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Sri Lanka head coach Graham Ford has said the upcoming series against Pakistan in the UAE will be a tough challenge for his team. Ford added that Pakistan have been on the move of late despite the fact that their home venue is the UAE whereas Sri Lanka have been relatively dormant recently.”The advantage Pakistan’s got is that they have played a lot of international cricket in the last six-eight months whereas unfortunately we haven’t played nearly as much because of weather and various other things,” Ford said. “We’ve done as much as we can to make sure we are sharp and ready but nothing’s quite the same as being match-tight and match-sharp. They have got an advantage from that point of view and they have got some fantastically talented cricketers.”In the past eight months, Pakistan have played four Tests, 23 ODIs and eight T20s compared to Sri Lanka who have played no Tests, 17 ODIs and five T20s. The first Test against Pakistan, which starts on December 31 in Dubai, will be Sri Lanka’s first in nearly ten months and Ford said the players were keenly looking forward to the tour.”They have been out of cricket for a while and their energy and their effort in the training sessions has been exceptional. It is a great group to work with and motivation is never really anything of a problem,” Ford said. “I am not sure whether people realize just how proud these guys are to represent their country and they have often shown their characters when the chips are down. The time out of real top-class international cricket and tours being cancelled has made them hungry.”On their last tour to the UAE in 2011, Sri Lanka lost the three-Test series 1-0, the five-match ODI series 4-1 and also went down in the only T20. This time around they will again be involved in three Tests in addition to five ODIs and two T20s. The team is scheduled to leave for the UAE on December 6.”When Sri Lanka went their last it didn’t go all too well,” Ford said. “Hopefully we can show that we have made some progress. They are a very tough team to beat in the UAE and they are playing good cricket no matter where they play. They have done well against South Africa just recently. It really will be a tough challenge for us.”Some of the players have been talking about some of the things they need to expect are going to happen there. Everybody is that much wiser on the conditions and what to expect.”We had the advantage of a pretty good home series against Pakistan and we know quite a bit about their team and some of our boys have performed well against them so psychologically that’s also a boost for us. But at the end of the day it’s about getting down there and playing really well session for session.”Ever since Pakistan made the UAE their home base in 2010 they have not lost a single Test series there but Ford felt they were not invincible. “They cleaned up England 3-0 and from a psychological point of view they are aware that’s their fortress, that’s where they play well. But for us it’s an exciting challenge. That’s the way to make history, that’s the way the boys can make heroes of themselves. It’s tough but it’s not something that’s impossible.”One of the key points for Sri Lanka if they are to emerge victorious against Pakistan is how well their batsmen tackle the world-class spin of Saeed Ajmal. Ajmal was the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in the 2011 series against Sri Lanka in the UAE with 18 Test wickets and 11 ODI wickets.”I’ve been involved only in one series with him and we played him quite well in that,” Ford said. “Certainly one or two of our players play him pretty well. Most batsmen in the world do have problems with him. It’s not like you are going to dominate him or he is an easy option. He is a factor in any series that he plays but we did cope with him last time around.”Obviously more players are comfortable than others against him. He is more successful in the UAE and the challenge is there. Any bowler that turns the ball in both directions and is difficult to read is a very effective man to have in your side. Added to the fact that he’s got the disguise and the ability to turn the ball both ways (is that) he’s got fantastic control. Those ingredients make him a tough bowler. Pakistan will be looking to him as a match-winner and we’ll be looking to try and neutralize him as possible.”Apart from Ajmal, Pakistan have got a few newcomers such as the seven-foot tall left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, whom most of the Sri Lanka batsmen have not faced.”We got video footage and the analyst prepares information for all the players and they’ll get their copy of the footage of players in the next day or two to study them,” Ford said. “There’s always a sharing of information. News gets around and some of these guys will have played against some of these chaps and seen them. You get some info about them from one or two people who played against them and get some sort of an idea of what type of cricketers they are.”Fortunately these days there is so much TV coverage that players can’t hide away. You are going to find out a lot about them. It’s one thing knowing about them and it’s another thing going out and playing against them.”Ford said Sri Lanka will miss Mahela Jayawardene’s experience during the limited-overs leg of the tour. The former captain has opted out for personal reasons. “You can’t say enough about Mahela’s contribution,” Ford said. “He is such an important person in the group. He is brilliant as a player, he sets the tone and he is a great example for the youngsters. His knowledge of the game is just unbelievable. I’ve learnt a huge amount from him.”Not having him around is a bit of a challenge but we’ve gone through periods without him before when he’s had injury problems and we managed pretty well. It’s something that the team is learning to adjust to and that’s something that they will have to in the future be able to do – go and play and win without him.”Ford dismissed the notion that Jayawardene’s absence would bring added pressure on the other two senior batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan. “Those two guys have thrived on pressure throughout their careers. They are both strong mentally and pressure might even be a good thing for them. I don’t think that is something to be concerned about. They know their game so well.”

