An unbeaten knock of 164 by captain Jarrod Englefield highlighted a superb start by the New Zealand Academy XI to its two-day game against Pakistan A at Lincoln Green.
Englefield shared in two century partnerships for the third and fifth wickets as the BIL Academy team - the baby Black Caps - amassed 392 runs for five wickets by stumps last night.
'The boys knuckled down very well,'' Academy director and coach Dayle Hadlee said.
``Jarrod built into his innings slowly and he had a little bit of luck early on, but he certainly found some form that had been missing for quite a while.''
The match, which ends today, is part of Pakistan A's build-up for the conference cricket series.
The two teams will meet again in a three-day match at Lincoln on Friday. Hadlee said both sides had agreed to that encounter being played as a first-class fixture, but were awaiting official confirmation from New Zealand Cricket.
Englefield, a batsman from Blenheim who captained the New Zealand under-19 team to second place at the junior World Cup, had a scare while on 14 when he skied a regulation catch, but the ball was dropped at mid-off.
The mistake proved costly for Pakistan because Englefield went on to slam 19 fours and two sixes in his innings of 164 not out.
He took 174 balls to reach his 100, bringing up the century in unusual fashion with a five, after taking one run and picking up four over-throws.
Hadlee was pleased with the Academy's over-all batting display against a Pakistani attack led by two opening fast bowlers with test experience, Shahid Nazir and Abdul Razzaq.
Rain delayed the start of play for 43min and the Academy lost its first wicket with the score at eight.
Canterbury's Brad Doody departed for 25, but Englefield and James Marshall put on 121 in 123min for the third wicket.
Marshall made 87, including eight fours and a six. David Kelly (Central Districts) shared in a 39-run stand with Englefield, and Kyle Mills (Auckland) contributed a brisk 66 as he and his skipper rattled on 167 fort he fifth wicket.
Left arm spinner Mohammed Hussein was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers, with one wicket for 80 off 27 overs.
Short scoreboard:
New Zealand Academy XI 392 for five wickets (Jarrod Englefield 164no, James Marshall 87, Kyle Mills 66; Shahid Nazir 2-94, Mohammed Hussein 1-80) met Pakistan A at Lincoln Green.
Day 2: Moral win to Academy
The New Zealand Academy cricket team can look forward to its three-day fixture against Pakistan A with some confidence after having the better of their two-day game.
Academy director and coach Dayle Hadlee said the three-day match would be ``a big step up for the boys'', but he was pleased with their performances in the shorter game, which ended at Lincoln Green yesterday.
Captain Jarrod Englefield, resuming on 164, completed a double-century and New Zealand declared when he reached that milestone, at 468 for seven. The Blenheim batsman was in for nearly six hours and he faced 265 balls in his marathon stay, hitting 23 fours, and one six.
Pakistan A also scored freely and the opening stand between Ijaz Mahmood and Wajahatullah Wasti was worth 153 in 124 minutes. Ijaz was finally dismissed for 102 off 101 balls. He struck 15 fours and two sixes.
Left-arm spinners Mark Jefferson and Bruce Martin had long spells and took six of the seven Pakistan wickets which fell before the declaration at 300 for seven.
The Academy team raced to 92 for two in the 13 overs before stumps. Opener Lou Vincent needed only 43 balls to score his unbeaten half-century, which included eight fours and one six, and Canterbury's Brad Doody made 25 off 24 balls.
Short scoreboard:
New Zealand Academy XI 468-7 dec. (J Englefield 200*; S Nazir 2-122, A Razzaq 2-73) and 92-2 (L Vincent 50*)
drew with
Pakistan A 300-7 dec. (I Mahmood 102, W Wasti 41, R Latif 51*; B Martin 2-104, M Jefferson 4-46).