KEY POINTS:
If Auckland have a superstitious bent, they'll keep Paul Hitchcock opening for the remainder of the one-day championship.
Consider the evidence: last summer, when Auckland had a dismal State Shield campaign, they had one win and one tie, both against Northern Districts, to go with seven defeats and one abandonment.
In both the ND games, Hitchcock bagged centuries at the top of the order, 108 not out in the win at Eden Park, 107 in the tie in Hamilton.
He hit a useful 39 in the first-round win over ND this season and followed up with 82 on Saturday in a 156-run second wicket stand with captain Richard Jones, which laid the groundwork for a five-wicket bonus point win over Canterbury at Eden Park.
Chasing Canterbury's reasonable 233, Auckland made no race of it, eclipsing the target with 10.3 overs to spare. They head south today for a double header against Otago at Queenstown tomorrow, then leaders Wellington in the capital on Friday.
Auckland finished last a year ago; now they lie second and are in good spirits.
"I don't think we could put our finger on it last season," Hitchcock said. "We certainly had the team, we just weren't getting the performances.
"This season we did a lot of hard work through the winter as a team. There have been thoughts round the country that Auckland play as individuals. This season's been a bit different and it's showing in the results."
Hitchcock, who played 13 one-day internationals primarily as a medium pacer, is, at 31, one of the old hands in a team sporting more new faces than in recent seasons. That has helped, but Hitchcock knows tough challenges lie ahead.
For one thing, they haven't had to bat first so far. In those two ND games last summer, Auckland chased a target, so in their last four points-gathering games the batsmen have got them home.
"The results show we like chasing," he said. "On the bowling side, we've got a couple of spinners who are working well but as medium pacers we still haven't quite clicked yet, so it's been good to get that out of the way and see what we're chasing.
"The test will come when we bat first and see what we can get then put pressure on our bowlers."
* Northern Districts are in a funk after their third straight defeat, Central Districts handing out a nine-wicket defeat at New Plymouth's Pukekura Park.
Apart from captain Peter McGlashan's unbeaten 86 and some late hitting from Daryl Tuffey and Graeme Aldridge, it was a sorry batting effort after being sent in. Once CD openers Geoff Barnett and Jamie How got set, 214 was always going to be too small a target.
The CD pair put on a brisk 153, Barnett making 91, and captain How finishing unbeaten on 78 and Peter Ingram ended 43 not out.
* Wellington made short work of Otago at the Basin Reserve, for the second game in a row getting a hand from the Duckworth Lewis system.
Otago were rolled for a meagre 128 and Wellington reached their rejigged target of 92 in 12.2 overs for a nine-wicket win.
Standings
State Shield points after three rounds:
* Wellington 14
* Auckland 11
* Central Districts 7
* Otago 5
* Canterbury 4
* Northern Districts 0
Round four
* Tomorrow: ND v Wellington, Taupo; Otago v Auckland, Queenstown;
* Wednesday: Canterbury v CD, Christchurch.
