da poker： Canterbury’s post-lunch tail-end collapse, and a solid reply from NorthernDistricts of 126/3, has left the battle for first innings points in thebalance after day two of a hard-fought Shell Trophy match at Rangiora
Steve Deane14-Dec-2000Canterbury’s post-lunch tail-end collapse, and a solid reply from NorthernDistricts of 126/3, has left the battle for first innings points in thebalance after day two of a hard-fought Shell Trophy match at Rangiora.However, with half of the match gone and a total of only 13 wickets takenthe chances of either team forcing an outright result appear slim.A gritty knock of 43 from Gareth Hopkins guided Canterbury safely throughthe first session for the loss of only Aaron Redmond for 41. At 338/6heading into the middle session Canterbury would have been targeting a scorein excess of 400. But after lunch the final four wickets fell for theaddition of only six runs, raising suspicions that Laurie Mains, friend Suziethe tea lady had emigrated from Johannesburg to take up a catering positionin North Canterbury.Left-arm spinner Bruce Martin picked up his third consecutive five-wicketbag against the Cantabs and the figures of the innings, but he benefitedfrom bowling in tandem with a miserly Grant Bradburn.Bradburn’s superb control over line and length, combined with his experienceand batting ability should see him considered as a viable spin option forthis season/s one-day international matches.Joseph Yovich bowled with pace and aggression to pick up three wickets. Hisperformance, also, would not have gone unnoticed by the three Black Capsselectors in attendance on day two.Requiring 345 for first innings points, Northern began its inningscautiously on a pitch lacking in pace and bounce.Surely an indictment of the pitch, 470 runs have been scored with only oneplayer (Gary Stead) reaching 50. But while runs have been hard to come by onthe benign surface, so have wickets.Carl Anderson made the initial breakthrough for Canterbury picking up thewicket of James Marshall in fortuitous fashion. Marshall attempted a cut atthe second rank half-tracker of the over but a bottom edge ballooned offwicket keeper Gareth Hopkins’ foot and into the hands of Chris Harris atslip. Umpire Steve Dunn consulted with Peter Parker at square leg beforeraising his finger to the visibly upset Marshall.Anderson looked to have benefited from some lengthy spells in the recentclash with Auckland. In the round two match at QEII’s Village Green hestarted poorly and was initially expensive, but improved with every spell.Eight of his first 10 overs today were maidens.Stephen Cunis (funny name that, Cunis – neither one thing nor the otherreally) was the pick of the Canterbury bowlers, troubling all of theNorthern batsmen but picking up just the one wicket in 18 overs of accurate,demanding medium pace.Hayden Shaw was the only other Canterbury wicket-taker, picking up an out oftouch Michael Parlane for 45, 10 minutes before stumps.The best chance of a result would appear to be the pitch breaking up andaccepting gratuitous amounts of spin, but a good covering of grass makesthat unlikely.