Mathew Sinclair also scored his highest score for the Stags as he smashed his way to 123 bringing up his hundred off 84 balls, the second fastest for the Stags behind the 72 ball effort of Llorne Howell. Surprisingly this was just his third century for Central Districts although he has also scored 37 half-centuries.
When he reached 74 Sinclair became the highest run scorer among New Zealand domestic associations. He has scored 4315 runs for the Stags in New Zealand domestic competitions and 67 runs for them against overseas teams. He passed Michael Parlane who had scored 4,225 runs for the Northern Knights and Wellington Firebirds in domestic competitions and another 107 against overseas teams.
Robinson and Sinclair combined in a record 231 run third wicket partnership. This passed the 172 added for the second wicket by Jamie How and Ross Taylor in 2004-05 as the highest for any wicket for Central Districts. It also passed their 156 run third wicket partnership record held by Jacob Oram and Mark Douglas. They were also threatening the highest stand in all New Zealand domestic one day cricket, an unbeaten 244 for the third wicket added by Stephen Fleming and Roger Twose. That stand was made for the Wellington Firebirds against the Otago Volts in the 2000-01 season, when Sinclair was dismissed with just eleven runs required for victory.
The Central Stags successfully chased down over 290 against the Canterbury Wizards for the second time as they won by seven wickets at Rangiora. Their highest successful run chase was also against the Wizards when they scored 295 at Palmerston North in 2008-09.
Dean Robinson scored his maiden one day century in just his second match finishing 130 not out, the highest score for the Stags against the Wizards. Only one batsman has managed to score a century earlier in his career, that was James Pamment who scored 105 not out on debut for the Auckland Aces in the 1993-94 season.
Earlier George Worker had scored his first hundred for the Canterbury Wizards and his second in all one day cricket, his highest being the 109 he scored for the Central Stags last season.
At Colin Maiden Park Mitchell McClenaghan followed up his figures of five for 30 mid-week with an even better return of six for 41, although the Auckland Aces weren't able to take advantage losing to the Wellington Firebirds by 102 runs. Andrew Penn had previously taken successive seven and four wicket bags for the Firebirds while Murray Jamieson had five and four wicket bags in succession for the Central Stags, but this is the first occasion a bowler has taken five or more wickets in consecutive matches.
This was only the fourth occasion an Auckland bowler has taken six or more wickets in a match following on from Willie Watson (seven for 23) with Justin Vaughan and Murphy Su'a both recording six for 26.
Michael Papps and Stephen Murdoch added 144 for the Firebirds second wicket with Papps scoring 90 to follow the 71 he scored in the first match between these two teams earlier in the season. Murdoch backed up his maiden century in the Firebirds last match with an innings of 73.
Mark Gillespie collected the two wickets he needed to become the first Wellington Firebirds bowler to reach the hundred wicket milestone. He is the seventeenth bowler to reach this mark and joins five other current bowlers who have managed this feat.
This was the third occasion that the Wellington Firebirds have beaten the Auckland Aces by more than a hundred runs and reverses the result from the first round. The Firebirds reasserted their dominance over the Aces and now have had 35 wins to the Aces 20.
At Hamilton the Northern Knights and Otago Volts both scored their second highest totals against each in a match which produced a record match aggregate for matches between the two teams. The Volts have had a few close calls against the Knights and have now had five wins against them by five runs or less or by one wicket.
Craig Cumming and Nathan McCullum combined for their second century partnership against the Knights in this seasons Ford Trophy competition. Following on from their record partnership of 143 in the first match they added 116 for the fifth wicket in rapid time as McCullum reached his highest score for the Volts. McCullum smashed 7 sixes in just 43 balls and raced from 50 to 90 in just 13 balls.
Northern were in strife at six for 134 in reply when Brandon Hiini, the former Canterbury Wizards player on debut for the Knights, helped Anton Devcich add 119 for the seventh wicket, a record for the Knights against all teams. Devcich went in to record his maiden one day hundred but wasn't quite able to help his team to what would have been an unlikely win.
