Cricket: Central Districts Stags lose Blair Tickner as game evenly poised against Volts in Napier

CD Stag Tom Bruce (left) with smiling seamers Seth Rance, captain William Young, Bevan Small, Doug Bracewell and Adam Milne can still pull Big Mo to their corner today. Photo/Photosport

Okay, so Neil Wagner was always going to be the yardstick of bowlers and he showed that when he bagged his 30th first-class five-wicket bag in Napier yesterday.

But the question is how juicy is the McLean Park strip now that 24 wickets have tumbled in just two days and 189.1 overs of the four-day Plunket Shield match?

Wagner, who turns 32 on Tuesday, March 13, wreaked havoc after claiming the wicket of CD opener Ben Smith overnight to add four more yesterday to finish with 5-45 from 19 overs, including four maidens, in the round six match.

Just as Doug Bracewell and Seth Rance had taken nine wickets in Otago's first dig of 289 all out on Thursday, Volts spinner Mark Craig ended four CD batsmen's stay with his right-arm offbreak deliveries for 43 runs from 16.1 overs, including four maidens. Michael Rae took 1-27 from 10 overs, including a maiden. A wicket-less Jimmy Neesham was the most expensive at 3.88 runs an over.

Noticeably the southerners had kept their bowling economy rate down to two-point-something as opposed to the Stags who were teetering at the three-point-something mark on Thursday.

While you expect South African-born Black Cap test player Wagner to find purchase on most surfaces with his work ethics and guile, you have to wonder if the left-arm fast bowler is part of the experiment out to conclude that the longer format of cricket can have outright results within four days, after he took his 16th five-wicket bag for Otago.

With two days to go, a result is imminent on what is proving to be a deviation from the traditional McLean Park pelter that has so far yielded only two half centuries and a highest score of 73 runs to Derek de Boorder on day one.

is it a case of champagne bowling or just indifferent batting?

Yesterday, only CD captain William Young was able to threaten the half-ton mark with 49 runs from a patient 139 balls before Rae enticed him to hit into the safe hands of De Boorder.

The Heinrich Malan-coached CD only amassed a sub-par 188 all out in 69.1 overs amid suggestions the hosts are still suffering from a white-ball hangover rather than embracing the edict of how many balls you leave that matter in the longer format to forge meaningful partnerships.

Young agreed last night they didn't bat as well as they could have and, compounding that, wicket was more conducive to batting yesterday than on day one.

"We are about 100 runs short. We should have matched their first-innings total and made the 280 however we keep losing wickets in clumps," he lamented, reflecting on the loss of four batsmen on the bounce at one stage and another four in another session.

"There's no way we can build a total if that's happening."

The Taranaki representative, who lives in Napier, said the wicket had a different demeanour although the pace and carry was fine.

"It just has a slight greenish tinge to it and the odd ball does jump up off a length."

Otago Volts toiler Neil Wagner racked up a massive spell yesterday to stifle CD batsmen for his 30th first-class five-wicket bag. Photo/NZME

Young heaped plaudits on Wagner who carried through his testing five overs overnight into yesterday.

"He bowled a massive spell of, I think, 11 or 12 overs on the trot and they were all tough overs and reaped rewards and knocked over our top order."

The CD partnerships started sprouting when Wagner stopped but he came back at the end with Craig joining the party.

CD resorted to that tactic, bringing in spinner Ajaz Patel early for a similar impact to leave the game evenly balanced today. Patel, Rance, Adam Milne and Bracewell claimed a scalp each and Young even employed part-timer Brad Schmulian to tweak an over.

Regretfully seamer Blair Tickner picked up a side strain on Thursday and "is a huge blow" as 12th man and seamer Bevan Small took the field.

"Jazz is really good and can bowl into the breeze so seamers can operate downwind from the other end."

Young said six wickets smartly was on the agenda this morning when No 3 Sam Hicks, 33 not out, and Derek de Boorder, unbeaten on nine runs, resume batting at 4-69 from 36 overs for the Volts in their second dig with a lead of 170 runs.

"If we get them out for about 150 we'd be happy with that so that should leave us chasing 250 in our last innings or even 300," said the 26-year-old right-hand batsman said, alluding to something they had done against the Volts in the first round.