Central Districts' win over Auckland ensured they were the only victors on the final day of Plunket Shield action today, after Otago fell an agonising four runs short.
The Stags managed to chase down Auckland's target of 340 with relative ease in Napier, dropping only four wickets in the process,but Otago couldn't quite overhaul the 312 set for them by Northern Districts in a dramatic finish in Hamilton. The other match of the day between Wellington and Canterbury at the Basin Reserve ended in a draw.
At McLean Park, Auckland needed a win to keep the pressure on leaders Northern Districts, and they looked in a decent position to do so after setting Central 340 early on the final day. Considering they skittled the Stags for just 143 in their first innings, Auckland's bowlers would have felt confident.
But the Stags made relatively light work of what looked like a very challenging chase. After Auckland added 40 runs to their overnight score before declaring, the home side had little more than 100 overs in which to try to steal victory.
They ended up doing exactly that, thanks to four significant partnerships and an anchoring century from Carl Cachopa. After Colin Munro struck early in the morning to remove opener Ben Smith, Jamie How and Cachopa set about resurrecting their side's innings with a 82-run stand for the second wicket.
How was eventually trapped in front by Bruce Martin for 69, but that was the only breakthrough for the spinner after he took six wickets in the Stags' first turn with the bat. That wicket brought Matt Sinclair to the crease, and he and Cachopa enjoyed similar success in putting on 61 before Sinclair fell for 46 with the score on 169-3.
At that point the match seemed out of Auckland's reach, and the intrigue lay whether Central could accumulate the required runs needed for a win before the overs ran out. The answer to that question came from Keiran Noema-Barnett, who notched an unbeaten 75 from 111 balls, and shared in a 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
By the time Cachopa fell for 108, his maiden first class century, Central were in a position to snatch victory, and 19-year-old William Young came in at No 6 and hit a run-a-ball 32 to see the Stags across the line.
The other two matches also saw run chases in excess of 300 being attempted, but Otago and Wellington had varying results in doing so.
A second fast-paced century in two days from Otago opener Hamish Rutherford (118 from 120) got his side off to the perfect start, and he was ably supported by Craig Cumming (54) and Michael Bracewell (53no).
Otago could smell victory throughout their innings, even with the run rate constantly hovering near six an over, and they needed 21 from the final three overs with Bracewell and Sam Wells at the crease. That equation was reduced to 15 from the final over, but Graeme Aldridge restricted them to 11 to steal a draw for the hosts.
Wellington stuttered early in their chase of 342, with Canterbury taking early wickets and reducing the Firebirds' efforts to a survival mission. After being 29-5, Harry Boam (81no) and Craig Cachopa (58) ensured Wellington saw out the stalemate.
The only change in the Plunket Shield table after the round sees Central leapfrog Auckland into third place. Northern Districts still lead Wellington by 17 points at the top with three rounds remaining.
