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Close games in Wellington and Hamilton were affected by rain, whilst Otago took a big win in Napier.
Central Stags vs Otago Volts:
A spirited start with the ball by Andrew Hazeldine and Matt Bacon led Otago to victory over the Central Stags at Napier’s McLean Park.
The Stags were left in major trouble early on, falling to 9/3 in the fourth over and sat at 33/5 by the end of the powerplay.
Bacon struck first with the wicket of Dane Cleaver for three whilst Hazeldine had Jack Boyle (1), Tom Bruce (0), and Curtis Heaphy (0) by the end of the first ten overs.
Opener Brad Schmulian did build a 28-run stand with Will Clark (13) to get the home side back into the game, but it was the 57-run stand alongside captain Jayden Lennox (34) that worked to set the Volts a total of 162.
Schmulian ended on 78, the last wicket to fall, with Bacon getting his third of the game.
Dale Phillips led the way at the top of the order for Otago with a quick 58 from 59 balls whilst Jamal Todd’s 31 assisted in a 77-run opening stand.
Despite the late wickets of Dean Foxcroft (8), Llew Johnson (25), and Max Chu (2), Central fell five wickets short.
Northern Districts vs Canterbury:
A blazing 67-ball century by Tim Seifert went in vain for Northern, who fell to a three-wicket defeat to Canterbury in Hamilton.
Rain following the toss restricted the match to 39 overs per side and this led to an exciting game that went down to the wire.
A 67-run stand led by Fergus Lellman (35) and Joe Carter (29) for the opening wicket was quickly destroyed by Henry Shipley, who struck in his third and fourth overs of the match.
Seifert quickly set to work with Robbie O’Donnell (15) and Henry Cooper (32) to help build the backbone of the hosts innings through the middle overs of it.
A late dash of 25 from 14 by Brett Hampton and Ben Pomare’s 7* allowed Northern to put a total of 262 on the board. Seifert finished with 109* to his name, his highest List A score.
Rhys Mariu showed his skills at the top of the order for Canterbury and set the tone and the innings that his side needed to get them victory.
Scott Janett (15) and Matt Boyle (17) weren’t able to add much to the total, but a 93-run third wicket partnership between Mariu and Mitch Hay brought the game into Canterbury’s hand.
Mariu did fall for 87, falling 13 short of a maiden List A century, and Hay contributed 51 from 49.
Some late hitting by Michael Rippon (28*) and contributions by Zak Foulkes (17), Kyle Jamieson (13), and Shipley (12*) let Canterbury get over the line in the 37th over.
Hampton and Kristian Clarke both took three wickets each whilst Freddy Walker had one to his name.
Wellington Firebirds vs Auckland Aces:
An all round day for Muhammad Abbas was the key behind Wellington getting over the line with a seven wicket win in a 31 over game at the Cello Basin Reserve.
Sean Solia found himself walking back in the second over when Liam Dudding had him for just one.
The ever-hard-hitting Finn Allen showed his class with the bat, striking a three fours and three sixes in a 39 ball 45.
It was Jock McKenzie’s third List A half-century however that built the Auckland innings of 194 and allowed contributions of 31* from Cam Fletcher and Bevon Jacobs’ 29 were of assistance.
Abbas was the key with the ball, taking his best List A figures of 3/34 with the wickets of Allen, Jimmy Neesham, and Jacobs.
Jesse Tashkoff was an influential cog in Wellington’s batting innings as he backed up his 148 from the previous game with 84* at the top of the order.
Tim Robinson couldn’t get a start with nine at the top of the order, but Gareth Severin put in a valuable 39 before falling to Louis Delport.
Abbas showed his skills with the bat as he built a quick 50 from 36 balls before falling two balls later. Captain Nick Kelly 9* was able to get his side over the line alongside Tashkoff with one ball to spare.
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