Cricket: Dismal one-day run continues

Central Districts bowler Lance Hamilton took four wickets for 36 runs. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Auckland are on track to match last season's diabolical one-day record after suffering yet another embarrassing defeat, this time at the hands of Central Districts.

The side who confounded punters last summer when they won just one out of 10 games yesterday tumbled to their fifth loss in six outings at Eden Park's Outer Oval and remain at the foot of the table with four round-robin matches to be played.

Beaten by seven wickets after mustering just 122 batting first, Auckland were missing five front-line players through injury and had axed three others, leaving a daunting task for the caretaker crew eventually picked.

As it happened, they struggled dreadfully, losing early wickets and never recovering, unless you count a 23-run 10th-wicket stand between Tim Lythe and Chris Martin.

A measure of Central's dominance with the ball was that, when Martin was finally dismissed for a surprisingly productive 13 off 22 balls, there were still 12.2 overs remaining in the innings.

Central's pace bowlers all played intelligent roles in Auckland's downfall, but none more so than left-armer Lance Hamilton, who grabbed four for 36, and Ewen Thompson, who took three for 19 off 6.4 overs.

The only Auckland batsman who looked likely was the in-form Rob Nicol, but without any significant assistance at the other end, he was forced to shoulder all the responsibility, and eventually perished for 30 off 53 balls.

Lythe, who entered the fray at 65 for six, tried to muster some late runs out of the tail and deserved credit for battling through to the end and at least ensuring that his side eclipsed three figures.

As it happens, it wasn't nearly enough. Central cantered to the target with a staggering 22.5 overs remaining, following an unbeaten half-century from Jamie How and a solid knock of 42 not out (47 balls) from Mathew Sinclair.

The Central pair added 89 in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand; How spending 76 balls over his 53 not out, and Sinclair proving more aggressive while striking half a dozen fours and a six.

Auckland's best bowler was Tama Canning, who conceded just seven runs off his eight overs and captured the wicket of Ross Taylor to boot, but without enough runs in the bank it was all in vain.

ND v Wellington

Daniel Vettori's comeback inspired a form reversal for Northern Districts, who ended a four-match losing streak against Wellington in Hamilton yesterday.

Vettori returned from a post-Sri Lanka series break to lead Northern to a 68-run win as Wellington, dismissed for 191 in 43.3 overs, relinquished the competition lead they had held for less than a week.

For defending champions Northern it was their second win of the season, avenging their loss in Wellington on Sunday and leaving them still an outside chance of making the playoffs.

Northern's in-form batsmen James Marshall and Daniel Flynn did the job again with a 111-run fourth wicket partnership, giving the hosts an imposing total of 259.

Marshall hit 83 off 101 balls, boosting his season average to 65.33, before being dismissed by paceman Mark Gillespie.

Promising left-hander Flynn's season average also nudged over 60 with his unbeaten 71 off just 58 balls, which included five fours and two sixes.

BJ Watling chimed in with 51.

Test bowler James Franklin took three for 36 off 10 overs.

The total was all the more impressive given that Northern had lost two key batsmen to injury on the eve of the match - Hamish Marshall (calf) and Alun Evans (hip).

Then Northern allrounder Joseph Yovich dealt the hammer blow to Wellington's chase in the space of four deliveries.

First he shattered the stumps of former New Zealand opener Chris Nevin for six, fresh from his match-winning century against them at Wellington on Sunday.

Then in the same over Yovich claimed the big scalp of Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming, caught by Nick Horsley at second slip for four.

When Michael Parlane was run out for four after a mix-up with Jesse Ryder, it was 35 for three and the writing was on the wall.

Ryder cracked 61 off 50 balls, including 12 fours, and with former Northern batsman Neal Parlane, 64 not out, kept Wellington afloat.

But Vettori's left-arm spin had the final say with the wickets of Matthew Bell and Jeetan Patel. Vettori ended with figures of two for 30 off 9.3 overs.

Otago v Canterbury

Two huge sixes from tailender Steve Cunis extracted Canterbury from a tight spot and grabbed them the competition lead in a thriller against Otago at Dunedin yesterday.

Cunis lofted Otago captain Craig Cumming twice over the long-on boundary off consecutive deliveries, after opener Shanan Stewart had scored a century, to give Canterbury a three-wicket win with four balls to spare.

Nearly 600 runs were scored at University Oval, Otago racking up 293 off 47 overs and Canterbury set a rain-adjusted target of 283 off 45 overs.

The win, Canterbury's second in five days against their southern neighbours, saw them leapfrog Otago and Wellington into the competition lead after six of 10 rounds.

Otago seamer Warren McSkimming put his side in the box seat in a seesawing contest when he had Brendon McCullum and Chris Harris both caught by Cumming, leaving Canterbury needing 11 runs off the final over.

Cumming put himself in the hot seat to bowl the final over, with his three pacemen having completed their nine-over allotment and medium pacer Greg Todd having left the field injured during his third over.

Cunis calmly whacked the first and second deliveries over the rope to leave him 13 not out off three balls.

Canterbury had an opening stand of 159 between Stewart and Nathan Astle to thank, Stewart scoring his second domestic one-day century and Astle scoring 57 off 63 balls.

Stewart hit 14 boundaries and one six in his 101 off 112 balls.

- additional reporting NZPA