Sales puts Wellington on course for victory

This was a day on which 14 wickets fell and some of the best batting came from two tenth-wicket partnerships in a match that has seen 11 ducks, ten caught behinds and two career-best bowling performances.

It finished with Wellington in a winning position, something that was almost unthinkable after they conceded a 102-run first innings lead on a pitch that most of the batsmen have contrived to make appear something of a minefield.

Wellington are 117/2 in their second innings, needing another 125 to win the game. They have English import David Sales to thank for this. Coming in after the final drinks break, he has blasted 55 from 51 deliveries, showing the other batsmen how it should be done.

With Selwyn Blackmore, Sales has put on an unbroken 71 for the third wicket, the highest stand of the match.

The first sign that the pitch was not as difficult as it seemed came with a partnership of 37 for the tenth wicket in the Wellington first innings between bouncy stand-in wicket-keeper Glynn Howell and Jeetan Patel. The off-spinner belied his position at the bottom of the order with some classy shots in a 22 that equalled the highest score in the innings.

There was not a Northern Districts partnership as big until Bruce Martin joined James Marshall with the score on 71/8.

Only Scott Styris (one of three ducks in the innings) could claim that the pitch played a decisive role in his dismissal. A short ball from Mark Gillespie stopped on him, causing a miscue that was caught by the bowler.

Michael Parlane (0) got a peach of a yorker from Gillespie. Hamish Marshall (four) and Grant Bradburn (11) both followed deliveries down the leg side to be caught behind.

Matthew Hart (two), Joseph Yovich (0), James Marshall (52) and Simon Doull (six) all fell to attacking shots. Robbie Hart (four) was run out.

James Marshall's innings was worth a hundred in context. He was ninth out, within sight of becoming the first ND batsman to carry his bat since Bradburn's father Wynne did so twice against Wellington in the early 1960s.

Marshall put on 35 with Martin. Another 33 were added by Martin and Graeme Aldridge for the tenth wicket. Martin hit five fours in his 35, Aldridge three in his 15. They batted with an ease and lack of concern that was a portent of Sales' innings later in the day.

Gillespie was the chief wicket-taker, finishing with a career-best five for 50. He bowled a full, at-the-death length at times, giving the ball plenty of chance to swing and varying his pace intelligently. He was also brisk enough to exploit the bounce that remains a feature of the pitch.

When the Wellington second innings began with Richard Jones out for a first-ball duck in the second over, another collapse seemed imminent. But Matthew Bell and Blackmore showed what concentration and good decision making could do in a partnership of 41 for the second wicket.

Bell was lbw to Aldridge for 27, perhaps believing that he got an inside edge. Sales then appeared to take advantage of some indifferent ND bowling, transforming the game as he did so.

Nothing is certain in a match that has contained so many twists and turns, but Wellington have the wind behind them and their Sales billowing, so a victory for them around lunchtime tomorrow seems the most likely outcome.