Mopping-up operations were all the rage during the third day of Canterbury's Shell Trophy encounter with Central Districts at the Village Green in Christchurch yesterday.
No sooner had the ground staff removed the effects of several hours of rain, which prevented play until 4.45 pm, than Central set about the task
of cleaning up the home side.
Wicketkeeper Martyn Sigley hit hard and high to extend Central's first-innings lead to 245 before a blend of feisty seam bowling and sharp fielding triggered yet another Canterbury top-order batting collapse.
At stumps, Canterbury was 63 for three, still 182 in arrears and with perennial saviour Gary Stead among those already dismissed.
Sigley, resuming on 42, swiped 29 from 21 balls, including 14 in one over from Chris Martin.
But the tailenders could not support him, Gareth West falling to a smart caught-and-bowled by Carl Anderson and Michael Mason being caught by wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins off Stephen Cunis.
Their demise, however, only signalled the start of a difficult 27-over stint for Canterbury under an overcast sky. The all too familiar revolving door was soon in action as Canterbury slumped to five for two wickets.
Stead lived dangerously, edging the ball between Sigley and Craig Spearman at first slip on one, and twice being dropped in the same area.
But when he played Jacob Oram's first delivery with authority, gully fielder Mathew Sinclair, for the second time in the match, accepted a sharp catch.
It was hardly an inviting prospect for Michael Papps - having failed to score in his previous three innings - to join surviving opener Robbie Frew at 38 for three, but together, and not without incident, they saw their side through to stumps.
Frew battled 109 minutes and 86 balls for his 23, and Papps faced 33 balls in 51 minutes to reach 12 before the umpires mercifully decided to pull the stumps one over early because of the fading light.
- NZPA
