Wellington's victory comfortable, but not convincing

Wellington completed a less than convincing, but comfortable State Shield victory over Auckland by four wickets at the Basin Reserve today.

In seemingly benign pitch conditions, on a fine and sunny day, the batsmen from both teams struggled more than they should have throughout.

With the exception of Lou Vincent (66) for Auckland and Stephen Fleming (57) for Wellington, which was a rare case of good news for the national selectors from performances by their World Cup players today, the bowlers dominated more than the conditions suggested they would.

After Wellington captain Matthew Bell had won the toss and put Auckland in, openers Mark Richardson and Llorne Howell batted their team into a good position. They put on 64 for the first wicket in confident, albeit cautious fashion, but then the wheels fell off. They went from being 64 for one in the 19th over to 77 for six in the 27th over.

Matthew Walker took three for 41 from his 10 overs and Paul Hitchcock (three for 45 from 9.4 overs) were the chief destroyers. But a needless run out of Aaron Barnes also didn't help.

That Auckland batted their full 50 overs and put on another 104 runs from that position can be mainly attributed to Vincent, who showed his class, as well as a cool head to post a total to defend.

Wellington's run chase started the worst possible way when both openers, Chris Nevin and Bell, were dismissed for ducks with six runs on the board.

But then Fleming and Richard Jones put on a century partnership that made batting look easy. Fleming was excellent. His innings of 57 included eight fours and two sixes.

Then Wellington proceeded to make hard work of the chase, in the face of some tight, stifling bowling.

This was led by Brooke Walker whose 10 overs produced one for 23 and Craig Pryor who took one for 32 from 8.2 overs. Lively contributions from Tama Canning and Heath Davis helped, but in the end their total was at least 30-40 runs short, a point Walker was quick to acknowledge at the end of the game.

Wellington have now shot to the top of the table and host Canterbury on Sunday for round eight, while Auckland travel to New Plymouth for a crucial clash with Central Districts.