Add another name to the emerging crop of young fast bowlers in New Zealand, Ian Butler from Northern Districts.

The New Zealand Under-19 representative from last summer allowed his side to gain a significant advantage over Central Districts in their State Championship match at Blenheim's Horton Park today.

Times were when Marlborough's own fast bowlers Gary Bartlett and Michael Wilson were in their prime the Horton Park pitch was one of the fastest in the country.

It still remains one of the bouncier pitches, and while not as fast as in its heyday, it created enough problems for bowlers of both teams to exploit.

But at the moment it is Northern Districts who are in charge, although just how much they are able to cash in depends on the batsmen, and three of them are gone.

By stumps, CD had been dismissed for 181 and in reply ND were 84/3.

However, this was not a pitch that should have so favoured the bowlers. Rather it demanded greater application and graft by batsmen prepared to bide their time.

CD has been a batsman short in games to date, and with that in mind it tried promoting Campbell Furlong to No 3 to try and arrest some of the batting decline that cost it a chance against Auckland.

His 23 under normal circumstances would have suggested the ploy hadn't worked, however, given the nature of the CD batting, it positively shone out of the scoreboard.

It is likely to have caused Furlong only small comfort, because he had done all the hard work to build a more substantial innings when he chipped an easy return back to bowler Joseph Yovich to be caught and bowled.

Yovich had earlier claimed a key wicket when removing David Kelly, a century maker in his last game, for 11.

But it was Butler who added sting to the ND attack to give it an even more effective look than last season.

He had Richard Scragg out in his first spell downwind this morning, and then had Richard King leg before wicket for 31 in the middle of a fiery, fast spell.

Captain Robbie Hart kept manoeuvring his attack, especially when he had Scott Styris bowling impressively to keep the scoring down, to good effect.

While wicket-keeper Bevan Griggs offered some hope of a lower-order recovery, he was only able to find suitable support from Michael Mason. They added 28 runs, hardly earth-shattering but timely in the context of CD's innings before Butler ended Griggs' 109 minutes of defiance with a catch to Robbie Hart. Griggs scored 31 and then Butler shattered Lance Hamilton's stumps to finish with four for 44, an impressive return and one that offers ND great hope if it can keep its attack together.

ND then found itself under pressure, as CD's bowlers responded. Mason cleaned up James Marshall for seven with the score on 16.

Matt Hart and Mark Bailey were just starting to look comfortable but CD had just the right man to sort them out in Andrew Schwass. And sort them out he did in his first over.

Off the first ball Hart, who had been milking space wide of slips for boundaries, didn't get his measurement quite right and found Furlong waiting to take a low catch, then four balls later Bailey tried to tickle a ball down the leg side, but he failed to get enough bat on it and it flew to Griggs to leave ND 58/3.

Schwass ended on two for 11 from his five overs while Mason had one for 15 from 10.

It was left to Styris and Hamish Marshall to take ND to 84/3, but to make CD pay for a disappointing batting effort, they must assume control tomorrow morning.

However, such has been the lack of batting commitment on the first day, there is no way that CD can be considered out of this match yet.

© CricInfo