While Auckland fought their way back into their Shell Trophy match against Wellington on the second day today Wellington, 113 runs ahead at the close, must still be slightly favoured to get the outright win they need in the sprint to the Trophy finishing line.

Wellington wrapped up the Auckland first innings in the first two sessions today for 182 runs, giving Wellington a first innings lead of 65 and two valuable Trophy points.

However, Auckland struck back to take the top four Wellington second innings wickets for 48 runs between tea and stumps of a lovely summer's day today, and so Wellington will have to step carefully lest Auckland start the quicker tomorrow morning.

The trend of this match suggests they will not. In fact, the evidence of this game so far shows that Wellington would be an almost unbeatable team if they could abolish the third session of play each day.

On the first day yesterday Wellington scored 109 for two wickets before lunch, and 192 for four wickets by tea.

Then they lost six wickets for 55 in the fateful third session. Today the pattern was virtually the same. Wellington dominated the Auckland first innings, taking six wickets for 89 runs before lunch, and finishing off the innings at 182 a click or two after afternoon tea.

Then Wellington turned about and lost four prime wickets for 48 runs in the third session.

If it is any consolation to the Wellingtonians who seem to take two steps forward and one step back, the fate of the game should be decided in the first two sessions today, and Wellington might escape the pitfalls they have encountered between tea and stumps.

Auckland made their usual dreadful start to their first innings. They lost four wickets for three runs in their last first innings against Central Districts last week.

Today they were three "ducks" for nine runs as Andrew Penn (two wickets in his second over) and Ian O'Brien (one wicket in his first) made the usual early inroads.

Thereafter Auckland struggled along, Dion Nash scraped together 27 runs and Auckland's perpetual batting hero, Kyle Mills (promoted to No 6) kept the rest of the innings afloat with a solid 50.

This continued the amazing runs of big scores by a bowler who used to live about No 8 or 9 in the list.

In nine innings this season Mills has scored 538 runs from five completed innings, average 107.6. Going back to his debut a few seasons ago Mills' average is now a neat 69.

Wellington seemed to have caught the Auckland collapse disease when they lost Richard Jones at nine in their second innings, and there was worse to follow when Matthew Bell (5) was second out at 11.

Grant Donaldson was taken at 24 and Dion Nash had Selwyn Blackmore lbw at 42 - Blackmore the ninth lbw victim so far among the 24 dismissals.

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