Rance bags five as Central Districts win at the death
Canterbury’s last pair came within an over of denying Central Districts a win in the opening round of the Plunket Shield yesterday.
William Williams and Andrew Hazeldine shared in a 26-over, 76-run partnership for the 10th wicket, before Hazeldine was bowled by Ryan McCone with six balls remaining in the match.
Chasing 353 to win after both teams declared one of their innings closed at 0-0, trying to produce a result in a match where two days were lost to rain, Canterbury collapsed to 131-9 shortly after tea.
Central seamer Seth Rance had taken five wickets to put his side on the verge of victory, but once Cole McConchie departed, he and his team-mates struggled to find another, as Williams (28no) Hazeldine (41) stood firm.
McCone finally got the breakthrough to leave Central ecstatic and Canterbury despondent, all out and for 207.
Central had reached 301-7 by the end of play on Wednesday and that was where they resumed yesterday, with Willem Luddick in sight of a maiden first-class century.
He finished not out on 116 as Central added 51 runs in just 6.3 overs before declaring at 352-7.
Canterbury then declared their first innings closed without taking the field. Central did likewise with their second innings, leaving Canterbury a target of 353 in 89 overs.
Doug Bracewell struck twice in his third over, removing Tom Latham (12) and Stephen Murdoch (0) with Canterbury at 12-2.
Chad Bowes and Henry Nicholls righted things somewhat for Canterbury, but fell to left-arm spinner Felix Murray for 29 and 43 respectively as Central made steady progress towards their goal.
That was when Rance looked to have won the match for the Stags, first removing Ken McClure (22) and Cam Fletcher (0) in the same over before tea, with Canterbury on 103, then Matt Henry (10) and Theo van Woerkom (0) in the same over shortly after the break, with Canterbury on 130.
He soon had McConchie caught behind for 16 to complete his fivewicket bag – 5-53.
Meanwhile, the match between Wellington and Auckland at the Basin Reserve had also been ruined by rain over the previous two days, but with the visitors resuming at 230-5, 25 runs shy of their hosts’ first innings total, a contrived result wasn’t in the offing.
Auckland were eventually dismissed for 313, with Iain McPeake taking 3-44 and Hamish Bennett 3-62. Jeet Raval’s 102, compiled on days one and two, was their highest score, while Rob O’Donnell made 73.
Wellington were in trouble early, with openers Andrew Fletcher and Luke Woodcock dismissed for 14 and 15, giving Auckland a sniff, but Devon Conway (39no) and Michael Bracewell (32no) ensured the match ended in a draw, putting on 70 before everyone called it a day in the first hour of the final session.
Northern Districts enjoyed a day off yesterday, after wrapping up an eight-wicket win over Otago on Friday in Mt Maunganui.