Temporary opener Seifert shows the way with bat for ND
The inclusion of BJ Watling in the Northern Districts side didn’t stop Tim Seifert from further pushing his claims as a prospective international.
Seifert fell three short of a century on the opening day of ND’s sixth round Plunket Shield match against the Otago Volts in Whangarei as the competition leaders resumed their pursuit of the first-class title.
At stumps at Cobham Oval, the hosts were 269-9 as Otago 18-yearold Nathan Smith starred with a deserved five-wicket bag for the hosts.
Black Caps test Watling wicketkeeperbatsman is making a return from injury in the ND side ahead of the test series against South Africa.
That meant Seifert was selected as a specialist batsman and opened the innings with skipper Daniel Flynn, also back from injury.
The 22-year-old, who has earned a reputation as a potentially devastating middle-order batsman in limited-overs cricket, produced a disciplined and technically proficient innings.
He struck 11 fours and after battling an accurate Otago bowling group for 198 balls over 41⁄2 hours, he perished lbw when attempting a sweep shot while looking to bring up his second first-class ton.
Seifert’s score was registered on the scoreboard at the time as 99 but stuff.co.nz later altered to 97. The innings was another sign Seifert will put the pressure on Watling, Luke Ronchi, Tom Latham and Tom Blundell in the fight for the New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman role in all formats.
Last year’s Shield star Bharat Popli has struggled for runs this year but batted with more assurance to make 61 off 119 balls and add 115 for the second wicket with Seifert before falling when trying to play a forceful shot off the back foot.
Right-arm seamer Smith gained his first five-wicket bag in his fledgling first-class career, ending the day with 5-48 off 20 overs as his aggressive approach was accompanied by a demanding line.
He took two wickets with excellent toe-crushing inswinging yorkers to the left-handers.
Watling looked in good touch reaching 38 not out, while Scott Kuggeleijn, included in the ND XI after being acquitted of a rape charge in court in Hamilton the previous day, made 11 batting at No 8 as ND slumped from 143-1.
The other sixth-round match set to start yesterday failed to get under way in Auckland.
A leak in the covers from the previous day left a wet patch on the Colin Maiden Park wicket that saw the match between the hosts and Central Districts reduced to a three-day encounter.
The other match of the round between the Wellington Firebirds and Canterbury is scheduled to start at the Basin Reserve in Wellington today.
Northern hold a three-point lead over Canterbury midway through the Plunket Shield season, with Wellington a further two points back in third spot.