KEY POINTS:
Auckland, Wellington and Otago have posted wins in the opening round of domestic Twenty20 cricket.
After winning the toss and bowling first, Auckland cruised to a five wicket win over Northern Districts at Eden Park. Azhar Abbas picked up two wickets in his first two overs as ND slumped to five for three at one stage, before recovering to score 149 for eight off their 20 overs. Peter McGlashan top scored with 52.
However, the Aces made short work of chasing down the target, reaching 150 for five with eight balls to spare. Gareth Hopkins finished 38 not out.
Hopkins says it felt comfortable most of the time, but knew they would have been in danger if they started losing wickets.
Meanwhile, Wellington notched up a 19 run win over Central Districts, in a rain affected match in Napier.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, the Firebirds scored 160 for seven off their 20 overs. James Franklin top scored with 50 not out, while Stephen Fleming managed just one run.
In reply, Central Districts made 63 for four off 10 overs before rain brought a premature end to the match and Canterbury was declared the winner under the Duckworth Lewis scoring system.
In Dunedin, Otago notched up the most convincing win of the opening round, crushing Canterbury by 30 runs.
After losing the toss and batting first, the Volts smashed 222 for three off their 20 overs. Nathan McCullum belted an unbeaten 76 and Dimitri Mascarenhas was 57 not out.
In reply, Canterbury could only manage 192 for six, despite an unbeaten 73 from Johann Myburgh.
The second round is tomorrow, with Canterbury hosting Northern Districts in Christchurch, Central Districts and Auckland squaring off in New Plymouth and Wellington taking on Otago at the Basin Reserve.
- NEWSTALK ZB
