Cricket: Sherlock strips Canterbury

Bearded Auckland pace bowler Richard Sherlock took a career-best seven wickets to leave the home team needing 290 with eight wickets in hand to beat Canterbury on the final day of the Plunket Shield season today.

Canterbury lost eight wickets for 100 runs yesterday as they slumped from 385 for two to be all out for 485, leaving Auckland 337 to win. At stumps they were 47 for two.

The 26-year-old Sherlock went wicket-less in the first innings as he struggled for control in the wind.

But yesterday on an unresponsive pitch at Colin Maiden Park he was aggressive and on target as Canterbury frittered away a strong position built on opener Michael Papps' second hundred of the match.

Papps was on 62 when Canterbury resumed their second innings at 138 for one, still 11 behind. He put on 161 with Johannes Myburgh, who made 86 before a Sherlock yorker left him sprawled on the pitch with his stumps shattered.

Peter Fulton was in imperious form in a third-wicket partnership of 168 and Canterbury were running Auckland ragged at 385 for two. But when Fulton holed out to midwicket on 95, the innings faltered.

Papps batted for seven hours and in contrast to his first innings ton that took just 93 balls, he needed 199 to reach three figures in the second.

It was a disciplined knock that looked likely to eclipse his previous highest of 192 and it was a surprise when he was caught close in off spinner Bhupinder Singh. He faced 312 balls and hit 30 fours to bring his season's tally to 927 runs, including four centuries.

Wellington batsman Neal Parlane led the way with a hefty 193 against Otago. Parlane was poised to raise the first double century of a career that started in 1996 until Nathan McCullum evicted him from the crease via a catch to Craig Cumming.

Also making a century in Wellington's second innings at the Basin Reserve was Cameron Merchant with an unbeaten 101.

At Napier, Central Districts' Peter Ingram, unwanted at international level this week, smashed 178 to help his side to 401 in their second innings.

Otago, dismissed for 192 after resuming their first inning yesterday on 187 for nine, were listless in the field as Wellington piled on the runs through Parlane, Merchant and Stephen Murdoch, who hit 88.

Allrounder Luke Woodcock was given his second bite of the cherry to score 1000 runs in a domestic season after coming up short by 41 runs in the first innings.

But he managed just two before he was stumped by wicketkeeper Derek de Boorder off medium pacer Greg Todd.

Wellington declared at 402 for three, a lead of 599, and at stumps Otago were 45 for two.

Central Districts, chasing a win in the hope of overhauling Canterbury for second place in the competition, gave Northern, declared champions on Tuesday, a target of 407. Besides Ingram's 12th career century, Central's second innings total of 531 was established through Jamie How's 62, Tim Weston's 72, 77 not out from James de Terte and 85 off 84 balls from Bevan Griggs.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA