Wellington completed its metamorphosis from mediocre to outstanding to give themselves a semi-final chance when beating Northern Districts by six wickets at the Basin Reserve today.

It was arguable which underwent the largest transformation: the weather which overcame its morning petulance to allow the Shell Cup match to be played to a conclusion in Wellington's favour or Wellington's form.

Wellington beat the Cup leaders Northern by seven wickets in a match reduced by splenetic morning wind and rain from 50 to 38 overs, surpassing Northern's total of 173/9 with 2.4 overs remaining. In so doing, they completed a run of three emphatic home wins in six days and placed themselves in all likelihood a single win away from a place in the competition semi-finals.

If Wellington beat Canterbury in Christchurch on Thursday they have a very real chance of entering the Cup playoffs - an achievement which seemed entirely lost to them less then a week ago as they suffered at the bottom of the Shell Cup table.

The New Year has seemed to furnish Wellington with a new and firmer resolution. They ended the old year with an almost farcical New Year's Eve loss to Central Districts at Waikanae - beaten when they let the Stags score more than 70 runs for their last two wickets.

But this millennial year - grimly omened by science fiction, has brought them a series of one-day successes which have fully redeemed their earlier deficit of performance. Their recent wins have been by five wickets over Auckland, 102 runs over Otago and by seven wickets today over Northern's powerful squad and they now have the heady momentum of the late backrunner.

They might have been at least concerned and more likely depressed when they arrived at the Basin Reserve today to find the ground battered by a relentless, angry and malicious wind and swept by flurries of rain. There seemed little chance, as the light faded and the ground became by mid-morning as gloomy as an English mid-winter, that any play would occur today at all.

The wind was a larger factor than the rain. In swept across the ground in muscular and boisterous gusts, picking up sheets of dust from the barren wicket block and casting them ahead of it like a routed army.

But the day improved in slow degrees and though it was still cool and blustery when the players took the field in a game shortened by 12 overs per side at 2.30pm, the improvement was then taking place by slow degrees.

Northern won the toss and batted and, after losing openers Daniel Vettori and Simon Doull for 27 runs inside the first six overs, were at once at a loss in the senses of both momentum and purpose. Their innings was a hodgepodge of fighting innings and rank capitulations.

Mark Bailey made 54, toiling for 100 minutes and facing 75 balls, and Hamish Marshall made 37, joining Bailey in the innings' most substantial partnership of 69 for the fourth wicket. But there was little else to bring a glow to Northern's cheeks, other than the chill wind and a sense of embarrassment.

Alex Tait and Daryl Tuffey added 29 at the close, Tuffey taking 18 runs from 10 balls but the innings ended at 173/9, in a total which seemed unlikely to tax a Wellington team in demonstrated batting form.

Wellington began the chase for that total with Chris Nevin and Matthew Bell respectively the bugler and standard bearer. The day had become mild a summery, the wind a vestige of its former self, when they came to the crease under the lengthening shadows of the early evening.

In a contemptuous assault on the Northern bowlers, particularly the international opening pair of Tuffey and Doull, they gave Wellington a start and a momentum which made their progress to the winning total matter of fact.

Bell and Nevin smashed 64 runs from the first 8.4 overs, before Nevin was out for 29. The opening stand was the largest of the season for the rampant Firebirds.

Bell went on to 44 before he was out in the 16th over when Wellington were 86/2. He had batted only 60 minutes and hit eight wonderful boundaries.

The Wellington openers had succeeded in that unheralded early assault in hitting both Tuffey and Doull out of the attack. Doull's first three overs cost 29 runs and he didn't return to the attack; Tuffey's first two overs cost 22, though he did return to bowl three overs for 10 runs later in the innings.

Roger Twose and Stephen Fleming then took the responsibility for the innings and in a stand faintly reminiscent of their record partnership of only two days ago, they carried Wellington to a position of unassailability.

They put on 69 for the third wicket in only 53 minutes, leaving Wellington 155/3 when Twose was out for 40, 19 runs from the end.

Fleming went on to reach his 50 two balls before the winnings runs were scored - ironically from a wide and a leg bye. He had batted 95 minutes and his scoring shots included seven fours and two sixes, one from his Black Caps teammate Daniel Vettori. Twose had batted 53 minutes for his runs and hit five fours and two sixes.

There was some kudos for the Northern bowlers. Grant Bradburn and Vettori were introduced to the attack when Wellington were in full flight and succeeded in slowing their rate of scoring. Bradburn bowled three overs for five runs at the height of the assault and allowed only 19 runs from his first six overs. Vettori's first five overs cost only 16 runs.

But the greatest bowling credit today went to James Franklin - the young man the New Zealand team won't trust to bowl at the death, who took wickets at both ends of Northern's innings, taking his first spell into the raging Northerly, and finished with his Shell Cup best: 4-30.

© CricInfo