Auckland 325 and 52 for 1 need 156 more runs to beat Wellington 235 and 297 (Woodcock 106, Nevin 68, Walmsley 5-94)
Scorecard

Luke Woodcock's composed hundred gave Wellington an outside chance in the State Championship final against Auckland at Eden Park. Trailing by 90 in the first innings, Wellington rode on Woodcock's patient knock to reach 297 in their second innings and snapped up one wicket before the close of play to give themselves a faint chance.

Resuming on 111 for 4, Wellington were in deep trouble after the loss of Neal Parlane early in the day. But Woodcock and Chris Nevin revived Wellington's hopes with a sixth-wicket stand of 101. Nevin fell for 68 and Kerry Walmsley then snapped up three more quick wickets to finish with 5 for 94. But Woodcock found another valuable ally in Azhar Abbas, the No.11, and the pair put on 43 crucial runs with some defiant methods.

Chasing 208, Auckland reached 52 for 1 when bad light stopped play. Matt Horne fell after a breezy 20 before Richard Jones and Rob Nicol saw out the day without further loss of wickets.