot. Photo/Duncan Brown
CD night watchman Ajaz Patel watches, with ND bowler Mitchell Santner and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert, as Scott Kuggeleijn (not in frame) snaffles his ballooned shot. Photo/Duncan Brown
With two days left to play, despite some drizzle forecast tomorrow morning, and 15 wickets left to claim, an outcome is inevitable in what is fast becoming three-day cricket in Napier.
The Northern Districts Knights were 155-5 in 69 overs at stumps with No 6 Daryl Mitchell and No 7 Mitchell Santner to resume tomorrow morning on 41 runs and 30, respectively, in their second innings on day two of the four-day Plunket Shield match against the Central Districts Stags.
The Black Caps pair have, for now, stop the rot that has set in on a McLean Park wicket that has turned a 1163-run fest against the hapless Otago Volts in the previous round to a spinner's paradise in the space of four days.
Is it because of the onset of autumn and it's thunderstorm-like humidity or is it the wizardry of park curator Phil Stoyanoff?
What is certain is if players grumble then Stoyanoff will tinker with his spent strip to define the rules of engagement, as the Heinrich Malan-coached Stags trail by 106 runs.
A wicket that has promised batsmen a mental fillip in past summers is now prescribing patience but it remains to be seen how many batsmen will buy into it.
After skittling the visitors for a paltry 167 runs in just 53 overs on day one, the hosts lost four wickets in trying to chase down the target.
However, they could only add 74 runs today to their overnight total of 142 with night watchman Ajaz Patel adding 42 valuable runs to opener Greg Hay's top score of 52 although the captain had chastised himself for a run out as stumps beckoned yesterday.
Remarkably, what is expected to be traditionally a batting wicket that should offer some bounce, if not prodigious turn, for the spinners has tipped the norm on its head.
Either way, 25 wickets had tumbled over that duration with ND skipper Dean Brownlie waiting on the jury's verdict on his decision to bat first, after winning the toss, and Hay adamant it wasn't a prime real estate that deserved to have 14 wickets taken on it on day one.
For once the tweakers are finding traction — the Black Caps trio have eight of those. Patel claimed four in two digs for CD while Ish Sodhi and Santner took four and three, respectively, in one innings.
Black Caps strike bowler Scott Kuggeleijn took the other two wickets and also top scored with 37 runs for ND.
It's a quacking bad time as CD Stags batsman Kieran Noema-Barnett walks off after Ish Sodhi (not in the picture) bowls him for a duck at McLean Park, Napier. Photo/ Duncan Brown
True to Brownlie's prediction yesterday, the John Bracewell-mentored Knights intended to stifle the Stags to an under-100 runs lead.
"We weren't sure how it was going to turn but we were weighing it up with whether day one was going to be harder than days three and four," said the former Black Caps batsman who was born in Perth, Australia, but plays here because of his Kiwi paternal heritage.
"We would have liked to get more runs but we still think days three and four can be very tough with the spinners so, I guess, it has yet to be seen if that was the right move or not," Brownlie said.
However, CD bowlers operated like a shearing gang. New-ball seamer Doug Bracewell, Ryan McCone and fellow first-change merchant Blair Tickner claimed 2-31, 2-42 and 2-33, respectively, although opener Seth Rance took 1-34 from 11 overs, including two maidens, at the second-best economy rate of 3.09 runs an over. Bracewell was the most frugal at 2.07 from 15 overs, including four maidens.
In the second dig, McCone, justifying his addition after lugging the drinks in the previous round, has two wickets while Bracewell, Rance and Patel have one each.
Wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver, the second highest run scorer in the format this season, has claimed six catches behind the stumps.
Ben Smith has come in at first drop for CD after incumbent William Young remained with the New Zealand team against Bangladesh at the Basin Reserve where the third test got under way today after rain robbed two days of play.
