KEY POINTS:
Opener Tim McIntosh provided the foundation and Gareth Hopkins the finishing panache as Auckland beat Canterbury by three wickets in a State Shield one-day match at Christchurch yesterday.
After losing their first four matches, Auckland have now won two on the trot after chasing down Canterbury's 223 for seven at QEII Park Village Green.
Michael Papps scored a patient century for the hosts but it wasn't enough as Auckland reached 226 for seven with 11 balls remaining.
Playing his first game of the competition, McIntosh showed the worth of a technically correct opener, scoring 71 off 104 balls to set up the run chase.
McIntosh, filling the boots of new one-day international opener Martin Guptill, saw a succession of partners depart before he was run out with 68 runs still needed at nearly a run-a-ball. However, wicketkeeper Hopkins was well established and steered Auckland home with an unbeaten 86 off 96 balls.
Canterbury were at their most buoyant in the field when seamer Carl Frauenstein, also playing his first game of the competition, took three wickets in the space of eight balls to reduce the visitors to 67 for three. He finished with three for 36 off seven overs.
Papps' 109 came off 147 balls but he struggled for long-term partners as Canterbury's innings ran out of energy. Veteran Auckland seamer Daryl Tuffey provided the early brakes but new ball partner Chris Martin had the best figures, taking three for 39 off 10 overs.
WELLINGTON V CD
Captain Matthew Bell led the way as Wellington turned the form book on its head with a six-wicket defeat of Central Districts in Wellington.
His team coming off two losses, opener Bell struck a career-best 124 to carry them to a comfortable victory over the competition leaders, who had won their two previous matches.
The hosts cruised to Central's challenging 263 for six in the 47th over, with Chris Nevin's boundary seeing them home at 267 for four.
Victory was based around Bell's fourth one-day hundred, which passed his previous best score of 121 not out.
It came from 141 balls and featured 17 fours, ending when his team were just one run short of victory.
The top order has proved to be a weakness for Wellington this season, with Bell himself having contributed 35 from his previous four innings.
That was alleviated yesterday, with promoted opener Graham Napier blasting 36 off 21 balls - including 17 off Ewen Thompson's third over - to set the hosts on course.
There were other useful knocks, from James Franklin, 33, BJ Crook, 29, and Nevin, 27 not out.
Central's innings was based around an unbeaten 88 from dropped New Zealand batsman Jamie How. His 105-ball knock was the only innings of substance, with five of his teammates falling for scores between 28 and 33.
Ian O'Brien and Luke Woodcock both starred with the ball for Wellington, taking three scalps each.
New Zealand paceman O'Brien bowled dangerous openers Peter Ingram and George Worker while spinner Woodcock trapped danger man Mathew Sinclair lbw for 32.
Central Districts remain on top of the standings, one point clear of second-placed Northern Districts while Wellington improve from fifth to fourth, behind Otago.
ND V OTAGO
Northern Districts climbed to within sight of the competition lead after scraping to a three-wicket defeat of Otago in Whangarei yesterday.
After six rounds, Northern are a point behind Central Districts, who they will host at the same Cobham Oval ground on Wednesday.
They will seek to reproduce the bowling performance that dismissed Otago for 238 in 49.5 overs but will want more consistency from the batting, after overhauling their target with just three balls to spare.
In a match in which 13 players reached double figures, the top-scorer was Northern wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan with 51.
His 58-ball knock, ending an ordinary run of form, also proved to be the decisive one in the latter stages of his team's stuttering chase. While Northern had the upper hand for much of their pursuit, the regular loss of wickets meant they never felt safe.
Michael Parlane contributed 44 and Kane Williamson 43 while Ian Butler was a revelation for Otago, taking three for 34. The Northern equivalent with the ball was Joseph Yovich, the experienced seamer taking three for 37, including the vital wicket of Craig Cumming first ball.
In-form opener Shaun Haig top-scored with 50 for the visitors, while Derek de Boorder's 43 and Nathan McCullum's 39 in the middle order helped an innings that was floundering at 117 for five.
- NZPA
