A day of declarations, fast scoring and a few wickets has enhanced the prospect of finding winners from all three Plunket Shield matches, heading into tomorrow's final day.
After a rain-interrupted first day was followed by a second day in which less than an hour's cricket was possible across all venues, the chances of any side emerging victorious appeared slim. But the skies cleared today and the sun, combined with some inventive captaincy, has seen those chances significantly increase.
Top of the table Northern Districts lead Otago by 142 runs with six wickets in hands in Hamilton, while second-placed Wellington trail Canterbury by 151 runs and are yet to take a second innings wicket at the Basin Reserve. In Napier, third-placed Auckland have a 299-run advantage over Central Districts with two wickets remaining.
The Aces are in the best position to claim a win, after they skittled the Stags for 143 today. The Central Districts batsmen had no answer for spinner Bruce Martin, with the veteran claiming 6-38 including the scalps of four of the top six.
Martin's efforts gave the visitors a 91-run first innings lead, and they did enough in their second turn with the bat to consolidate a position of dominance. Auckland ended the day on 208-8, and anything more than 300 will prove a tough chase for the Stags.
Leaders Northern Districts were only halfway through their first innings at the halfway point at Seddon Park but, after a declaration from both captains, the match is now evenly poised. The Knights advanced their overnight total of 143-4 through to 300-6, thanks to a rapid-fire knock from former Black Cap Daniel Flynn who made 113 from 117 balls.
Flynn's aggressive innings enabled captain Brad Wilson to pull the pin on the Knights' innings with a decent total on the board, before Otago quickly assumed the responsibility for advancing the match. They did so through opener Hamish Rutherford's maiden first class century, with the son of former New Zealand captain Ken needing only 96 balls to reach 107.
That was enough for Otago captain Derek de Boorder to declare, with his team trailing by 72 runs on 229-3. Otago's bowlers then had some success in the afternoon session, reducing the hosts to 70-4 at stumps to leave the result in the balance.
Whatever happens tomorrow, the possibility of Wellington closing the gap on Northern looks unlikely, with a lot of cricket still to be played against Canterbury.
The Wizards added 54 runs to their overnight total before being bowled out for 337, with Henry Nicholls top scoring on 83. In reply, Wellington got a quick century of their own in the form of Stephen Murdoch's unbeaten 101 from 126, before Grant Elliott brought his side in on 188-1.
Wellington will have to hope a sporting declaration from Peter Fulton tomorrow sets them an achievable total if they are to have any chance of maintaining their 10-point lead over Auckland in second.
- Kris Shannon of APNZ