ScorecardFile photo – Callum Ferguson led South Australia’s reply with an unbeaten 100•Getty Images

A sporting declaration by South Australia’s captain Johan Botha against Queensland has opened up the possibility of an outright result on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.The Redbacks were cruising at 4 for 368 when Botha called in Callum Ferguson on an even 100, leaving the Bulls with time to set a fourth-innings chase for their hosts.Ferguson enjoyed fruitful stands with Tom Cooper and Travis Head before reaching three figures, while the off spinner Jason Floros was Queensland’s only wicket-taker.First innings hat-trick taker Chadd Sayers grabbed another two early wickets when the Bulls batted again, but Joe Burns and Peter Forrest settled the innings down and will be chasing quick runs when play resumes on day four.

Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s teenage legspinner, believed “100%” that his team were on course for victory over England after they had claimed six wickets in the first 10 overs of their contest at Delhi. Instead, England recovered to post 142 for 7 and close out a victory that confirmed Afghanistan’s elimination from the tournament.”We thought we had our game at 100%,” Rashid said. “But they played good cricket at the end, and that’s why they took the game away from us.”After selecting four spinners and a solitary quick bowler in Shapoor Zadran, Afghanistan had designs on keeping their opponents to below 100. England had slipped to 57 for 6 and 85 for 7 before Moeen Ali and David Willey revived the pre-match favourites with an unbroken 57-run stand, allowing them to survive going toe-to-toe with Afghanistan.”We planned to play simple cricket and see what happened,” Rashid said. “On that time, we thought we have to restrict them to under 100, we tried our best to restrict them under 100, but unfortunately they played good cricket, especially Moeen Ali, so they made it to 140.”In reply, Afghanistan stuttered to 13 for 3 after three overs, which included the dismissal of their star batsman Mohammad Shahzad, for 4. Despite losing regular wickets, they still managed to take the game to the wire, Shafiqullah’s unbeaten 35 from 20 balls capping a spirited fightback that meant England could not be sure of victory until the final few deliveries.”We didn’t start well, but we did well in the middle, we took responsibility,” said Rashid, who was promoted to No. 5 and made 15 in only his fourth T20I innings. “It was a good game, a close game, we will learn from it and in the future we will not repeat the same mistakes.”Afghanistan may not be able to qualify for the semi-finals after three defeats from three in Group 1 but they will have one more chance to finish the tournament with victory over a Full Member when they take on West Indies in Nagpur on Sunday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:03

Sangakkara ton downs England

Sangakkara fined for code of conduct breach

Kumar Sangakkara has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Article 2.1.3 of the ICC code of conduct, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”.
The incident occured during the 34th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, when Sangakkara got involved in a prolonged discussion with on-field umpire Bruce Oxenford, disputing his decision to not allow Sri Lanka to take the batting Powerplay at that time. Two balls later, following the dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sangakkara turned to Oxenford and made another inappropriate comment.
After the conclusion of the match, Sangakkara admitted the to offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee David Boon.

