Adams the only Auckland smiler as Northern Districts win

Andre Adams, the bustling all-rounder, was probably the only Aucklander who could raise a smile as Northern Districts outplayed Auckland by 60 runs with a smart all-round performance in the State Shield one-day cricket match on Eden Park's outer oval today.

Adams' place in the New Zealand World Cup squad became firmer as he survived a stiff test on his back injury. He bowled at about three-quarter vigour to take four for 37 from ten overs in leading the Auckland bowling effort as Northern Districts scored 218 for seven in their 50 overs.

However, Adams scored only a seven-minute two as the Auckland batting struggled and finally expired at 158 in 44 overs.

Ross Dykes, one of the New Zealand selectors who must deliver the 15-man World Cup squad by the middle of next week, said he was heartened by Adams' vigorous bowling, and by the way he was able to come back for a strong second spell.

"He will have to come through a similar test at Alexandra on Monday when Auckland play Otago," said Dykes, "but Andre gave a very encouraging performance and that pleases me."

If a stranger without World Cup favourites in his head had watched the game he would have lavished more praise on the two Northern Districts men - Joseph Yovich, the 26-year-old all-rounder, and Matthew Hart, the former New Zealand left-arm spinner - who saved their team's cause in the early afternoon.

After choosing to bat first on a tired-looking pitch - a relic of the Auckland-Wellington State Championship match earlier this month - the Northern Districts first innings stuttered along. Adams and Richard Morgan reduced Northern to 26 for two and then three (the third being Scott Styris, another World Cup candidate, for a four-ball duck) and eventually Northern were on then ropes at 81 for five.

Half Northern Districts' overs had been used up, and 150 or 160 seemed an optimistic target as the old pitch was not the easiest of batting surfaces. By the time Yovich arrived at this critical point, Hart had dug in with his dogged left-handed batting.

Yovich is usually a low-order struggler, but he started today at No 7 as if he regarded himself as the confident batting star of the team. Soon he was stroking fours about the smooth outfield. A couple of sixes rocketed over the long-on line. Heartened by this (pardon the pun) Hart increased his scoring rate.

Very soon the Auckland bowling began to look a little thin, the fielding not as keen and sharp as it had been early in the innings. They scored 50 runs together in 37 minutes from 66 balls and kept up the momentum with a second 50 in 40 minutes from 56 balls.

By the time Adams bowled Yovich, the tall young man had scored 70 from 90 balls, including two sixes and seven fours, and the 107 runs he added with Hart had carried Northern Districts to 198, considerably better than the early limp batting had suggested.

Hart went at 204 for seven, 153 minutes for his 62 from 81 balls, and Northern Districts probably had a very comfortable lunch.

Matt Horne might have upset them with four quick fours in the opening Auckland attack, but he hit himself out at 30, Llorne Howell did the same at 39 and when Mark Richardson was caught behind after an unwise slash outside the off-stump, Auckland were three for 52, and worse at 55 for four when Tama Canning was run out.

Hart, aided by Styris, then stifled the Aucklanders with their pin-point accuracy (Styris' first spell read 6-3-6-0), and Hart thoroughly deserved figures of 10-0-30-2, although why he should concede eight no-balls must remain a mystery.

Brooke Walker, the Auckland captain, led a dogged rearguard action with 33 not out from 79 balls, but the smart Northern Districts fielding wrapped up the rest of the innings.

James Marshall was the star in this department, with superb catches to remove Horne, Howell and Rob Nicol, and them a brilliant stop and dive-pass of the ball to run out Morgan.