ROUND TWO

NORTHERN DISTRICTS v CENTRAL STAGS

At Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui

30 October - 2 November 2019

TOSS: ND who elected to bowl

Scores

DAY THREE

Despite a raft of injuries to the regular squad, national champs the Central Stags are in the box seat at Bay Oval after setting arch-rivals ND a chase of 374 with four sessions left in the match.

Earlier, Tom Bruce registered back-to-back half centuries in his first appearance of the season, a welcome return from his recent keyhole knee surgery.

With encouraging performances from young pacemen Ray Toole and Jarrod Mckay on debut yesterday, the Stags are back in business ahead of their first home match at Nelson's Saxton Oval next week.

In his 50th cap match for the Stags, Ajaz Patel finished unbeaten on 33* with the bat in the second innings this afternoon after captain Greg Hay decided to bat again.

After having rolled ND on the second afternoon, Hay had had the option of enforcing the follow on, on a placid pitch that has seen the odd ball rear up off the cracks, but decided to make some extra hay while the Bay of Plenty sun shone.

After the Stags were bowled out for 204 (Neil Wagner claiming a five-wicket bag and Trent Boult a four-fa) right on tea, the final session of the penultimate day saw ND make a cautious start to their final innings before Mckay made the opening breakthrough with the wicket of captain Daniel Flynn.

DAY TWO

Close of play: ND 202 all out, trailing by 169 on the first innings

Bonus Points: Central Stags 4 batting, ND 2 bowling (completed), Central Stags 4 bowling, ND 1 batting (completed)

An action-packed day saw the Stags take the maximum eight bonus points, dismiss ND and strengthen their position by the midpoint of the game, despite a tailend batting fightback from ND in the final session.

Northern Districts had ended the Central Stags innings on 371 in the morning session, Tom Bruce left stranded on 71* (93 balls, 7 x 4, 2 x 6) in his first bat of the season.

He had had both our young debutant pace bowlers at the end of the order for company, 22-year-old Ray Toole quickly getting over a jumpy start - taking off for a run only to be sent scrambling back, then surviving 22 balls from the ND frontliners and tickling his first three first-class runs off Neil Wagner.

Wagner had the final say, however, to finish with 3-104, after nearly four sessions on a flat one.

With time left time for seven overs before lunch, the change of innings played into the hands of the Stags' pace attack, strapping left-armer Toole opening the bowling with Seth Rance and making a good first impression - two maidens and just four runs off his first three overs of Plunket Shield before the break.

Rance meanwhile had quickly struck back at ND to have them 11/1 in reply before lunch.

The middle session was a brilliant one for the Stags. They claimed five further wickets, with Toole taking a memorable maiden wicket in BLACKCAP BJ Watling who edged behind shortly before tea at the beginning of his 10th over.

By then ND was in all sorts at 73/5 - and that was before the youngster quickly struck again to have 2-24 off 11.1 at tea.

Northern Districts was now in serious danger of following on, six down for just 86 runs and still 285 runs behind their visitors. Toole had very nearly picked up two in an over when Peter Bocock was put down in the slips shortly after the loss of Watling.

Toole soon had Bocock regardless, caught behind on 17. It was third time unlucky for Bocock who had not long before narrowly survived an inside edge off Ajaz Patel that danced perilously close to his stumps.

Yesterday's wind having mercifully diminished to a gentle breeze, Joe Walker and Brett Randell faced a big job as they began the final session, but catches were sticking for the Stags' other debutant, Jarrod McKay.

In the middle session he'd got in the game by getting under a high ball offered up by ND captain Daniel Flynn off Willem Ludick for a well judged catch.

The six-foot-five-inch teenager then outdid himself in the last session by leaping at full stretch at backward point to pluck, with his left hand, a catch out of the air to dismiss Joe Walker off a thrilled Ajaz Patel.

The very next over, Seth Rance claimed his third in Neil Wagner, and ND had one foot on the precipice at 127 for eight.

A stubborn 75-run eighth-wicket stand between Brett Randell and Trent Boult (44 off 56) was a huge bonus for the hosts. Randell continued his career best all-round game with a maiden half century, while the flamboyant Boult eked out runs in his inimitable style.

With just two overs remaining in the day, they would fall in the space of three balls - Boult providing McKay with a hard-earned maiden first-class wicket while Randall was caught on 56 off the first ball of Ludick's next over to end the dig in 69.1 overs. The Stags will now take a healthy lead into Day Three today.

DAY ONE - read the first day's report, which featured GEORGE WORKER'S ninth first-class century, here

Article added: Friday 01 November 2019