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After enjoying benign conditions in Napier last week, the Central Districts batsmen came down to earth with a bump in their State Championship match at Eden Park yesterday.
Sent into bat by Auckland captain Richard Jones, the Central batsmen struggled on a lively pitch on the outer oval
that was tailor-made for Auckland's pace attack. Only two players reached double figures as they were all out for 61 in just 42.5 overs.
Andre Adams collected his second five-wicket bag of the season and received good support from the left-arm pace of Andy McKay and Michael Bates.
In reply, Auckland had taken first innings points by tea and at stumps were 162 for two with Martin Guptill 66 not out.
Mathew Sinclair, who scored a double century last week for CD against Otago, was winging his way to join the Black Caps in South Africa but Peter Ingram and Tim Weston, who also scored heavily against Otago, contributed only eight runs between them yesterday.
Weston, who recorded his maiden first-class century on the same ground last season, was out without playing a shot to an Adams delivery that jagged back sharply and took his stumps.
Adams was either beating the bat, courting the edge or testing the umpires as he took two wickets in nine overs before conceding his first run. He finished with five for 12 runs off 15.5 overs, 11 of which were maidens.
McKay chipped in with three for 31, while Bates bowled with good control at lively pace to take two for seven off nine overs. When Auckland batted, the bright sunshine had taken some of the devil out of the pitch.
Jones, who scored a century in each innings in the same fixture last year, was out cheaply but Tim McIntosh and Guptill had few difficulties against the inexperienced CD attack.
It took Auckland just 21.4 overs to overhaul CD and they had reached 135 before McIntosh attempted an injudicious sweep against off-spinner Tim Lythe and was lbw for 71.
Canterbury V Northern Districts
Northern Districts cricket captain James Marshall and two of his helpers repaired the damage on the opening day of their match against Canterbury.
ND were dismissed for 318 in their first innings on the stroke of stumps in Rangiora after earlier flirting with danger at 67 for four.
Marshall led the fightback with a diligent century, his 117 being the seventh time he has posted three figures at first-class level. Daniel Flynn hit a fluent 70 and Bruce Martin exhibited his all-round capabilities with a neat 50.
Marshall and Flynn put together a fifth wicket stand of 113 before Flynn had a rush of blood and charged spinner Iain Robertson only to spoon a catch to point.
Marshall and Martin then shared a stand of 120 for the eighth wicket.
Wellington V Otago
A defiant century from Greg Todd kept Otago afloat against Wellington at the Basin reserve.
His mature innings of 110 was chiefly responsible for Otago reaching respectability with a first innings score of 272 after being sent in.
Wellington then got through 18 overs until stumps for the loss of Luke Woodcock's wicket and will resume at 49 for one, with Matthew Bell on 30 and skipper Michael Parlane on eight.
Otago were in serious danger of imploding at 68 for four before Todd, 25, set about rebuilding the innings.