KEY POINTS:
Two late Canterbury wickets saw the pendulum lean toward Northern Districts after an intriguing third day of cricket in the State Championship final today.
Having established a first innings lead of 124 after rolling Northern for 319, Canterbury's top-order produced two second innings ducks in the dying stages to give Northern a timely boost heading into the crucial fourth day.
Canterbury were 19 for two at stumps at Hamilton's Seddon Park with run-machine Michael Papps not out 12 and Brandon Hiini unbeaten on five.
Canterbury declared at 443 for eight in their first innings.
Having dismissed Northern today, Canterbury faced a tricky final 10 overs and the opening bowlers responded splendidly with Tim Southee and Graeme Aldridge removing Todd Astle and Shanan Stewart respectively.
With Canterbury needing to win the five-day match outright to claim the title, the late collapse played into Northern's hands.
Astle nicked to wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan in the fourth over for his second successive duck, while Stewart's stumps were rattled in the next over with just four runs on the board.
Northern's fortunes in the final hour of play were in stark contrast to their first session efforts.
Resuming at 151 for four, their fight for survival took a hammer blow on the third ball of the morning when Hamish Marshall departed without adding to his overnight score of 42.
He edged Hamish Bennett to the wicketkeeper and immediately Northern would have felt themselves teetering.
It fell to a pair of left-handers to mount some resistance and Nick Horsley and Joseph Yovich responded in timely fashion.
They settled proceedings slightly adding 62 for the sixth wicket before Horsley was dismissed for 66, his sixth half-century in 10 innings this season.
Yovich and McGlashan maintained the resistance, carrying the score through to 301 before McGlashan was bowled for 46 by Leighton Burtt.
Yovich scrapped his way to 52 from 199 balls, his second half-century of the season, when he fell with Northern 303 for eight, the tail failed to fire.
Bennett returned solid figures with four for 46 from 27, while fellow quick Leighton Burtt, who earlier in the day left the field to receive treatment on a hamstring, returned to the bowling crease and finished with three for 70.
- NZPA
