Date-stamped : 28 Dec95 - 10:32 Shell Cup 1995-96 Auckland v Northern Districts. Eden Park No 2. 26 December 1995. This was the first game to be played on Eden Park No 2 ground`s new Patamahoe soil pitch which, in the opinion of most commenta- tors whose opinions we have seen expressed, was not as bad as the scroecard suggests. The match also marked the return of former New Zealand opener Blair Pocock who has been sidelined by a serious shoulder injury for more than a full season. His strong 51 was the highlight of an otherwise lacklustre batting performance by both teams, (although a massive six into the eastern stand by Kiwi opener Craig Spearman thrilled the crowd!). The match got off to a late start (noon) while the ground dried out from overnight rain. ND looked to be building a healthy target for Auckland with the first wicket to fall that of Brian Young at 48. Wayward bowling from Murphy Sua (who finished with 0/53 from his 10 overs) ap- peared to be helping, however captain Justin Vaughan slowed the scoring considerably, eventually finishing with a noteable 4/15 off his 10. A shower in the 14th over of the Auckland innings caused a 40 minute delay and reduced the side`s target to 168 and their max- imum overs to 46. In short, Auckland was never in the hunt once Spearman and Patel`s wickets had fallen relatively cheaply. Pamment took 16 overs to score his 12, during which time he saw the early and middle order batting line-up come and go with as much pace as the bowling attack. Wickets fell at 27, 36, 44, 60, 61 and two at 63. Contributed by Robert Stockdill (supermag@ihug.co.nz)