Cricket: Visitors smother Auckland

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Wellington strangled the life from the top and middle of another disappointing Auckland batting effort in their Shell Cup clash on Eden Park's outer oval yesterday.

Auckland fought back at the end, but it was too little, too late, and they lost by five runs.

Without a win from three previous outings and defending a modest 218 after being asked to bat first, the visitors expertly smothered Auckland's batting to restrict them to 93 for three from 30 overs and a not-much-better 138 for six with 10 overs remaining.

But few had counted on a belligerent Andre Adams and a solo smash-and-grab raid.

In helping himself to two sixes and a four from Carl Bulfin's eighth over, Adams gave the Aces some faint hope.

He dragged the run rate back from more than a required eight an over to closer to six.

In the end, it was not quite enough. He departed for 47 at 206.

When Richard Morgan was cleaned out by Andrew Penn's next delivery, Auckland were still 13 shy of victory with only one wicket in hand.

Then, needing six from the last ball of the 50th over for victory, Kyle Mills had a swing and missed. When he turned it was only to see his castle shattered by former Aucklander Paul Hitchcock.

But Auckland were lucky to get that close.

Their batting again lacked confidence, with few clean hits and an inability by most to hit to the fence.

Only John Aiken, in for Llorne Howell and playing his first cup game of the season, showed much early fight.

But his 56 - scored in 145 minutes and from 88 deliveries - was not used as the foundation. Instead, his team-mates seemed content to hit to the field and let the bowlers hold sway.

Wellington captain Matthew Bell walked away with not only his first points of the cup race, but a ton of credit for his batting contribution and the manner in which he defended a total the Wellington camp saw as perhaps 30 runs short.

Bell scored a match-high 61 in opening the innings, but won even more kudos for the way in which he backed his well-planned bowling strategy with astute field placings to restrict a reticent Auckland batting effort.

Bell's solid start - 61 from 101 deliveries - was later matched by veteran Jason Wells who chipped in with an unbeaten 50 in 100 minutes from 73 balls to ensure it would be a contest.

For the greater part of their innings, Auckland had the six runs Aaron Barnes and Tim McIntosh had taken from the second over as their best effort.

That served only to put undue pressure on the lower order. While Adams responded, too many who had gone before did not.

The only blight on Wellington's winning effort was their pathetically slow over rate.

The were just one minute short of four hours in the bowling of their 50 overs.

They headed to Mt Maunganui last night for tomorrow's game with Northern Districts without the injured Richard Petrie and with Bulfin in doubt.

Bulfin suffered a bruised hand when he failed to hold a sharp caught-and-bowled chance from Adams.