Cricket: Top order flops as rain becomes rogue

George Worker was unbeaten with a resolute 34 runs from 100 deliveries in 168 minutes of defiance at McLean Park, Napier, yesterday but CD lost. Photo / Duncan Brown

For rookie Central Districts captain William Young chasing down 410 runs on the final day yesterday was always going to be a Herculean task in Napier.

So it is fair to assume a grinning Devon Hotel-sponsored Stags skipper would have woken up yesterday morning of their round four Budget Rental Plunket Shield match to find the McLean Park wicket under covers.

Wrong. If anything, the rain made matters worse for them as the SkyCity Northern Districts Knights came away with their first outright victory - a walloping 284-run one - in the first-class format in the battle of win-less sides.

"It meant the target, which was perhaps going to require a record, was near-all impossible after the rain," Young lamented after ND skittled them for 153 in 55.4 overs in their second dig.

"It changed the mindset of our whole chase of 410 off 80-odd overs."

Young reiterated the Stags' mantra of going hard out for victories every time they run on to the park although the gargantuan odds had made it difficult to dig their toes in for a stalemate.

"We always try to win but today we didn't bat well," said the 23-year-old of Taranaki who now lives in Napier.

The top order again came up shy with figures resembling a frugal supermarket shopping docket.

Only No6 George Worker showed some mettle with a resolute 34 runs from 100 deliveries in 168 minutes of defiance on the batting crease.

No8 Dane Cleaver top scored with 40 runs, emulating his first-innings feat of an unbeaten 66.

Is the wicketkeeper the next Kruger van Wyk who used to put up the shutters to save four-day affairs before retiring to return home to South Africa to become a cricket administrator?

That remains to be seen although the vacancy is there for someone in the Henrich Malan-coached CD side to put his hand up.

It was "another tough one" for Young who wants his top-order to lay down a decent platform to:
a) provide a cushion for the bowlers to recover
b) to post a decent knock to offer batsmen below the luxury to come in to free up their arms to boost the run rate.

"It was anyone's game after the first innings," Young said, after ND were all out for 268 in their first dig and the Stags 12 runs shy in eclipsing that total.

He rued CD not capitalising on having ND on 60-2 in their second innings but hailed ND's timely partnerships that saw a 360-odd total mushroom to 438.

"We went from neck and neck to blowing out so in four-day cricket we have to learn how not to go off the boil in a little more than an hour."

Nevertheless, Young said the remaining six games would provide the foundation for the young players to hone their skills.

"Obviously I always love to score runs, as a captain or not. It would be fantastic to lead from the front but it didn't happen in this case."

The Stags now host Canterbury Kings at Saxton Oval, Nelson, from this Saturday.

The Wellington Firebirds are on the top of the table on net run rate after whipping the win-less Volts in Queenstown. Auckland beat the Kings to sit second.