Cricket: Auckland after a flying start

Auckland coach Paul Strang wasn't exaggerating in saying his team must "hit the ground running" when their national one-day championship campaign starts against Northern Districts at Colin Maiden Park today.

In losing their first four matches last season, Auckland were operating with the handbrake on, were well off the pace by halfway and never recovered, finishing last. ND, by contrast, won six of their first eight and went on to win the final at Seddon Park against Otago, a match best remembered for a bizarre batting display from the southerners.

Chasing a gettable 238, a strange performance by big-hitting English import Dimitri Mascarenhas, who crawled to 17 in 70 balls, irreparably damaged Otago's chances.

"We didn't do ourselves justice in this form of the game last season," Strang added. He wasn't coaching Auckland at the time, New Zealand assistant coach Mark O'Donnell having the reins.

Auckland lost a rain-marred, contrived Plunket Shield match to ND on the same ground last Sunday, after two innings were forfeited. Although Auckland's batting lineup looks solid, the bowling will need to work hard. .

ND have bolted ahead in the Plunket Shield, 12 points clear after four rounds, with Auckland pointless at the bottom.

Dominating more than one of the three forms of the domestic game has proved a problem for all teams in the past, but ND captain James Marshall is keen for his side to press on with a one-day game which served them well last summer.

"There's still a lot of experience in the side and players understand the game well," he said yesterday.

Marshall pinpointed one key area he'll be keen to nail in the early rounds.

"I believe that usually the two best fielding sides are near the top of the table. That's one thing you can control. You can create pressure on the batsmen and it also helps the bowlers."

ND yesterday lost batsman BJ Watling and swing bowler Tim Southee to the national squad for the third test against Pakistan in Napier.

Otago meet Wellington in Queenstown, two days after cleaning them up by nine wickets in the Plunket Shield at the same ground. Wellington have six players in their 12 poised to make their one-day debuts for the province.

Canterbury host Central Districts at Rangiora, with CD welcoming back one-day internationals Jacob Oram and Brendan Diamanti.

The format has eight rounds, with a break at the end of this month before the last three rounds early in February, followed by preliminary finals for the top four teams and a final on February 21.

* National one-day championship

First round, all start at 11am

AUCKLAND V NORTHERN DISTRICTS (Colin Maiden Park)

Auckland: (from) Gareth Hopkins (captain), Richard Jones, Paul Hitchcock, Ravi Bopara, Scott Styris, Anaru Kitchen, Reece Young, Ronnie Hira, Michael Bates, Greg Morgan, Bhupinder Singh, Keeley Todd.

ND: (from) James Marshall (c), Brad Wilson, Michael Parlane, Anton Devcich, Kane Williamson, Joseph Yovich, Peter McGlashan, Graeme Aldridge, Brent Arnel, Trent Boult, Bruce Martin, Bradley Scott.

OTAGO V WELLINGTON (Queenstown)

Otago: (from) Craig Cumming (c), Hamish Rutherford, Shaun Haig, Darren Broom, Neil Broom, Sean Eathorne, Derek de Boorder, Anthony Bullick, Ian Butler, Nick Beard, Neil Wagner, Warren McSkimming, Mathew Harvie.

Wellington: (from) Matthew Bell (c), Cam Merchant, Neal Parlane, Chris Nevin, Stewart Rhodes, Luke Woodcock, BJ Crook, Dewayne Bowden, Robbie Schaw, Michael Pollard, Andy McKay, Malaesaili Tugaga.

CANTERBURY V CENTRAL DISTRICTS (Rangiora)

Canterbury: (from) Kruger van Wyk (c), Michael Papps, Rob Nicol, Peter Fulton, Johann Myburgh, Brandon Hiini, Chris Harris, Carl Frauenstein, Ryan Burson, Leighton Burtt, Shanan Stewart, Craig McMillan, Corey Anderson.

CD: (from) Jamie How (c), Peter Ingram, George Worker, Mathew Sinclair, Tim Weston, Jacob Oram, Bevan Griggs, Brendon Diamanti, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Ewen Thompson, Michael Mason, Seth Rance.