Cricket: Rejuvenated Canning makes up for lost time

Tama Canning is wasting no time making up for a less than memorable, injury-hampered 2003-2004 first-class season.

In five matches last season he picked up just seven wickets at a hardly flattering average of 54.28.

But by the end of play at Westpac Park yesterday, Canning had a tidy four-wicket haul for 33 runs from 24 overs as Auckland restricted Northern Districts to a modest 185 for seven.

Canning spearheaded an Auckland attack that overcame early uncertainty to finish the day on the right side of the ledger.

The start of the match, and the State Championship season, was delayed 3 1/2 hours as ground staff mopped up a couple of damp patches.

Umpires Doug Cowie and Robert Anderson were keen to get started, but their enthusiasm was not shared by new Northern Districts captain James Marshall and Auckland's Brooke Walker.

Both captains were unwilling to risk their players on the uncertain footing.

On winning the toss for a day's play reduced from 100 to 70 overs, Walker surprised some by opting to bowl.

As Northern's opening partnership blossomed, he might have questioned that decision himself.

But not for too long.

A steady opening six-over spell from Kerry Walmsley, in his 11th first-class season, kept a rein on the Northern openers.

But while he conceded 17 runs, his new-ball partner, Gareth Shaw, could not find the same kind of control, giving up 20 runs in just three overs.

Staying with a game plan of bowling a fullish length, the bowlers gave up early runs, but eventually took control.

After getting through the first hour with few apparent problems, Marshall was undone by Canning who, as first change, pulled back the scoring and gathered his wickets by bowling good line and length on a pitch short of real pace.

The boundary rope on one side of the ground was well inside the fence, so it was often a case of the batsmen hitting fours or sneaking singles.

Of Northern's first 100 runs, 64 were scored in boundaries. In the day's play there was only one three and little more than a handful of twos.

Marshall reached 25 and opening partner Nick Horsley 38 (in just under 100 minutes) as the foundation was laid.

A middle-order mini-collapse, with Grant Robinson (2) leg-before to Canning and Llorne Howell (10) bowled by Walmsley without offering shots, left ND teetering at 148 for five, with Mark Orchard left to provide the stability.

He did that for 200 minutes - scoring 53 - before undoing his good work with an awful swish outside the off-stump to give the ever-tidy Reece Young behind the stumps his second catch and Canning his fourth wicket.

 

Orchard's departure brought together youngsters BJ Watling and Ryan Shutte - both on debut.

They saw it though to stumps, 15 minutes beyond the scheduled 7pm close.

Shutte celebrated his first match at this level by hitting Canning to the cover boundary to register his maiden first-class runs.

In matches starting today, Otago host Central Districts in Queenstown and Canterbury meet Wellington in Christchurch.