Central Districts who last month rubbed Auckland's noses in the Eden Park Outer Oval dirt by dismissing them for 73 in a Shell Cup game, put the home side through another form of torture by scoring 397 for six wickets on the first playing day of their Shell Trophy match today.

Auckland made Central Districts bat first on a pitch that might have played tricks after the rain which stopped any play on the first day.

It was a gamble that went hugely wrong as Craig Spearman led a blistering CD batting charge with 96, Mathew Sinclair maintained the free-scoring pressure with 145, and Ben Smith (57) and Glen Sulzberger (34) played brisk cameos as the weary Auckland bowlers tried to stem the flood of runs.

Only in the last hour, when Auckland dismissed Sulzberger, Mark Douglas and Sinclair at a cost of 16 runs, did the home bowlers appear to have any bite or accuracy in their attack.

And after gambling that their apparently potent seam attack of Chris Drum, Kyle Mills and Andre Adams would do the early damage while the pitch was dampish, it was little consolation to the Aucklanders that of the last four CD wickets to fall Blair Pocock got one, Adams two and the leg spinner Brooke Walker one.

The pitch did have some early life and the new ball did swerve a little, but the Auckland new ball bowlers (once Drum had winkled out David Kelly at 22 for one) did not have the speed nor accuracy to make the most of the helpful conditions.

And while the ball did swing, the Aucklanders could not generate any sharp pace, and too often the Central batsmen could let the occasional good ball pass wide down the off side, safe in the knowledge that soon the supply of half volleys and long-hops would resume.

Aucklanders should know their former team-mate Spearman can hammer good bowling and murder anything that gives him a chance to play his classical cover and straight drives, and pulls and hooks to midwicket.

Sinclair's recent New Zealand one-day form has been spotty, but he was immediately into his best and confident mood today - and even then he was overshadowed by the dazzling Spearman as they scored 134 together for the second wicket in 113 minutes.

Spearman seemed certain to get a hundred between lunch (the revised starting time in the 82-over day) and tea, but his first really false shot was his last - and it took a suitably brilliant catch by Adams to remove him.

Spearman was going for his 18th four, and his century, when he tried to hammer Mark Haslam to the midwicket fence. But he got more edger than middle, the ball soared high and Adams, running like the wind, dived to take a superb one-handed catch as the ball came down over his shoulder.

There was were few similar Auckland heroics for the rest of the day as Sinclair plundered the bowling. He did not appear as fast as Spearman (121 minutes and 91 balls for his 96) and at one stage scored three singles while Spearman smashed 60.

But Sinclair's first 50 came in 121 minutes and 70 balls, and his second from 54 balls in 54 minutes.

With his typical appetite for runs, Sinclair simply surged on, and it was a measure of CD's consistently solid scoring that the first seven 50's of the innings came from 70, 49, 43, 65, 55, 73 and 65 balls.

Unlike Spearman, Sinclair had a rather limp departure. Walker, harshly treated by Spearman earlier in the warm and often sunny day, persuaded Sinclair to make a rash charge up the pitch.

The turn beat Sinclair, he evidently got a faint touch with his bat and Reece Young, the Auckland keeper was given the decision "caught," when it otherwise would surely have read "stumped."

Should Central turn their big score into an outright win over the remaining two days they may still have the chance to challenge Wellington, Otago and Northern Districts for the winning place on the Trophy ladder.

Auckland are virtually without hope, and will need a much stronger resolve if they are to avoid the kind of hammering that Central seem able to produce when they play Auckland on their home patch.

© CricInfo