A first innings win over Hawke's Bay at the weekend was enough to win Taranaki the zone two cricket series, and with it the right to challenge for the Hawke Cup early next month. Taranaki finished the series with 32 pts, one more than Marlborough, who came with a late rushthrough beating Wairarapa outright. Manawatu ended up on 28pts, Nelson 26pts, Hawke's Bay 23pts, Wairarapa and Horowhenua-Kapiti 11pts and Wanganui 6pts. Final round results: Marlborough 347-6 declared beat Wairarapa 197 and 94 by an innings and 56 runs; Nelson 343 lost on the first innings to Manawatu 353-6; Horowhenua-Kapiti 415-7 declared and 120-2 had a first innings win over Wanganui 223-6 declared; Taranaki 284 and 171-3 had a first innings win over Hawke's Bay 197.
