Canning takes the honours on the opening day

Northern Districts 185 for 7 (Orchard 53, Canning 4-33) v Auckland
Scorecard

New Zealand's first-class season got off to a wet and subdued start after a southerly blast traversed the country over the weekend. The State Championship match between Northern Districts and Auckland only started at 2pm, but fine weather at Hamilton later in the day enabled the players to continue till well past the scheduled close, with Northern Districts scoring 185 for 7 in 70 overs.

Auckland won the toss and chose to field. Northern Districts have revamped their line-up this year with the infusion of some new blood, but the batsmen who opened their innings were two of their more experienced players, and they got the team off to a fine start. James Marshall, who has taken over as captain after the retirement of Robbie Hart, and Nick Horsley put on 58 for the first wicket in nearly an hour before Marshall (25) became the first of Tama Canning's four victims during the day.

Horsley fell for 38 when the score was on 74. Mark Orchard and Matthew Hart were just getting into their stride when Hart was caught by Richard Jones for 16 to become Canning's second wicket.

Orchard batted for 200 minutes in scoring his 53 runs but he too eventually succumbed to Canning, who showed impressive touch in the season-opener. His 24 overs cost only 33 runs and fetched him four wickets. None of the batsmen were able to get on top of him. Aaron Barnes, a medium pacer, played a fine support act, taking 1 for 27 off 16 overs.

Two other matches will start tomorrow - Canterbury will take on Wellington in Christchurch, while Otago and Central Districts will play in Queenstown.