St Albans and Riccarton were also successful - at the expense of Sydenham and Old Collegians, respectively - and joined Old Boys in the competition lead with three wins.

But Lancaster Park-Woolston, which sat out a bye on Saturday, is also technically a co-leader, having also suffered only one loss. Sydenham was left at the bottom of the table when Burnside- West beat Marist.

There was a remarkable sameness about all four matches, which started late after overnight rain. In every case the team which batted first struggled to reach a defendable total, while the second teams at bat cruised home by between six and nine wickets.

In hindsight, Old Boys and Sydenham might regret having invited their opponents to field first. Run-scoring appeared to be an easier task as the day wore on and the strong, hot north-westerly wind dried the outfields.

Garfield Charles, St Albans' West Indian all-rounder, was undoubtedly the individual player of the round. Not only was he the highest scorer but he also subdued Sydenham's batsmen with the outstanding bowling analysis of 8-6-7-3 at Sydenham Park.

That Sydenham totalled a respectable 166 from its 40 overs was largely thanks to the efforts of Andy Thin and Simon Leigh. It was not long, however, before Charles was leading the charge. He was the dominant figure in a 134-run opening partnership with Richard Preston, Charles's 80 runs coming from 77 balls and including 12 fours and two sixes.

It was not quite a one-man effort. Preston proceeded to his half-century, and Chris Martin had been an effective assistant among the St Albans bowlers.

Big partnership

The biggest of the four prolific second-innings partnerships was 141, between opener Shaun Craig and Matthew Everest for the third Burnside-West wicket against Marist at Burnside Park. They came together at 13 for two, and the result was in safekeeping before they departed in quick succession.

Craig's 69 included 10 fours and was scored from 98 balls; Everest batted 106 balls for his 60 and hit eight boundaries. There were 12.2 overs to spare in their 50-over fixture.

Earlier, Shaun McWhirter's half-century had given Marist some hope. But no-one else reached 20 as Kristian Nuttall, Rob McHarg, and Dominic Maxwell spearheaded the Burnside-West bowling.

Robbie Frew was joined by Aftab Habib with the Riccarton innings in some disarray at 21 for three against Old Collegians at Hagley 3. But they were still together at 128, having virtually progressed run-for-run, with 5.3 overs to spare in their 40-over game.

They advanced at a measured pace, Frew and Habib raising their 50 in 45min from 74 balls, their 100 in 85min from 146 balls, and were always on course to overhaul Old Collegians' modest 126. Wayne Stead had done most damage, with four inexpensive Old Collegians wickets.

Over at Burwood Park, Old Boys was in trouble at 39 for four before middle-order men Sam Foley, Brendon Fahey, and Hamish Wardrop saw their side through to 153 for eight in 50 overs.

Wardrop completed a useful double with the ball, but East-Shirley was given a positive 42-run start by Carl Anderson and Michael Papps before Papps joined with Marcel McKenzie in adding another 88 runs in a match-clinching stand. Papps went to his half-century in 121min and 121 balls, McKenzie to his in 100min and only 79 balls.

Points after four rounds (*indicates team has had bye):

Old Boys 6, St Albans 6, Riccarton 6, Lancaster Park-Woolston 4*, East-Shirley 4, Burnside-West 2*, Old Collegians 2*, Marist 2*, Sydenham 0.

Scores

Marist 163-8 (S McWhirter 54; K Nuttall 3-38, R McHarg 2-7, D Maxwell 2-19) lost to Burnside-West 164-4 (S Craig 69, M Everest 60) by six wickets.

Sydenham 166-8 (A Thin 30, S Leigh 41, W Shiels 21, M Richards 20; G Charles 3-7, C Martin 3-22) lost to St Albans 167-1 (Charles 80, R Preston 53no, G Howell 20no) by nine wickets.

Old Collegians 126 (M McIntyre 33, J Usher 23, M Rountree 22; W Stead 4-14, L Borcoski 2-16) lost to Riccarton 128-3 (R Frew 47no, A Habib 45no; Rountree 2-29) by seven wickets.

Old Boys 153-8 (S Foley 24, B Fahey 30, H Wardrop 37; D Grocott 2-27) lost to East-Shirley 156-4 (M Papps 51, M McKenzie 55no; Wardrop 2-26) by six wickets.

Lancaster Park-Woolston bye.

Women's Senior Cricket

Meanwhile, rain forced the abandonment of the three scheduled matches in the women's senior cricket competition on Saturday, including the game at Timaru.

All teams receive a point in the one-day competition which resumes next month with the semi-finals on January 31.