A masterful century from Kumar Sangakkara helped Sri Lanka wrap up the ODI series against England with a thumping 90-run victory in Pallekele.Sangakkara, who had made half-centuries in the four previous matches, compiled the 20th century of an exceptional career as Sri Lanka reached 292 in their 50 overs. On a slightly two-paced pitch offering assistance to bowlers of all varieties and at a ground where no side had ever chased more than 240 to win an ODI, it was an overwhelming contribution.If, as expected, Sangakkara retires from ODI cricket after the World Cup, this will have been his last limited-overs innings in international cricket on what might loosely be termed his home ground. If so, he left his supporters – and there are many – with vivid memories of a great player combining experience and prodigious natural ability for the benefit of his team.The result means that, with one match to play in the series, Sri Lanka have an unassailable 4-2 lead. It also means that England have lost six of their last seven ODI series and nine of their last 12 ODIs. They have also been bowled out in eight of their last 11 ODI innings. Here they left eight-and-a-half overs unused.Alastair Cook has endured several wretched days over the course of this year, but few can have been worse than this. Not only did he fail again with the bat – missing a straight ball that did not turn – but he dropped a simple and hugely costly chance in the field and saw England miss their overrate target yet again.The dropped chance may well have been the turning point in the game. Sangakkara was on 41 at the time and, attempting to drive a Ravi Bopara delivery over the top, gifted a simple chance to mid-off. But Cook, with his mind scrambled and his focus elsewhere, was unable to cling on to a straightforward chance. Sangakkara punished the miss ferociously.Cook has now scored one half-century in his last 21 ODI innings. It is 30 months and 45 innings since he reached 80 in an ODI. And to make his embarrassment all the more acute, the only ODI series England have won this year came in the Caribbean when Cook (and other 50-over players) were rested to provide opportunities for the shorter-format specialists ahead of the World T20. The last time England won an ODI series under Cook was in New Zealand at the start of 2013, meaning they have won one of the last nine ODI series under his captaincy.That an England camp bursting with analysts and statisticians have ignored such figures is puzzling.Increasingly, though, Cook’s ODI captaincy appears untenable. The reprieve of Sangakkara might prove to be the final straw. Cook has, of late, seemed to drop everything but himself.The day had started well for England. Steven Finn and Chris Woakes delivered probing opening spells and conceded only 27 off the 10-over Powerplay. Mahela Jayawardene, promoted to open in place of the dropped Kusal Perera, was beaten by a hint of swing and hit a leading edge to mid-off.But Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan added 153 in 30.3 overs for the second wicket. Initially cautious, they accumulated without risk and then accelerated with a class that took they match beyond England.Having lost their way against England’s spinners in the previous match, they were notably more proactive in this game. Dilshan utilised the switch hit to score off the impressively tight James Tredwell, while Sangakkara disrupted Moeen’s lengths with his swift footwork and ability to rock on to the back foot and out away the short ball.Sangakkara took 22 balls over his first 11 runs and 71 to reach his 50. But his next 50 took only 34 balls and, as he pulled and drove Chris Jordan for sixes, or skipped down the pitch to hit Mooen Ali over mid-on, England’s cricket became ever more ragged.Jos Buttler missed two chances – one a desperately tough stumping, the other an error of judgement when he called for a catch that would have gone almost straight to James Taylor – while England’s bowlers donated another eight runs in wides. Their tally in the six match series to date is 64.Though Sangakkara fell with five-and-a-half overs to go, the platform he had built allowed Sri Lanka’s lower-order to attack with freedom. With England’s seamers persisting on pitching short, Sri Lanka’s batsmen plundered 67 from the final seven overs.England never threatened in reply. Though Moeen caressed two sixes and a four in one Dilshan over and Joe Root sustained his form with a half-century, they lost three wickets in the first Powerplay and six before the halfway stage. Taylor played for non-existent spin – Sachithra Senanayake’s new action has left him tidy but lacking bite – Bopara edged a wide one and Buttler, sent back by Root, was run-out by a brilliant pick up and throw from Lahiru Thirimanne.Suranga Lakmal, brought in for the dropped Dhammika Prasad, bowled with impressive hostility to claim career-best ODI figures. Eoin Morgan was unfortunate to receive a brute of a lifter first delivery and could only glove it to the keeper, Root missed an attempted scoop and Chris Jordan edged one that nipped away.While Woakes produced a fluent innings, the damage was long since done. It was Sangakkara’s day, for sure, but it might be Cook who looks back on it as a defining moment in his career.

