Ellis, Bowes and van Beek lead Canterbury's win

Impressive bowling returns from medium-pacers Andrew Ellis and Logan van Beek topped and tailed Canterbury's 119-run victory against Otago with an innings and a day to spare, as Chad Bowes struck a 137 to help Canterbury retain their position at the top of the Plunket Shield points table.

In what was Canterbury's fourth win in eight matches, Ellis' 6 for 35 skittled Otago for 140 in 71 overs in the first innings, after opener Brad Wilson, the captain, top-scored with 70, while only three other batsmen managed to get into double figures.

Canterbury's reply was headlined by Bowes' 147-ball 137, that saw him share an opening partnership of 95 runs with Jack Boyle (25), before he forged two more partnerships in excess of 65 runs with Peter Fulton (30) and Ken McClure (73) for the second and third wicket, respectively.

Substantial contributions from the lower order - including Todd Astle (41) and Cam Fletcher (34) - took Canterbury to 395 for six in 110 overs on the third day, helping their side earn four bonus points for batting and eventually declare at 432 for 9.

With a 292-run deficit to contend with, the only resistance offered by Otago in the second innings was a 72-run stand for the fourth wicket between Michael Rippon (41) and wicketkeeper Derek de Boorder, who top-scored with a 123-ball 50. Van Beek starred in the final innings with returns of 5 for 43, his third first-class five-wicket haul and second in consecutive seasons at Hagley Oval, to roll Otago for 173 in 60.1 overs.

The victory gave Canterbury 20 points, the maximum available in a match - 12 for an outright win, 4 bonus points each for batting and bowling. They remain the team with the highest outright wins heading into the final two rounds.