Auckland have beaten Otago by five wickets in their opening game of the Provincial A competition thanks to an unbeaten 80 from Neal Parlane.
Bad weather in the morning restricted the game to 41 over per team, but Auckland would only require 37 .1 over to chase down Otago's total of 218.
Auckland decided to bowl first after winning the toss and had early success dismissing Ryan Duffy for ten.
Hamish Rutherford (30) and Darren Broom (28) steadied the ship for the Southerners as they took their team to 61 for one.However unfortunately for Otago both were dismissed in quick succession and two new batsmen were introduced to the crease.
The middle order did well for Otago though as Mark Craig top scored for his side with an unbeaten 62. Warren McSkimming also made an impact at the end of the innings as he smashed 31 from 17.
In the end Otago finished their 41 overs on 218 for eight.
Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers for Auckland and collected figures of three for forty from eight.
In reply the North Islanders got off to the worst possible start when they lost Tim Mackintosh for just one.
They recovered quickly thanks to a solid partnership between Andrew de Boorder and Neal Parlane. De Boorder stuck around just long enough to reach his half century before being dismissed on 53.
Parlane wasn't finished though.
He anchored the Auckland innings all the way to victory and smashed two fours and five sixes on the way.
In the end he - and a few partners – made easy work of the run chase and finished the game at the start of the 38th over with five wickets in hand.
It was a perfect start for the Auckland team, but the Otago bowlers will be looking to become a little more economical when they face Central Districts tomorrow.
