Cricket: Canterbury's flying start ends in draw

Canterbury had to be content with first innings points as their four-day Plunket Shield cricket match against Auckland meandered to a draw in Christchurch yesterday.

A mammoth first-innings 540 put Canterbury in the box seat from day one although Auckland's 392 for seven declared response yesterday left the possibility of a result once Canterbury declared their second innings at 133 for one after lunch yesterday.

Openers Ravi Bopara and Richard Jones kept the strike turning over and scored at a good clip, the 50 coming up two balls shy of 10 overs.

But once Bopara disappeared, any thoughts of a serious run chase evaporated as the next three wickets fell for the addition of just 17 runs.

The experienced Scott Styris backed up his first innings century with a stolid 33 not out off 124 balls, while Reece Young was equally intractable on an unbeaten 36 as the game wound down.

In Hamilton, Wellington snatched a 38-run win over championship leaders Northern Districts with a strong fielding display.

International spinner Jeetan Patel and fast bowler Dewayne Bowden played major roles in the win. Bowden took advantage of some inconsistent bounce on an otherwise flat track to grab career best figures of four for 48 while Patel took three for 77.

In Napier, Central Districts were left rueing lost opportunities after they fell frustratingly short of an upset win against Otago.

In the end, Otago held firm and secured their first points of the competition but had to stave off a strong Central finish before first innings points were safe.

With Michael Mason and Ewen Thompson in superb form, Otago had to dig deep before eventually holding on to finish the day at 133 for eight.

- NZPA