While Auckland fought their way back into their Shell Trophy match against Wellington on the second day today Wellington, 113 runs ahead at the close, must still be slightly favoured to get the outright win they need in the sprint to the Trophy

Wellington may have made the mistake of being too cautious, too concerned about the end result of the Shell Trophy race when they stumbled to a modest first innings score of 247 on the first day of their match against Auckland at Cornwall Park today

The national selectors should not put aside their worry-beads, but they might have a quiet smile after Dion Nash started to look something like an international bowler again today

Sir Paul Condon, the former outstanding policeman now dedicated to fighting corruption in cricket, could not give an immediate answer whether Martin Crowe, the New Zealand captain, would be implicated in the investigations, but gave the long-term

Auckland maintained their topsy-turvy course through the Shell Trophy competition when they raced away to a bizarre four-wicket victory over Central Districts on the Eden Park Outer Oval today - succeeding with the unlikely task of scoring 366 to win

The fact that Sir Paul Condon, head of the International Cricket Council match-fixing investigation team, will be in Auckland tomorrow should not interfere with a thrilling, if arranged, finish to the Auckland-Central Districts Shell Trophy match at

Central Districts who last month rubbed Auckland's noses in the Eden Park Outer Oval dirt by dismissing them for 73 in a Shell Cup game, put the home side through another form of torture by scoring 397 for six wickets on the first playing day of

The Central Districts and Auckland players awaiting the delayed start of their Shell Trophy match may have created a small piece of cricket history - the start of the second day was delayed because the roller stopped play

Pakistan may have a bowling attack containing some frequently angry lions, but they were all purring like contented pussy-cats when they arrived at Auckland Airport today to prepare for their five one-day and three Test tour of New Zealand

Two members of the touring Pakistan cricket team want some hard practice before their opening one-day match against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the solid Pakistan middle-order batsman, destroyed New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup semi-final at Eden Park, but as the years passed his waistline grew, and the wags reckoned Inzamam was now the perfect judge of the well-planned

The Sri Lankan cricketers lived right up to their reputation as the world's happiest, least complicated cricketers when they arrived in Auckland this afternoon, facing five One-Day Internationals against New Zealand starting at Napier on Wednesday

It is no secret which New Zealand cricketer is rated top by the Sri Lankans

Sanath Jayasuriya returned for his fifth visit to New Zealand with a Sri Lankan cricket team today - but unable to bring a special gift

Auckland, who just missed setting an abysmally low record for a Shell Cup one-day game when they were humiliated by Central Districts on Tuesday, looked like world champions when they set a record score of 318 to five to take them to a 131-run

Lou Vincent, the 22-year-old Auckland batsman, sent the national cricket selectors a "Hey, remember me?" message when he scored a dazzling, match-winning 133 not out for Auckland in their Shell Cup demolition of Northern Districts at Eden Park Outer

Auckland have made some changes after their crippling Shell Cup loss to Central Districts yesterday, but Auckland cannot change one thing

Auckland may have the big cricketing names, but Central Districts had the spirit - and three heroic new chums - to bring them their astounding Shell Cup eight-wicket win over Auckland at Eden Park this afternoon

Central Districts have long had the reputation of a sturdy team spirit even among their players from scattered centres, and very often playing far above the average level of ability of their players

By the sound of things both coaches, Dipak Patel of Central Districts (CD) and Tony Sail of Auckland, were trying their hands at fine-weather magic this afternoon as they prepared for the vital Shell Cup match at Eden Park tomorrow