Auckland suffered their first loss of the one-day competition yesterday but remain top of the points table.
They were well beaten by Northern Districts in the third round of the Ford Trophy at Seddon Park in Hamilton, but courtesy of bagging bonus point wins over ND and Central Districts in their first two matches, still hold a one-point advantage over ND.
This is the first round in which the players going to the world T20 tournament in Bangladesh have been absent and Auckland felt it.
ND still have test-only wicketkeeper BJ Watling, and his unbeaten 97 was instrumental in his team making 257 for five. Auckland managed just 147, with only captain Gareth Hopkins and Donovan Grobbelaar reaching 20.
Canterbury romped to a 10-wicket win over CD in Christchurch. The visitors were rolled for just 94 in 19.1 overs, as Andrew Ellis achieved his best one-day figures, five for 17.
