The Central Stags has claimed a five-wicket win against competition leaders Otago thanks in part to an impressive half-century from veteran all-rounder Kieran Noema-Barnett.
Otago set the Stags a target of 185 after scoring 184 for seven wickets in their innings with a quickfire 41 runs from 19 balls by opener Hamish Rutherford a highlight of the batting.
Central Districts got off to a slower start with both their openers falling inside the first five overs to leave the Stags 37/2.
However, the hosts managed to claw their way to 92/4 by the 13th over, leaving an exciting chase on hand for the middle order.
Enter 32-year-old all-rounder Noema-Barnett.
Noema-Barnett scored a game-changing 55-runs off 30 balls to get his side back on track with four sixes, all launched to deep square leg, helping him bring up his half-century off 29 deliveries.
Noema-Barnett departed soon after but set the temp for his side to claim a victory as they pulled off the five-wicket win with an over to spare.
The win sees Central Districts move to third in the Super Smash leaderboard ahead of Auckland while Otago hold on to first but could be overtaken by Wellington, who have a game in-hand.
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