KEY POINTS:
Auckland rookie David Houpapa struck a brutal maiden State Shield century to gift his side a win over Wellington by 10 runs at Westpac Stadium yesterday.
In just his fourth match at this level, 25-year-old Houpapa's 101 off 89 balls included seven sixes and nine fours and was
a standout performance in this table-topping clash.
It meant 78 runs of his innings came from boundaries as Auckland reached 245 before they were dismissed in the 48th over.
Half centuries to Matthew Bell, Neal Parlane and Grant Elliott weren't enough as the Wellington chase stuttered to 235 for seven when their allotted 50 overs ran out.
Bell's 52, while it helped stem an early collapse, came from 111 balls and was ultimately too slow as his teammates tried to make up time.
Parlane (50) also struggled against the accuracy of seamers Chris Martin and Paul Hitchcock and only Elliott's 53 off 42 balls took the fight to the visitors.
Early in the Auckland innings opener Lou Vincent showed a return to form with a smartly-struck 48.
Western Australian-born Houpapa struggled for a consistent partner and he was relatively circumspect at the outset before thumping his second 50 off just 24 balls.
The result sees Auckland leapfrog Wellington by one point at the top of the State Shield standings at the halfway point of the competition.
Meanwhile, in Alexandria, all-rounder Jacob Oram took another step on the road to recovery and a place back in the Black Caps in yesterday's match between Central Districts and Otago at Alexandra's Molyneaux Park.
Central won the toss and sent Otago in to bat, restricting the southerners to an achievable 208 for eight in their 50 overs. Oram, who tore his hamstring in the second test against Sri Lanka last month, contributed a steady six overs for 14 runs.
But Central's batting faltered, and they fell just short at 204 for nine.
Otago were looking comfortable until the loss of two wickets in three balls in the 35th over, and battled to see out their 50 overs.
But Central struggled to put together any partnership of substance, and were in trouble until Mathew Sinclair put them back on track with a quickfire 54 off 69 balls.
But the run chase faltered in the last 10 overs, with the last four wickets falling for just 20 runs.
* Canterbury play Northern Districts at QEII Park in Christchurch today.
