Cricket: Harris holds out at end of laborious innings

Canterbury and Wellington played a game of patience yesterday, with Wellington seemingly holding the winning hand in their match at Rangiora.

Canterbury laboured long and hard on the third day in their quest for the 400 runs needed for first innings points, but when stumps were drawn at Dudley Park the home team were still 61 behind and with their last pair at the crease.

International Chris Harris will resume today on 73 with tailender Chris Martin at the other end.

With the third new ball only four overs old Wellington will expect to quickly wrap up the Canterbury innings and claim the two available points.

The match is destined for an early finish, with the pitch placid and Wellington unlikely to open opportunities for Canterbury to chase an outright win.

Whether Canterbury should have declared at tea, when they were 290 for six, and put the ball back into Wellington's court is debatable.

Harris and Gareth Hopkins, who later departed for 30, were well established and the target was coming more into sight.

Earlier, Canterbury resumed on 145 for three and Michael Papps and Paul Wiseman comfortably went through to the first drinks break having advanced the score to 205.

Iain O'Brien, who finished with five for 103 off 45 overs, changed the course of the match in the hour before lunch.

He was as persistent with his medium-paced deliveries as the Canterbury batsmen were with defensive shots.

O'Brien struck as Papps pushed at a delivery and was well caught in gully, Wiseman wafted one to the wicketkeeper, and Peter Fulton's wickets were shattered in his first appearance this season.

Papps had scored 87, Wiseman 38 and Fulton a duck.

O'Brien, who had none for 66 after 21 overs, took three for 12 off his next six.

Harris and Hopkins did their best to grind down the Wellington bowlers in the afternoon, but Matthew Walker finally beat the bat and trapped Hopkins leg- before to end an 84-run partnership, and O'Brien came back to snare two late wickets and get his fourth bag of five at this level.

Harris resisted to the end. He batted for almost five hours and faced 214 balls in scoring his 73, while the Wellington bowlers have delivered 50 maidens among their 168 overs.

Highlights of the Wellington innings were the century by former New Zealand opener Matthew Bell, 55 by Richard Jones and Neal Parlane's 75.

Bell and Jones shared an opening partnership of 124.

- NZPA