Wellington climbed back on its horse, walked, trotted, then finally cantered past Canterbury in their seventh round Shell Trophy match at Christchurch's Village Green.

They declared their first innings at 493/8, then unsaddled Canterbury after a promising start, to leave them at the knacker's yard door at 120/5 at the close.

Coach Vaughn Johnson, driver of a team who look like thoroughbred joint-favourites in the Trophy Stakes, told CricInfo, "I thought we played some good cricket today. We wanted to be somewhere round 500, and as it turned out we were."

This was mainly thanks to two men today, No 3 Matthew Walker, who was unluckily given out leg before, off a ball he seemed to get some bat on, when just two runs away from a maiden century, and Andrew Penn, who hit 53 not out off 39 balls.

A satisfied Johnson remarked, "Its been a pretty satisfactory day really. Walker's had his best Trophy day. He's had a few chances in the past, but he's held his hand up and done very, very well. It's just sad he didn't get his hundred."

Walker is, like yesterday's hero Richard Jones, a player rescued from cricket's knacker's yard, having played for Central Districts with limited success before finding a home with Wellington. Jones had a long career with Auckland before the glamour boys backed him as a winner.

A fellow with a surname synonymous with horse racing (Ian O'Brien), and a man who could never be a jockey, (the stout Walker), as well as the resurgent Penn, took the wickets. They were all bowling with the wind in their faces from the Port Hills End at the former trotting track at QEII Park in New Brighton, now known as the Village Green.

Penn made the comment that "I had my rhythm down there," about the second end he was tried at, as he banished last week's One-Day International nightmares into history.

The shrewd trainer, Johnson said, "He's been given a bit of responsibility within the side when he came back, looking after the younger guys, and he's done a good job. He's tried to lead by example by with the ball. Where as he didn't get it quite right early on, he certainly bowled a good spell into the wind at the finish there."

On O'Brien, captain Matthew Bell, the country's top run scorer in Trophy cricket this season, and surely a favourite in the betting for a Black Cap recall, said "once you give him the ball it's almost impossible to get it off him."

Johnson said, about the 23-year-old, who now has 25 wickets this season, just behind leader Joseph Yovich (28) who took seven for Northern Districts today, "O'Brien I thought bowled very well, with a bit of extra bounce and that's how he got his wickets, bouncing the ball off a pretty placid deck. He does bring it back in, and he can string it away too. He's bowled well all season and has had another good day again today."

It was Yovich's Knights who dismounted the Firebirds' charge for Trophy glory last week, which would be their first since 1989/90.

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