Wellington's Nick Kelly celebrates catching Canterbury's Cole McConchie with team mates during their Plunket Shield cricket match. Photo: Photosport
Three teams are celebrating their first win of the New Zealand domestic cricket season, with the Central Stags and Northern Districts both taking innings victories, and Wellington defeating Canterbury by 129 runs - all with a day to spare.
The Plunket Shield defending champion Stags secured an innings and 77 runs victory over Auckland in the last session of day three on Sunday when George Worker was run out for a defiant 67.
Earlier in the day, Central Districts allrounder Doug Bracewell had taken his 400th first-class wicket before his team enforced the follow-on at Eden Park Outer Oval.
Bracewell joins an elite group of New Zealander allrounders to have taken 400 wickets and scored 4000 runs in first-class cricket.
Wellington win
Wellington survived a patchy second innings with the bat when they stormed back with the ball to beat Canterbury at the Basin Reserve.
The hosts had started day three right on top of Canterbury, but let the visitors back in the game when they crumpled to 145 all out in their second innings.
The going proved no easier for Canterbury, however, who batted last needing 314, with a day and a half to get them.
Matt Hay's 44 was the top score before he became the last to fall, hitting his own wicket in dramatic fashion against Ben Sears.
ND too strong
Northern Districts took maximum points off Otago in Hamilton, with pace bowler Scott Kuggeleijn snaffing a career-best nine wickets for the match (9-84), adding three second innings wickets to his haul as the visitors folded for just 77.
- RNZ