Wellington extended their lead at the top of the State Shield table to seven points after a resounding seven-wicket victory over Northern Districts in Rotorua.

ND were outplayed in all facets of the game, the difference in the quality of the bowling being the most decisive factor. The Wellington attack was miserly, while too many cheap runs were on offer from the home side.

Rain, and vandalism, two days before the game hampered pitch preparations. It was never going to be a surface on which batsmen would feel comfortable. Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson told CricInfo that had his team batted first they would have regarded 200 as a good target to set.

The ND innings never looked likely to reach that sort of total after skipper Robbie Hart chose to bat on winning the toss. The momentum that Simon Doull often gives the ND innings was never achieved after the pinch-hitting opener was first out in the third over.

Doull was the first victim of some shambolic running between the wickets that went through the ND innings like a curse. He was sent back late by James Marshall, having no chance of beating Grant Donaldson's return to the bowler.

Newcomer Jaden Hatwell was the second run out martyr, called for a suicidal single by Grant Bradburn from a push that was in cover fielder Mayu Pasupati's hands almost as they set off. By this time ND had subsided to 74/6 in the 26th over.

At least two of the batsmen could point to the two-paced nature of the pitch in mitigation. Mark Bailey lobbed up a catch to square leg attempting to hook a ball which lost most signs of life after it bounced, while Hamish Marshall was lbw playing back to a delivery that kept unreasonably low.

A seventh wicket partnership of 47 between Bradburn and Hart brought ND to the outer edges of respectability, but it took 14 overs to compile. The tail maintained the struggle into the 50th over, but the total of 151 meant that Wellington's thoughts between innings were of the bonus point available for a win inside 40 overs.

All the Wellington bowlers performed with discipline and intelligence, as Johnson agreed. "We pride ourselves on our discipline with our bowling," he told CricInfo at the end of the match. "We concentrate on bowling in the right channels and not giving away extras."

The ambling medium pace of Matthew Walker was ideally suited to the variable pace of the pitch. His figures at the end of his first spell were 5-3-2-2. Paul Hitchcock appeared able to bowl blockhole balls at will, while Andrew Penn bowled through his 10 overs at the start of the innings, finishing with one for 23.

Penn spent most of the rest of the ND innings off the field, provoking debate as to whether he had gone into the game with an injury and therefore whether a substitute fielder should have been permitted.

Though Johnson conceded the wicket had quickened and was easier to bat on when Wellington began the chase, it was the quality of the bowling that was the most obvious difference between the two sides.

Thirty runs - all but a third of the target - came from the first three overs from the City End. Though Wellington lost three wickets in the first 16 overs of the innings they always kept the score moving. Only Bradburn (10-2-28-1) exerted the sort of pressure that would have been necessary from all bowlers if ND were to have stood any chance at all.

An unbroken partnership of 87 between Richard Jones and Donaldson secured maximum points from 36 overs. Jones' innings of 78 not out was his one-day best. He cleverly extended his repertoire of shots as the innings progressed. Quiet at first, he began to place the ball skilfully through the off side before unleashing a series of shots over the top of the inner ring as the game reached its conclusion.

Donaldson began with two pulled boundaries off Joseph Yovich before settling into a supporting role.

Coach Johnson was impressed with the performance of Jones. "He's in a rich vein at the moment. At 65/3 we would have been under pressure had we lost another couple, but he brought us through."

Above all, it was a mightily impressive team performance. "We work on pressure swings, so if we can gather momentum and have the pressure with us we will tend to get the results. I'm very pleased."

A look at the State Shield table will stretch his smile even wider. With only four rounds of the league stage left, two more wins may be enough to give Wellington the right to host the final.

ND remain in second place, but cannot afford any more performances as insipid as today's.

© CricInfo