Two Auckland batsmen at different ends of the experience spectrum scored maiden centuries in Saturday's opening round of club cricket.

Chris Knight, 22, ended last season feeling awkward about the occasions he was called up from the Cornwall seconds to help the seniors.

He played about half the season for the premier side but only averaged just on seven runs.

"I hadn't proved myself," he said.

For a player who had scored a 400 for the Cornwall Under-19s three years ago he was under a lot of pressure.

But on Saturday, against North Shore, he put that right by posting his maiden premier century from 101 balls, and went on to 113 before he was out, to help Cornwall to 280 for nine.

"It was a big relief," Knight said.

"There's quite a bit of pressure if you are in the premier side and not getting runs. I felt awkward being there last season," he said.

Knight went to the wicket around the 16th over and with the side 60 for three to join Auckland batsman Aaron Barnes.

"He just ticked it around for me and once I had settled in and was doing the hitting he fed me the strike," Knight said.

Barnes scored 54.

Knight hasn't found the 400 he scored a burden at all. Instead, he said it created opportunities for him. Although his feat was achieved for the Cornwall Under-19s, playing with his mates during the holidays, it was sufficient to see him invited into the premier side to play in the national club championships hosted by the Cornwall club.

But until Saturday he had struggled to live up to his potential.

"I was feeling quite good while out batting. We were on an artificial wicket which was nice to bat on and I stayed in until the 43rd over. I couldn't believe it, it was an amazing feeling. Before that my highest score was 50," he said.

His efforts helped Cornwall deal to North Shore which was seven wickets down for 190 runs when the overs ran out.

However, Knight feels his greatest opportunity for advancement in sport will not be with his cricket but his hockey. He plays for Midlands in the national hockey league and was in the side which had the satisfaction of beating Auckland in the league.

Danny Todd's first century for his new club Takapuna was a different matter.

Fresh from transferring from the North Shore club where he had played much of his earlier cricket, he scored 104 off 80 balls against Suburbs New Lynn. Takapuna totalled 256 for nine in its innings and Suburbs New Lynn was only able to respond with 182.

Todd, who was Auckland's highest run scorer three seasons ago, missed much of last season due to a head injury he sustained in a skateboard accident. He had been dismissed for a duck and doesn't remember too much about the accident which he says occurred "when I should still have been out batting."

It is the third bad injury he has suffered in the last five years, all at a time when he has been on the fringes of representative selection. He did play in Auckland's Max team and has been an 'A' team player.

The first was while undergoing a fitness assessment during winter training with the Auckland squad. It was a method of putting a 40kg weight on a player's back, having him assume the squat position and then attempt to jump as high as he could.

As he put it, "my legs went but my back stayed where it was".

Then after having scored three hundreds he had his finger shattered.

"When you are playing, your fitness is something you take for granted. It is not until you are sitting back and watching your mates play that you realise how fortunate you are," he said.

Having been playing senior cricket since the age of 17, 12 years ago, he feels he is playing a lot smarter now.

"If only I knew back then what I know now," he said.

"I didn't give a chance on Saturday but I didn't bat as well as I know I can. As you get older you get patient and the artificial wicket was tough for bowlers."

It was his 11th senior century, most of them being scored in the latter part of his career, further evidence of his maturing as a batsman.

He did find that the North Shore pitch was a frustration over the years and especially between 40-70 when batsmen had to be even more careful than when they first came in.

Todd still wants to play representative cricket, although he has no idea what the Auckland selectors think.

"I still think I've got five or six years of cricket left. I might have to try the Matt Horne approach. If you get enough runs they can't ignore you," he said.

Auckland scores were:

Cornwall 280/9 (C Knight 113, A Barnes 54; N Maguire 5-41) beat North Shore 190/7 by 90 runs.

Takapuna 256/9 (D Todd 104, M Barrell 51, P Escott 45; C Fawkner 5-30) beat Suburbs New Lynn 182 (T Canning 67, R Henderson 5-21) by 74 runs.

East Coast Bays 116 (D Gallagher 3-25) beat Parnell 109 (W Barton 37; M Haslam 3-13) by seven runs.

Howick Pakuranga 207 (J Aiken 55; A Adams 3-39) lost to Grafton 209/6 (T Topia 84, Adams 54*; S Whiteman 4-26) by four wickets.

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