The Central Stags prepared for the upcoming preliminary finals with an ominous performance as they dominated previous Ford Trophy one-day leaders Auckland today.

An outstanding partnership between twin centurymakers Dean Robinson and Mathew Sinclair has carried the Central Stags to a magnificent Ford Trophy one-day win over the Canterbury Wizards.

The Otago Volts and Central Stags were left to rue the poor weather which forced their Ford Trophy one-day match to be abandoned at Invercargill today.

A remarkable batting onslaught by openers Jamie How and Peter Ingram rewrote a Twenty20 world record and set the Central Stags up for a comfortable HRV Cup win over the Wellington Firebirds today.

Mathew Sinclair answered the call but it was not enough as the Northern Knights beat the Central Stags by 23 runs in a HRV Cup Twenty20 match at Napier today.

The Auckland Aces charged to an emphatic win over the Central Stags, beating them by seven wickets in the penultimate round of the HRV Cup at Colin Maiden Park in Auckland.

The Wellington Blaze won't be in the final next week, but managed to beat the Central Hinds with one ball to spare in their last game of the Action Cricket Twenty20 competition.

They beat the Central Stags by four wickets with nine balls to spare at Rangiora’s MainPower Oval to remain second on the standings, four points adrift of the Auckland Aces.

The Wellington Blaze and Central Hinds have shared the points thanks to poor conditions in Palmerston North.

The Wellington Blaze survived a massive scare to keep their final hopes alive after a last ball win over the Central Hinds.