Cricket: One-day hosts eyeing national dominance

It is time for Wellington to complete their revival by winning the premier one-day national title against Canterbury at the Basin Reserve.

Wellington have hinted at better things in winning a hat-trick of Max titles, and last summer they became national four-day champions for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

Much of the credit rested with coach Vaughn Johnson.

He had strived to bring a winning attitude to the sport in Wellington that ebbed away through the 1990s when they lost a series of one and four-day finals after last being one-day winners in 1990-91.

Victory today would make Wellington champions in all three disciplines, with the four-day championship not decided until March - a considerable achievement.

If that occurred, no one could take greater credit than Johnson. Since succeeding Bob Carter midway through the 1998-99 season, he has brought a greater professionalism and pride to the side.

Johnson is intense and not a good watcher. He wears his heart on his sleeve. is hugely supportive yet demanding of his players, and in turn they show great loyalty toward him.

Little else matters to Johnson than furthering the best interests and performances of his players.

He has given them belief in themselves, and they have blossomed, particularly Richard Jones, Matthew Walker, Paul Hitchcock and Matthew Bell, who needed to come to Wellington to realise their potential.

Johnson declined to say the players were confident about today's outcome but they can afford to be. They have led the competition throughout, and have responded so well in pressure situations they know what it takes to win.

Wellington's only loss in the preliminaries was to Canterbury, who won by 36 runs at the Basin.

Canterbury have been almost totally dominant in the one-day game for more than a decade, and invariably have punished Wellington.

But given the strengths of today's lineups the preliminary defeat need not be regarded as more than a hiccup.

A key figure in that game, former New Zealand fast-medium bowler Warren Wisneski, is out with a groin injury.

Wisneski's hard-hitting 44 from 38 balls took Canterbury to 219 for seven in the round-robin, and Wellington responded erratically with 183.

Last time Wellington were in the final, in 1999, captain Gary Stead's 84 turned the match in Canterbury's favour. He is among the best one-day batsmen in the country, and a canny leader.

If anyone can deny Wellington, Stead has the ability to.

The old Boxing Day test pitch has been revived. It should be hard and with no fresh grass, good for batting.

- NZPA