Cricket: Century - then a wedding

Richard Jones celebrates his century as Chris Nevin looks on at Eden Park yesterday. One landmark will be followed by another, as Jones is due to be married in Wellington today. Picture / Fotopress

There were celebrations and a touch of sadness all round as Auckland completed their third State Championship triumph in four seasons with a richly deserved seven-wicket win over Wellington on Eden Park's outer oval yesterday.

For captain Brooke Walker and his team it was, however, the first time they had taken the honours in a final as opposed to a round-robin in which they at times had to await results from other matches.

"It is a great feeling," Walker said. "We have played well as a team and feel we deserved this."

Whether he will be around to defend the title remains debatable. Refusing to be drawn on an official retirement statement, Walker said he would take a week or a month to think things over.

"It might be the right time," he said, "but there is nothing official at this stage."

Aaron Barnes did not hold back, however. "This is it. It is the right time. I retired three years ago, but came back. But not this time. It is a perfect opportunity to call it quits."

He wanted more time with his family. His children missed him and with his new job he did not have enough time for cricket.

For Barnes, it could not have been a better finale.

Left stranded on 2999 first-class runs in Auckland's first innings, Barnes for a time feared he would not get to bat in the second innings as Auckland chased the 208 runs they needed for victory.

But he got his chance when Walker was, a little controversially, given out.

Barnes soon hit off the one run he wanted and then capped it by hitting the winning run.

Through it all, opener Richard Jones, who has played for both teams in recent years, had his own celebration.

Jones started the day on 24 and finished unbeaten on 114 - his ninth first-class century - to give himself an early wedding present ahead of his marriage in Wellington today.

In a match of milestones, Wellington captain Matthew Bell joined the party when he picked up his second catch of the innings to dismiss Rob Nicol. It was Bell's 100th catch in first-class play.

"It was a very good final," Auckland coach Mark O'Donnell said. "In any match where there are three hundreds [Jones, Tama Canning and Luke Woodcock] and three five-wicket bags [Andre Adams, Mark Gillespie and Kerry Walmsley] there can't be much wrong.

"I like the five-day concept. It allows both teams to play good cricket and that's what we have seen here."

After a disappointing one-day campaign in which they did not fire a shot, Auckland bounced back to dominate the four-day championship.

"We did the basics well," said O'Donnell, who has now won 11 of 14 championships in a final situation in New Zealand and South Africa. "The key was in not changing anything just because it was a final."

Resuming at 52 for one, Auckland batted steadily, with Jones and Nicol adding 117 in 138 minutes for the second wicket to all but play the visitors out of the game.

After the hiccups of losing Nicol and then Walker, Jones took control as he and Barnes added the 52 runs they needed in an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership.