The Central Stags have carried their fine HRV Cup form through to the One-Day competition, beating the Canterbury Wizards by eight wickets at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.
The convincing win was set up by Stags seamer Ewen Thompson who produced his career best bowling figures as he skittled out the Wizards for a meagre 77 in 32.4 overs before his batting colleagues took over guiding the team to 79 for two with more than 35 overs to spare.
The Stags were in complete control from the first over with Rob Nicol (17) and Shannan Stewart (21) the only batsmen to show any form of resistance.
Thompson finished with six for 20, surpassing his previous best of five for 45 and is looking like a serious contender for the overall Mitre10 MVP as he slots into second spot.
The reply was brief but entertaining with opener Jamie How blasting an unbeaten 46 from 48 to seal the win.
Canterbury will be pleased that star bowler Shane Bond made a successful return from injury, bowling five overs and taking a wicket.
The win sees the Central Stags leap frog the Canterbury Wizards into second spot on the Men’s One-Day points table after six rounds of competition.
