Record-breaking form by Northern Districts gloveman Peter McGlashan helped overcome Central Districts' temporary resistance in a Plunket Shield cricket match yesterday.
Northern Districts are closing in on victory at the halfway stage of the four-day fixture at Cobham Oval in Whangarei, thanks in part to McGlashan's super-safe hands.
He took
six catches when the visitors were rolled for just 94 on Tuesday then pulled in another five yesterday as Central Districts tentatively reached 178 for five in their second innings, still seven runs short of making the home side bat again.
McGlashan became the first wicketkeeper to effect 11 dismissals in a New Zealand first-class match as his bowlers found the edge of the bat at regular intervals on a pitch offering bounce and pace.
He did not have to wait long to get in on the action again yesterday after the Northern Districts batsmen had built a first innings advantage of 185 runs by reaching 279.
Any hope Central Districts had of saving the game disappeared as they slid to 18 for three inside nine overs, with McGlashan accepting three edges offered his way by the top order.
Peter Ingram, Jamie How and George Worker all departed cheaply before the team's batting pillars Mathew Sinclair and Ross Taylor set about repairing the damage.
These two counter-attacked to put on 137 but their resistance crumbled again once seamer Bradley Scott induced yet another edge from Taylor.
Taylor departed for 66, including 11 boundaries, before Brad Patton became another Scott-McGlashan victim for a 14-ball duck.
Sinclair, fresh from scoring 165 in the first round against Auckland last week, had reached 85 by the close.
In Wellington, Auckland captain Richard Jones led by example to score 101 and pilot his team to 186 for four at stumps at the Basin Reserve.
That left the four-day game delicately poised, after Auckland hunted down the Wellington's first-innings 356 when play finally resumed mid-afternoon yesterday following heavy overnight and morning rain.
At Rangiora, Shane Bond took three for 43 on the second day of Canterbury's match against Otago.
At stumps, Otago were 195 for seven in reply to Canterbury' first innings of 440, a total built around former international Peter Fulton's majestic 172.
- NZPA
