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Craig Cumming scored an unbeaten century and took two wickets to lead Otago to an eight-wicket victory over Northern Districts in the State Shield one-day cricket competition yesterday.
After Northern were restricted to 200 off their 50 overs, the Otago captain and opener guided his team to victory with 15 overs to spare.
With two runs needed for victory at Taupo's Owen Delany Park, Cumming was at the non-striker's end and on 98.
Neil Broom unselfishly took a single off Daryl Tuffey to allow his captain a shot at a ton. The former Black Cap lifted Tuffey's next ball to the boundary for four.
Cumming's 102 came off just 116 balls and included 16 fours and a six. No 4 Broom was not out 34.
In between Aaron Redmond managed 32 before being clean-bowled by Tuffey and Shaun Haig scored 15.
Northern's innings was carried by the middle order. Mark Orchard topscored with 40, Joseph Yovich got 39, Alun Evans 33 and Ian Butler, out of the bowling attack with a bad back, 26.
Evans and Orchard put on a partnership of 70 for the third wicket after Mathew Harvie removed Nick Horsley (8) and BJ Watling (3) early.
Harvie took two for 30 off nine overs and Cumming two for 32 off seven. Cumming also had a hand in the dismissal of Yovich and Tuffey.
All three State Shield games were affected by rain, with the Central Districts-Auckland game at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The Wellington-Canterbury match in Wellington also looked like becoming a victim of the weather when players were forced from the field in the 12th over as the rain and wind swept in from the south. By then Canterbury were on 30 for the loss of three wickets with Iain Robertson (1) Michael Papps (10) and Shanan Stewart (8) all back in the pavilion.
Pace bowler Michael Burns had both Robertson and Papps caught and Kevin Forde clean-bowled Stewart.
The sun came out about 4pm and an hour later Canterbury crashed to 92 all out, allowing Wellington to cruise to victory by nine wickets.
Burns finished with two for 15 off six overs, Forde two for 15 off 4.2, and allrounder Grant Elliott two for 22 off five.
Wellington didn't waste any time chasing down their revised target in just 16 overs, with just one wicket (Matthew Bell) lost.
They rode home on the back of an unbeaten half-century from captain Michael Parlane.
Jess Ryder (27) was the other not out batsmen.
- NZPA
