Cricket: Walker ends long wait for victory

By TERRY MADDAFORD

With the scores tied and after waiting an eternity for Andrew Penn to bowl the last ball of the match, Auckland captain Brooke Walker nonchalantly pulled the ball over the backward square leg boundary to give his side victory over Wellington last night.

The two-wicket win in the gathering gloom, with opener Tim McIntosh unbeaten on 70 in a match-winning 301-minute stay, took Auckland to the top of the points table.

Despite the weather, which did its best to ruin what had always shaped up as a good contest, the game produced plenty as fortunes switched from one team to the other, and often back again.

For the three test players - those likely to bat in the top four in the first test against India at the Basin Reserve - the State Championship match was no confidence booster.

Batting at four for Wellington (his likely test spot), Stephen Fleming faced only five deliveries for a "pair."

For Auckland, opener Mark Richardson batted 112 minutes in the first innings for 21 and 10 for four in the second.

Lou Vincent, at No 3 in this game but set to join Richardson at the top of the test innings, followed a first-innings failure with 40 in 50 minutes yesterday.

The match-high innings came from Chris Nevin in Wellington's middle order.

In a little over two hours of trying conditions, Nevin scored 73 invaluable runs (10 fours and a six) before being cut short by a stunning catch.

Facing a sometimes wayward Gareth Shaw, Nevin cut a ball destined for the boundary rope.

Auckland captain Brooke Walker, at a slightly backward point, threw out a hand, one felt more in hope.

Amazingly, with both feet off the ground, he held tight and a shocked, head-shaking Nevin turned to saunter away.

The rest of the innings, which had begun its rain-interrupted course during the first session on Friday, produced 29 runs before Mark Jefferson skied a more comfortable catch to Walker.

Set 220 to win at a trifle over three runs an over, Auckland began badly when Richardson did not play a shot in being deceived by Andrew Penn.

Vincent (40 in 50 minutes) and McIntosh gave some hope before Vincent holed out.

Reece Young, promoted to No 4 as Canning stayed put, followed soon after.

McIntosh and Rob Nicol mounted another partial recovery before Nicol (27 in 45 minutes) departed, followed soon afterwards by Kyle Mills and Andre Adams.

With the runs required heading towards four an over, McIntosh and Craig Pryor sought to increase the pace, but without ever really mastering Penn and Matthew Walker.

After agonising as Pryor snicked him through the gap in slips, Walker celebrated one ball later as Pryor repeated the shot and was comfortably taken at first slip by Fleming.

As James Franklin was hampered by injury and managing just two overs for 13 runs, the workload was with Penn, Iain O'Brien and Walker.

Walker had a brief respite, then took some punishment from Canning as he and McIntosh fashioned their decisive 66-run stand for the eighth wicket.

But Walker had the last say. His well-taken caught and bowled ended Canning's 80-minute stay at 41 runs, with Auckland within 14 of victory.

Brooke Walker, a more than competent batsman anywhere in the order, and McIntosh, deservedly saw it through against a Wellington attack that faces a fine for falling short of the overs-per-hour rate.