Cricket: Otago pacemen end Wellington's stoic resistance

Kerry Walmsley's effort summed up Otago's attitude in their comprehensive nine-wicket win over Wellington in Alexandra yesterday.

While Shayne O'Connor set up Otago's victory with nine for 117 off 54.4 overs, his new-ball partner also did his share of damage.

Otago claimed the last six Wellington wickets for 84 off 34.4 overs yesterday, but it was not as easy as it sounds.

O'Connor broke through early to have Grant Donaldson and Chris Nevin caught behind, but the left-handed Luke Woodcock and Matthew Walker added a further 41 for the seventh wicket.

The partnership had started to assume menacing proportions before Walker, who had batted assertively for his 31, hit a skier off Nathan Morland which Craig Cumming held on to at deep mid-on.

Mark Jefferson joined Woodcock in another partnership of nuisance value, but Walmsley and O'Connor made the vital breakthroughs with the second new ball.

Walmsley caught Jefferson off his own bowling and, soon after, dismissed Andy Turner with an even better return catch.

Walmsley ended the season with 37 wickets, having played a vital role in one of the most demanding pace attacks in the State Championship.

It was O'Connor, fittingly, who took the final wicket when Woodcock cut hard and low but straight to Morland in the gully.

Woodcock had batted 308 minutes and 241 balls for his 80, including eight fours, his best first-class score by eight runs.

Set a modest fourth-innings target, there were a few flutters in the Otago camp when opener Mohammad Wasim was caught bat-pad without scoring from the last ball of James Franklin's first over.

But there was no panic as Cumming and Chris Gaffaney saw the shine off the new ball and then steered Otago to victory.

They added 65 in 73 minutes, Gaffaney hitting the winning runs when he clipped Matthew Bell backward of square for three.

Cumming drove magnificently through the offside for an unbeaten 39. Gaffaney was 24 not out.

It was Otago's second consecutive outright win and they finished the championship in third place.

* Canterbury ended a disappointing campaign on a high note by beating Central Districts outright by two wickets in Napier.

Bottom of the standings and outplayed over the first three days at McLean Park, Canterbury responded to Central skipper Craig Spearman's challenge to score 362 on the final day.

Spearman declared his side's second innings at the overnight score of 109 for three. It was his second declaration of the game after the home side's first innings of 542 for four, and it proved a decisive call on a perfect batting pitch.

Canterbury opener Shanan Stewart gave his side a good start with a run-a-ball 68 before Michael Papps (39) and Peter Fulton (91) maintained momentum with a 101-run stand for the third wicket.

More than 1300 runs were scored during the match, including four centuries.

- NZPA