Cricket: Fiery Tuffey ends Wellington hopes

Ravi Bopara continued his solid form for Auckland against Wellington yesterday. Photo / Greg Bowker

Daryl Tuffey eased the pain of Shane Bond's retirement from test cricket with a sustained spell of pace bowling to guide Auckland to an 81-run victory over Wellington in a 50-over game at Colin Maiden Park yesterday.

Auckland's third win in a row looked in the balance when they mustered only 230 in their innings, thanks mainly to a half-century from Andrew de Boorder coming in at No 7. But the tall Tuffey quickly extinguished Wellington ambitions.

Charging in from the Glendowie end, he was lively, accurate and barely allowed the Wellington batsmen any relief. After six overs, four of them maidens, he had taken three wickets for five runs.

His opening bowling partner, left-armer Michael Bates, was almost as stingy, conceding only 13 runs off his opening spell. It took Wellington a couple of overs to open their scoring and then the first four was a chance to a diving square leg.

BJ Crook, coming in at No 3, took 34 balls to get off the mark but survived to reach 22 and Stewart Rhodes (36) and Luke Woodcock (34) pilfered runs off the Auckland spinners to keep Wellington hopes alive.

Young de Boorder provided the breakthrough with a sprawling catch at long-on to dismiss Rhodes off Bates and the end came quickly as the run-rate required forced the batsmen to self-destruct for 149.

Tuffey's final figures were 8-4-12-3 and there was good support from Ravi Bopara with three for 34, Bates with two for 26 and left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira with two for 23.

The Auckland innings began at a fast pace. Lou Vincent made six from six balls before playing all over an inswinger from Dewayne Bowden, but Reece Young and Richard Jones profited from some ill-directed medium pace.

They took the score to 74 before Young spooned a checked shot off Patel to cover after scoring 41 off 52 balls with four fours and a six. Jones was stumped off Patel for 36 and when Scott Styris and Gareth Hopkins both went cheaply Auckland were stopped in their tracks at 121 for five.

Bopara, whose bowling got up Central Districts coach Dermot Reeve's nose at the weekend, continued his solid batting form from that match with 43 from 68 balls. But he hit only one four as the batsmen toiled against the spinners on a slow pitch and some shrewd field settings.

*Late fireworks from Graham Napier propelled Central Districts to a rousing win over Northern Districts in Palmerston North.

Napier hit 73 not out off just 27 deliveries to lift his team past the visitors' 300 for five with three wickets and 15 balls to spare at Fitzherbert Park.

The allrounder cracked seven fours and five sixes in 31 minutes as he shared an unbroken eighth wicket stand of 87 in 38 balls with George Worker, who ended up 27 not out.

Napier's pyrotechnics turned the match on its head after Central Districts had slumped to 219 for seven in the 42nd over.

He rushed to 50 off 20 balls, making it the second fastest domestic one-day half-century after Peter McGlashan used up 19 balls to reach the mark against Auckland in 2007-08.

ND had ridden the coat tails of teenager Kane Williamson, who scored a career-best 107 not out, then took three for 48 with his offspin.

*Outspoken CD coach Dermot Reeve may have spoken out once too often.

New Zealand Cricket has initiated a code of conduct hearing into comments made by Reeve, accusing Auckland allrounder Bopara of ball tampering.

Reeve said English import Bopara was guilty of ball tampering during his team's win over CD last Sunday.

The accusation has been denied by Auckland coach Paul Strang and captain Gareth Hopkins.

NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan yesterday said he requested the code of conduct hearing to determine whether Reeve's comments were prejudicial to the game or brought it into disrepute. The hearing is expected to take place early in the New Year.

*Northern Districts' high-profile Twenty20 signing Tillekaratne Dilshan will miss the first two weeks of the tournament next month.

A clash of dates between the competition, which runs until January 31, and a tri-series tournament in Bangladesh between India, Sri Lanka and the hosts has rubbed the big-hitting Sri Lankan opener out of up to five of ND's nine round robin games.