In the end it was as simple as this. The West Indies selectors decided their team were a greater chance of beating Australia without Shiv Chanderpaul than with him.That realisation arrived in discussions following the drawn series against England, but also as a result of broader examinations of Chanderpaul’s record, which had recently begun to trend drastically down from his illustrious record.For Clive Lloyd, a fellow Guyanese, the decision to jettison a player as respected as Chanderpaul was a difficult one, but ultimately a matter of cricketing logic. In the loose collective of islands that make up the Caribbean it was bound to have created plenty of debate in circles both sporting and political, but Lloyd and the coach Phil Simmons were able to present a united and uncompromising front when explaining their choice of players to face Australia.”Over a period of time we’ve noticed a decline in form … over the last 11 innings he’s averaging 16, so we thought the time has come to look towards younger players,” Lloyd said in Barbados.”I don’t think there’s any bitterness. I think he realised that at 40 years old he’s not going to be in the same shape he was at 20. We just thought that here it is, we must make a decision. We have a lot of good young cricketers and we think it’s time we inject the youth into our cricket.”Simmons said that while they had considered the possibility of allowing Chanderpaul one final curtain call against Australia, it would not have been for reasons of sentiment. Once the selectors decided to move on, there was no thought of a farewell tour.”He’s had a long and illustrious career, and we know he’s done a lot for West Indies cricket, but at the same time we sit down to select a team against Australia,” Simmons said. “When you go through that process he didn’t fit in.”It’s not about giving someone two Tests to finish their career, it’s about picking the right team to play the next game.”There are plans in the works for an appropriate acknowledgement of Chanderpaul’s career, a journey so long that it commenced in 1994, when Simmons was still part of the Test team and West Indies were still proudly in possession of an unbeaten streak that had begun in 1980. While Chanderpaul did not play in the 1995 series that saw Australia finally end that run, he was for most of the intervening years the most stubborn defender of a team in decline.”I don’t think there’s anybody here who can have admired Shivnarine Chanderpaul more than I have,” Lloyd said. “You’re in awe of the man, he’s given yeoman service. But there comes a time.”It will be some time before Chanderpaul comes to terms with the decision. The aforementioned stubbornness was evident in his refusal to concede that his career was on the wane, leaving Lloyd and Simmons with the difficult task of talking him through their judgment.”He still thinks he’s good enough to compete,” Lloyd said. “We had a discussion, but the point is that we made up our mind about what we wanted to do.”We do have a lot of exciting young cricketers and it is an exciting time for our cricket. We are hoping that these guys come through, and show their mettle.”The training squad of 12 assembled in Barbados will be swelled to 14 following the conclusion of the tour match between the Australians and a WICB President’s XI in Antigua, in which numerous young hopefuls will attempt to prove themselves worthy of a Test berth.It also appears likely that Chanderpaul will be joined in his newfound state of spectatorship for this Test series by the West Indies’ IPL collective, as Lloyd and Simmons made it clear the Test team would be composed entirely of those players either training in Barbados or playing the Australians in Antigua.

