Cricket: Wellington in box seat as Canterbury cave in

WELLINGTON - Wellington gave themselves a real chance of securing a face-saving victory over Canterbury with nothing more than good, honest toil in their Shell Trophy cricket match at the Basin Reserve yesterday.

Canterbury were on the rack at 128 for seven at stumps on the second day in reply to Wellington's first innings of 390, still 112 runs shy of avoiding the follow-on.

Wellington looked to have wasted their first-day dominance when they added just 103 runs to their overnight score of 287 for three.

However Canterbury self-destructed when they batted after looking comfortable at 100 for three.

They will now have their work cut out today to avoid the follow-on with the Basin reserve pitch offering variable bounce and turn.

- NZPA