http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Central-Districts-c777 in Plunket Shield
Auckland were in a very good position in their Plunket Shield match against Central Districts, at Nelson Park in Napier on Tuesday. The visitors reached 382 runs for the loss of just four wickets, at the close of play on day-two. There were no weather delays
on the opening day, but rain interrupted the second day and only 36.3 overs were bowled before umpires called off play.
The pitch looked dry and good for batting, but Central Districts captain Jamie How decided to field first after winning the toss. There was some cloud cover and he might have anticipated some swing and pace for the fast bowlers.
However, Auckland openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jeet-Raval-c1685 and Tim McIntosh didn’t face any problems once they came out to bat. The pair played risk free cricket and put together a solid century stand for the first wicket.
McIntosh was the first man to be dismissed when the total was at 101 runs. The stylish left-handed batsman constructed his innings smoothly, scoring 56 runs with the help of eight fours.
McIntosh's dismissal gave the home team some hope, but the Auckland first-drop http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-de-Boorder-c1036 didn’t panic and played confidently along with opener Raval. Both players guided their team’s total to 210 with a superb 109-run stand for the second wicket
before the Indian-born opener got out. He played an exceptional knock of 100 runs off 188 balls, smashing 14 fours in his innings.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Anaru-Kitchen-c1032 then walked out to the middle and provided good support to de Boorder. The pair put together 60 runs for the third wicket before Kitchen was sent back to the pavilion. He managed to score 35 runs in his innings.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Greg-Todd-c1510 also got a start to his innings, but failed to capitalise on it. The seasoned campaigner got out after scoring 30 runs with the help of three fours and one towering six. He continued the good trend for the team, scoring yet another fifty-plus partnership
in the innings.
Wicketkeeper batsman Gareth Hopkins also didn’t find it hard to bat and was unbeaten on 26 off 35 balls before umpires called the day off. However, the highlight of the innings was an unbeaten ton by de Boorder, who scored a steady 102 runs before the close
of play. He reached his century with the help of nine boundaries.
The bowlers didn’t have an ideal day in the field on the first two days of play. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tarun-Nethula-c2647 grabbed one apiece.
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