Auckland gathered in several Shell Trophy records as they annihilated Northern Districts by an innings and 275 runs before lunch on the fourth day of the Trophy match on the Auckland Outer Oval today

Auckland were on the verge of one of their biggest and most spectacular Shell Trophy wins when they had Northern Districts reeling on the ropes after the third day of their match on the Eden Park Outer Oval today

Auckland, the humble, pointless cellar-dwellers of the Shell Trophy competition, might have been permitted to walk tall and proudly after completely dominating the second day of their four-day match against Northern Districts at the Eden Park Outer

The 15-Test international career of Blair Pocock, the Auckland opening batsman, was not notable for his supply of good luck with form, selectors and injuries, so he was entitled to a critical piece of good fortune at the start of the Shell Trophy

Blair Pocock joined another former New Zealand opening batsman Matthew Bell in knocking on the national selectors' door with a fluent Shell Trophy century today, but Pocock, the Auckland captain, does not expect he will be re-admitted to the Test

Auckland will attempt to break a Northern Districts hoodoo when they play their four-day Shell Trophy match, starting on the Eden Park Outer Oval tomorrow

If Auckland cricket faces were blushing when they lost their Shell Trophy cricket match against Otago in three days on Friday, they were scarlet with embarrassment -- tinged with anger -- when Otago thrashed them in a low-scoring Shell Cup one-dayer

Vic Cavanagh used to rely on his Central Otago farmers for his rugby ruggedness back in the 40's, and yesterday a staunch man from Oturehua showed that the breed of strong Central cricketers is still something for Otago to cherish

Otago answered several of their new coach's calls when they outplayed Auckland to win their Shell Trophy cricket match at Eden Park today with six wickets and a day to spare

Stephen Fleming, the 27-year-old New Zealand cricket captain and no stranger to recent criticism of his leadership, received a high pass mark from his coach David Trist yesterday -- and with the promise that Fleming may soon move from B-plus to A on

All Brooke Walker wants for Christmas is a sympathetic doctor --and six dot-ball overs

Otago had their foot firmly on the Auckland neck by the halfway mark of their Shell Trophy match at Eden Park today, and the home side will struggle to survive the third day tomorrow

Provided the national selectors agree it will be full-speed-ahead for Paul Wiseman's return to the New Zealand Cricket team which will play Zimbabwe in the one-off Boxing Day test at the Basin Reserve late this month

Otago could be well pleased with the way they handled the first day of their Shell Trophy match against Auckland today for they seldom play to their best on the foreign field that is the outer Eden Park field with its pitch of variable quality

Paul Wiseman, probably the only international cricketer laid low by a frisbee, has every chance of being fit enough to re-admission to the New Zealand team for the Test against Zimbabwe starting at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, on December 26

The Ireland team for the CricInfo Women's World Cup cricket tournament scored highly for charm when they reached their Hamilton base this morning - and even higher for enterprise

The Sri Lanka coach Guy de Alwis hopes his all-or-nothing approach will lift the Sri Lankans' performance during the CricInfo Women's World Cup tournament that will start in Christchurch next week

New Zealand Cricket face a loss of $1.8 million in the coming season, but the NZC chief executive Christopher Doig is not heading for the hills

Even before the dust of the first defeat by South Africa at Bloemfontein had settled Christopher Doig, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, was hailing the development of two of the latest New Zealand players, Mark Richardson and Brooke Walker

"Two wins would be good, but we will be trying for more," was the promise of Betty Timmer, manager of the Netherlands team for the Cricinfo Women's World Cup after their round-the-world struggle to reach New Zealand today