If BJ Watling fancied some time off after his outstanding defiant century to help save the second test against India, he was out of luck.
The NZ wicketkeeper is back on the job in the final round of the Plunket Shield, when Northern Districts face Otago in Dunedin starting tomorrow. Watling takes over from Rory Christopherson, while test legspinner Ish Sodhi is lining up at University Oval. Daryl Mitchell is out with a broken thumb. ND sit bottom on the points ladder of a competition that lost much of its bite when Canterbury clinched the title in the penultimate round of games.
While they drew with Central Districts, rain deprived Wellington of outright points in Whangarei while Auckland - after centuries from Tim McIntosh, Jeet Raval and Colin Munro - couldn't finish the job against Otago. Auckland won't name their squad to play Wellington until today while Canterbury face CD in their return fixture in Napier. Points with one round left: Canterbury 89, Otago and Central Districts 68, Wellington 67, Auckland 60, Northern Districts 54.
