Shield honours shared

Canterbury and Central Districts share the honours halfway through their Plunket Shield cricket match at Rangiora. At stumps on day two yesterday, Canterbury were 55-2, a lead of 58. Central let a big chance slip yesterday, starting the day with all 10 wickets in hand and facing a deficit of just 220. The top-order all got starts, but didn’t go on and only skipper Kieran NoemaBarnett (57) and day one bowling hero Doug Bracewell (61) cashed in. Central fell four runs short of first-innings points. In Dunedin, Otago reached stumps at 438-4 for a lead of 217 against Auckland, with nightwatchman Nick Beard making 160 not out. Neil Broom (103) scored his 13th first-class century. In Whangarei, Northern Districts, chasing Wellington’s 423, reached 344-6 at stumps. Daniel Flynn made 102 for Northern while Daryl Mitchell (71 not out) and Tim Southee (41 not out) will resume today.