ScorecardSeven hundred and thirty five days and counting. That’s how long it has been since the Sydney Thunder last won in the Big Bash League and on Friday, not even the most remarkable innings from a most remarkable cricketer could break that drought.Michael Hussey’s extraordinary 85 from 56 balls wasn’t enough, as Shaun Tait and the Strikers held their nerve to inflict the Thunder’s 15th consecutive defeat.Michael Hussey’s 56-ball 85 could not take the Sydney Thunder over the line•Getty Images

Hussey could not have done more to win this game for his new team. Aged 39, and nearly 12 months since retiring from international cricket, his superpowers have not diminished even the slightest.He entered at 2 for 20 in the fourth over, chasing 154 to win, and watched from the non-strikers’ end as Michael Neser claimed Ryan Carters to be on a hat-trick and send the Thunder further into the mire.But Hussey remained unfazed and accumulated eight runs from his first 12 balls in a typical risk-free manner. Then on the 13th delivery, on a wicket where it was difficult to score off balls that were banged, Hussey advanced at Neser and lofted him into the stands over long-on.In the next over, he charged at the legspin of Adam Zampa and hit him inside out over wide long off for six. The Thunder needed 96 runs from 60 balls and Strikers captain Johan Botha turned to the raw pace of Tait, but Hussey still didn’t blink. He hooked the first-ball bouncer for six, glided a length ball fine of third man for four, and pulled another short ball though square leg for four more.Seventy-nine off 54 became 56 off 42 after Zampa’s third over, as Hussey reached his fifty with another six. Eoin Morgan, who played Robin to Hussey’s Batman, hit a trademark reverse sweep for four in the same over to keep the runs flowing.The pair combined for 109 off 75 balls and by the time Morgan had holed out to Callum Ferguson at backward point, the Thunder needed just 25 from 22.But the youngster Kurtis Patterson struggled to get Hussey back on strike, and ran himself out with 11 to win. Tait was thrown the ball for the final over and Hussey fell 15 metres short of victory, getting caught by Johan Botha at deep long-on.Earlier, the Strikers were pleased when asked to bat first after losing the toss. Michael Klinger cover-drove the first ball for four to lay the foundation for a classy 44. The Thunder bowlers, led by Dirk Nannes, Gurinder Sandhu and Chris Woakes adjusted their lengths on the unique drop-in wicket to restrict the Strikers after their positive start.But a very skilful innings from Nathan Reardon tipped the total past 150, and in the end, it was just a little too much for Hussey and the Thunder to overcome.

Sri Lanka remain hopeful that Suranga Lakmal will be fit for the second Test against England at Headingley, despite a hamstring injury keeping him out of the current squad.Lakmal suffered the problem during the one-off T20 at the start of the tour but his rehabilitation is understood to be going well back in Sri Lanka and he will undergo a fitness test while the first Test, at Lord’s, is ongoing. He could then rejoin the squad for the second Test, which starts four days later.The make-up of Sri Lanka’s seam attack could be key to their chances of upsetting England in the Tests and claiming an unexpected sweep of all three series. Lakmal has emerged alongside Shaminda Eranga as one of Sri Lanka’s preferred new-ball bowlers, under the tutelage of Chaminda Vaas, and his absence leaves some uncertainty around the line-up for Lord’s.Eranga has recently been left out of limited-overs competition to preserve him for Tests but he has not played a competitive match since February. He has been Sri Lanka’s most successful Test pace bowler since his debut in 2011, with 38 wickets, putting him ahead of the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara and Lakmal.Welegedara’s last Test was in 2012, while Nuwan Kulasekara is only a fitful performer in the longer format, despite his importance to Sri Lanka’s white-ball cricket. Nuwan Pradeep, perhaps the liveliest of the seamers on show in Northampton, where the third day was washed out by a heavy morning downpour, is also in contention, despite a modest Test record of eight wickets at 89.25.Prasanna Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s Test wicketkeeper, said of Lakmal, “If he’s fit, he’ll definitely come in”. Jayawardene had a good view of Welegedara, Pradeep and Dhammika Prasad, the other seamer in the tour party, from behind the stumps at Wantage Road and suggested the competition for places was a good sign for Sri Lanka, as they attempt to add to Test wins on English grounds in 1998 and 2006.”Lakmal is a huge loss but everyone saw yesterday that our pace bowlers did brilliantly on this track,” Jayawardene said. “We have a good pace attack so we can do much better on this tour.”Jayawardene indicated that Sri Lanka want the opportunity to bat again on Sunday, when the forecast is more promising and play will begin half an hour early. The batting line-up has not inconsiderable experience of conditions in England and Jayawardene’s only Test century outside the subcontinent came in Cardiff in 2011 – a bittersweet experience, as Sri Lanka collapsed for 82 on the final day to lose by an innings.Having won the T20 and ODI encounters – the latter amid some rancour – Sri Lanka can claim a psychological edge going into the Tests. With England in transition and expected to field three debutants for the second match running, this series represents a tantalising opportunity for a rare success away from home.”We all want to do that, I think we have a good chance this time, because we had a good one-day series and morale is high,” Jayawardene said. “All the boys did well – fielding, batting, bowling. So we are going for the Test series, 100 percent.”It’s not easy coming from the subcontinent, we have to adapt to the conditions very early, adjust our technique when batting and bowling in these conditions. After the one-day series loss, they are coming hard, we’re expecting that.”

India medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a soft-spoken and shy person but he could not hide his excitement after receiving the Polly Umrigar Trophy for the Cricketer of the Year award at the annual BCCI awards function in Mumbai on Friday.”This reminds me that when Virender Sehwag was awarded the Cricketer of the Year trophy in 2007-08 and I was the Under-19 cricketer of the year, I walked up to him and asked him if I could see from close how the big Cricketer of the Year trophy is,” Bhuvneshwar told the audience. “It feels really special to hold this trophy today.”Over the last two years, Bhuvneshwar has established himself as a key member of the Indian team in all three formats. While he cemented his place in the side with accurate swing bowling, his batting flourished during India’s tour to England earlier this year. Bhuvneshwar finished with 263 runs and 22 wickets in seven Tests, 17 wickets from 22 ODIs, and seven wickets from as many T20 internationals during the period considered for the award.”I would like to thank all my team-mates today,” Bhuvneshwar said. “Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to hold this trophy.”While all of Bhuvneshwar’s team-mates applauded his achievement, the gathering stood in unison when former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar was presented the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by his former team-mate and BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav.”I was going through the list of the previous award winners and it’s an immensely honourable feeling to have joined such a special league. I thank the BCCI for honouring me with this prestigious award,” Vengsarkar said. Two of the previous 21 recipients – Chandu Borde and Ajit Wadekar – also gave Vengsarkar a standing ovation.While several top BCCI officials attended the function, N Srinivasan and Sundar Raman skipped the event. The ICC chairman and the IPL chief operating officer have been under investigation by the Supreme Court for their alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal.

Peter Moores has expressed his “frustration” had not being allowed more time to develop the England side after his second spell as coach was brought to an abrupt end on Saturday with confirmation of his sacking.It came less than a day after he had been in charge of the side during the washed out ODI against Ireland, in Malahide, but that followed a winter of woeful limited-overs results then, most recently, the drawn Test series in West Indies which ended with defeat in Barbados – a reversal that has proved the final straw.However, Moores leaves the international arena – for the second time – retaining the utmost belief in his abilities as a coach and believes that England will reap the benefits of what he has done over the past year.”My record in developing players stands for itself and though we have had some frustrations along the way I am confident that this team will go on and bring the success the supporters desperately want to see,” he said.”I knew when I took on the role that this was going to be a tough period for English cricket and I would need time and support to get new players through. My frustration is not being given that time.”I believe time will show that I have been instrumental in the identification and development of a new group of England players who will go on and bring honour and success to the England badge. I am a passionate Englishman who believes in hard work and an investment in the right people will bring its rewards.”There are strong parallels with Moores’ previous spell as England coach. As in the 2007-2008 stint, when he recalled Graeme Swann, first selected Matt Prior and brought together James Anderson and Stuart Broad as the new-ball pair, there have been signs of promise from England’s younger players – particularly in the Test arena.Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler and Chris Jordan have been introduced to the Test team, Gary Ballance has flourished, Ben Stokes showed glimpses of his promise on recall in West Indies, while Joe Root has bounced back emphatically from his poor tour of Australia. There has, however, been far less to cling to in the limited-overs formats with series defeats against Sri Lanka home and away, India and then the first-round exit at the World Cup.”To the players I want to say thanks for your support and commitment and I will be gutted not to work with every single one of you going forward. I wish you all the very best for the future,” Moores added.

