Cricket: Wellington deal out capital hiding

Wellington Firebirds bowler Mark Gillespie celebrates the wicket of Auckland Aces player Dean Bartlett. Photo / Dean Purcell

Wellington wrapped up a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Auckland at Colin Maiden Park yesterday to leapfrog the Aces into second on the Plunket Shield standings.

Leaders Northern Districts, who comfortably beat last-placed Canterbury by 134 runs in Rangiora, retain top spot on 80 points, with Wellington on 63 and Auckland a further 10 points back with four rounds remaining.

In the other match completed yesterday, Central Districts chased down 199 to beat Otago by five wickets in Queenstown and consolidate their fourth position with 49 points.

Auckland had their backs to the wall after three days of their clash against the in-form Firebirds, after Wellington opener Josh Brodie's maiden first-class double century had given his side supremacy.

The Aces went into the final day still trailing by 83 runs with only four wickets in hand, needing a Brodie-like innings to have any chance of avoiding defeat.

That prospect always appeared unlikely, with a fighting 83 from Anaru Kitchen the closest they came. Kitchen shared a 112-run partnership with Colin Munro (56) for the seventh wicket, but spinner Luke Woodcock ended the pair's resistance with the score at 188 and Auckland's lead standing at a slim 29 runs.

Former New Zealand seamer Mark Gillespie had Munro trapped in front the very next over to extinguish Auckland hopes, with Gillespie striking again in his next over to complete a 10-wicket haul for the match.

That left Wellington to chase 43 with two full sessions in which to score the runs, something they did in a canter despite Chris Martin removing Michael Papps in the first over. Brodie finished 25 not out from 29 balls to complete a fine match for the 24-year-old.

The win was Wellington's third straight in the competition, leaving them on the coat-tails of a dominant Northern Districts side.

After setting their hosts a mammoth fourth innings target of 503, the Knights had reduced Canterbury to 204-6 by stumps on the third day to all but seal the outright win. Northern completed the formalities with little fanfare yesterday, with Dan Vettori claiming his 31st first-class five-wicket bag and fellow New Zealand test bowler Trent Boult chiming in with a brace of wickets. Twenty-year-old middle-order bat Henry Nicholls was unlucky to be stranded on 93, while fellow 20-year-old Matt Henry also made a half century.

The only match of the round with real intrigue going into the final day was in Queenstown, where Central Districts needed 192 runs with nine wickets in hand to claim the win.

Warren McSkimming removed Jamie How in the second over of the morning to give Otago a sniff of victory, and when Matt Sinclair was fourth man out with the score at 55 the match was in the balance.

But wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk (74 no) shared in crucial partnerships with Keiran Noema-Barnett (21) and Carl Cachopa (40 no) to see his side home with five wickets to spare.