KEY POINTS:
After a hiccup in the Twenty20, Auckland will look to pick up where they left off when the domestic one-day championship resumes today.
Auckland lead the State Shield with 17 points, three clear of Central Districts and are chasing their third straight win over Wellington at the Basin Reserve.
They belted them by five wickets in their first one-day clash at Eden Park on January 9 - on the back of Scott Styris' thumping 94 off 75 balls - and again by six wickets in their Twenty20 clash on January 28.
That game marked a return to form for Lou Vincent, on the outer with the New Zealand selectors since the ODI series in Australia in December and coming off a short break from the game. Vincent hit 76 in 44 balls that day, and followed up with 58 from only 22, including seven sixes, on the postage stamp-size Pukekura Park against CD a couple of days later.
Auckland, top of the first-class championship table at the halfway point and seeking to defend their one-day title, lost only once in the first five rounds before the break for Twenty20, to Otago. They have batsmen making runs and bowlers doing their job, however Auckland have lost four players to the NZ squad - Styris, Kyle Mills, Paul Hitchcock and Chris Martin.
They must finish top of the round robin to secure home advantage for the final and if they maintain their roll in the next few days it is conceivable that could come down to the final group of games on February 20, when Auckland host Central Districts.
CD, a deserving winner of the Twenty20 title last Sunday, are in good touch, although they now lose Jacob Oram, Jamie How and Ross Taylor for the ODIs against England.
In today's other games, Otago host CD in Dunedin and Canterbury play Northern Districts in Christchurch.
Points after five rounds: Auckland 17, CD 14, Otago 12, Wellington 9, ND 8, Canterbury 5.
* New Zealand Cricket has St John as it's official charity for the next two years. Under the partnership, NZC will help St John raise funds at matches through test message campaigns and will provide players and memorabilia to help the charity organisation with fundraising and public awareness.
"We will work with St John to raise the profile of the vital work they carry out for the community and to help raise funds for that work, NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said.
