Opener Rob Nicol's half-century helped Canterbury Wizards beat Auckland Aces by five wickets in the T20 HRV tournament.

Nicol hit four boundaries and three over boundaries in the pursuit to get to the winning target of 145.

His 52 came from just 35 deliveries.

Earlier, the Canterbury Wizards won the toss and elected to field first.

England's Ravi Bopara scored a half-century helped by A K Kitchen, who scored 31 of 24 balls.

Nicol shown with the ball as he captured two wickets giving away just 19 runs in four overs.

In reply, Nicol's knock was well supported by Fulton who scored 26 of 18 balls and Myburg who remained unbeaten on 37 of 37 balls.

Scott Styris went wicketless in his four overs giving away 28 runs.

Canterbury Wizards reached the target with one ball to spare.

This is the second defeat for Auckland Aces whereas the Canterbury Wizards join Central Stags and Otago Volts on four points.