Andrew Ellis smacked a fast-paced 143 in Canterbury‘s first innings to shape his side’s eight-wicket win over Northern Districts in Hamilton. Ellis also chipped in with the ball, taking five wickets in the match, including 3 for 43 in the second innings.Ellis’ 170-ball knock, which included 13 fours and eight sixes, reinforced Canterbury’s advantage after they had bowled Northern Districts out for 257 in the first innings. Northern Districts had stabilised after early wickets through a 68-run partnership between Dean Brownlie and Bharat Popli (55) but suffered a batting implosion, losing seven wickets for 69 runs. It was Daryl Mitchell’s 84 that pulled them past the 200-mark to a score of 257. For Canterbury, Todd Astle claimed 3 for 87, while Hamish Bennett and Ellis picked up two wickets apiece.Ellis’ hundred was complemented by Ken McClure’s 96 and an 81 from Cam Fletcher. McClure and Ellis were involved in a 235-run, fifth-wicket stand that hauled the side to safety from a precarious 77 for 4. Once the pair were dismissed, Fletcher led the side’s rally, guiding them to a score of 485. Legspinner Ish Sodhi was the pick of Northern Districts’ bowlers, picking up 5 for 167, backed up by Scott Kuggeleijn’s 4 for 133.Northern Districts batsmen got starts but only Popli (94) and Kuggeleijn (53) went on to make substantial scores as they were dismissed for 316. Canterbury brushed aside their target of 89 in 17 overs and climbed to second place on the points table.George Worker’s all-round efforts – a knock of 123 and a four-for – supported by centuries from Dane Cleaver and Greg Hay set up Central Districts‘ 87-run win over Wellington, their first of this season’s Plunket Shield.Put in to bat, Central Districts amassed 424 for 6 declared, riding on a 230-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Cleaver and Worker that steadied them after they were 148 for 5. Cleaver hit 20 fours and five sixes in his 208-ball 151 not out, while Worker stroked 15 fours and two sixes.In response, Stephen Murdoch (89) and Tom Blundell (92) powered Wellington to 370 for 7 dec. Kurt Richards was the pick of Central Districts’ bowlers, picking up 3 for 77.Hay then built on Central Districts’ 54-run lead with a patient 127 not out to steer them to 314 for 6 declared, setting Wellington a target of 369. Top-order fifties from Luke Woodcock and Stephen Murdoch (82) gave Wellington a good start but their chase fell away after a batting slide that saw them lose five wickets for 26 runs. Luke Ronchi waged a lone battle scoring 88 as Wellington lost eight wickets to left-arm spinners, Ajaz Patel and Worker, with Worker taking 4 for 58.Brad Wilson’s 107 and Neil Broom’s 84 helped Otago play out a draw against Auckland after they were set a target of 444 at Eden Park.Auckland managed to post a 444-run target thanks Jeet Raval’s unbeaten 202 in the second innings that included 28 fours. Rob Nicol and Colin de Grandhomme also contributed with fifties, the latter striking 52 off 43 balls with six fours and two sixes.After being inserted, Auckland were bundled out for 277 on the first day, riding on fifties from Nicol (60) and de Grandhomme (59). Tarun Nethula then led their response with the ball, taking 3 for 64 to help dismiss Otago for 265.With the draw, Auckland picked up six points to maintain their position at the top of the points table.