An unbeaten half-century from Mark Chapman guided Auckland to a tense win over Northern Districts in their Plunkett Shield cricket opener, with the score leveling the addition of a bizarre stop for poor light.
Chapman Scored 53 Not Out :-
Mark Chapman was on 53 not out with Black Caps teammate Kyle Jamieson (1 not out) as the Aces chased down 196 for a four-wicket win on the last day on Monday.
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There was late play with the batting pair as shown on a live stream from the Outer Oval at Eden Park, with international umpires Chris Brown and Wayne Knights taking a stand on the pitch after stopping play for bad light at 5.57 with a total of 195-6.
The match was put on hold for 17 minutes as Chapman and Kyle Jamieson remained on, and ND’s chances of a draw increased before the umpires deemed Prakash efficient and the hosts won as per rules.
A Reached The Top of The Ladder :-
Auckland’s Covid-19 lockdown futile the Aces’ chances of playing any four-day cricket before Christmas, with a win and their 17 competing points propelling them to the top of the ladder.
The final standings in April will be determined by points, with Canterbury now in second place with 56 points from four matches.
Auckland put themselves in the box seat to win the low-scoring match by dismissing the Black Caps-laden ND for 173 runs, with off-spinner Will Somerville picking up the bowlers with three wickets in each innings.
Night-watchman Neil Wagner scored 36 for ND in his second innings. Giving Auckland 196 runs against an international attack from Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, C. de Grandhomme, and Mitchell Santner.
Solid collaborations from Martin Guptill (31), George Worker (29), and Glenn Phillips (41) brought them closer. Southee (1–54 out of 13) and Wagner (2–53 out of 7.5) did not make significant inroads. Can make
Southee’s bag of five wickets in the first innings helped bowl Auckland out for 208.
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Chapman smashed an unbeaten 53 off 72 balls, including six fours and a six. As the aces hit home in the 48th over, just in time.
The Eden Park Outer Oval :-
Northern Districts 230 and 173 (Neil Wagner 36, Jeet Raval 32; Will Somerville 3-41, Sean Solia 2-21) lost to Auckland 208 and 196-6 (Mark Chapman 53no. And Glenn Phillips 41, Brett Randall 2-40, Wagner 2-52) by 4 wickets.
Standings (matches played): Auckland 17 (1), Canterbury 56 (4), Central Districts 39 (4). And Northern Districts 27 (3), Otago 31 (4), Wellington 28 (4).
