Wellington acquired history today and rid themselves of history when, on their captain's birthday, in vindication of their coach and in renewed revelation of their unity of purpose, they took first innings points from Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve and captured the Shell Trophy in the last of 10 matches, on the 39th of 40 days.

They became the first Wellington team to win the Trophy in 11 years and in doing so they lifted from their shoulders the inherited reputation as a team of chokers, of boastful underachievers ... the stigma of a team which has never managed to balance scales which contain promise on one hand and performance on the other.

It may seem insignificant to outsiders but it will linger for many years in the memory of this Wellington team and its entourage that it was at 12.40pm today on a day of lacy cloud, drowsy and simmering heat at the Basin Reserve that Wellington finally ran its quarry to ground.

After a morning session in which Wellington had sometimes been deflected for their purpose and 10 minutes before lunch, Matthew Walker steered a ball from Graeme Aldridge through third man for four. The lighted scoreboard at the Basin Reserve showed 314, then flicked over to 318 - Walker's score moved from 31 to 35 - and Wellington had surpassed Northern's total of 315.

They received in that moment the two points that accrue to a side achieving a first innings lead and those points, on top of the six-point lead they already held on the Trophy table, made their advantage in the competition unassailable.

Their celebration of the moment - at least that part of the celebration they shared with the small and scattered audience of between 80 and 100 who witnessed the moment - was typical of Wellington this season in being both unified and restrained.

Walker and his batting partner and Stokes Valley clubmate Grant Donaldson, then 40, shook hands and then turned to acknowledge their team-mates. On the players balcony, on the northern wing of the RA Vance Stand the Wellington players, their manager, selector and coach, rose to their feet and returned the salute with applause and upraised hands.

And then the business of the match resumed without flourish or misplaced formality. No presentation was made - none will be till the match ends tomorrow - but Wellington simply renewed their purpose and carried on.

They had been 229/1 when they resumed this morning, needing 87 runs to surpass Northern's first innings of 315 and to capture the Trophy. They were disturbed, but only momentarily, when Richard Jones was out for 147 to the third ball of the day and before his or Wellington's overnight scores had increased.

"I tried to bat like it was still last night, I was 147 not out and I was in and batting easily," Jones said. "But it was a new day, I should have taken a while to get the pace of the pitch and play myself in again. Instead, I played a bad shot, I toed it and hit it straight to the bowler."

Then Selwyn Blackmore was out for 15 and Stephen Mather for six to the only truly poor shot of the innings and Wellington was suddenly 261/4, their scoring beginning to lose its momentum, and there might have been a nascent feeling of alarm among the Wellington players and their avid but emotional coach Vaughn Johnson.

None showed. Twelfth man Mark Gillespie worked on a crossword and Jones - whose 147 in 279 minutes was his third century in four matches and another impressive feat of concentration - had turned his attention to a book.

There was a quiet confidence still among the Wellington players and it stemmed from one of the factors which has been at the heart of Wellington's success this season. Whenever a crisis has arisen, whenever an obstacle has presented itself and demanded to be overcome - someone or more than one player in this Wellington squad has stepped up and coped with the task.

That has been the hallmark of the side. They have been a team of varied talents and even in their most difficult moments they have found a champion. Every member of this side has made a contribution at some stage of the Trophy season to Wellington's eventual success.

At this vital moment it was Walker - one of the conspicuous developers in the side this season - and Donaldson, a player with a smattering of first-class experience who has also grown in maturity and stature.

They added 85 for Wellington's fifth wicket, carried them to a first innings lead and left behind any concern that success would once again elude the team at the last moment.

Walker made 57, Donaldson 56 and the innings continued with a series of determined and valuable contributions. Chris Nevin made 23, Jeetan Patel 42 with some precocious strokeplay, Mark Jefferson was 71 not out at the end and there were partnerships of 43 between Jefferson and Andrew Penn, 74 between Jefferson and Patel.

In such a manner has Wellington built this Trophy success - with individual contributions of significance whenever the moment demanded.

Relief immediately settled over the team like a warm blanket and though they went on to make 508 in their first innings, to take a lead of 193 - the greatest purpose of the match and it's largest pleasure had already been experienced.

"It was plain relief, relief after leading from the early rounds and relief after having that choker's tag hanging over us," Johnson said. "There's also great pride - pride in the collective effort as well as individual efforts. There's satisfaction in the hard work we've put in and the job we've done.

"For me the highlights are that we've had a new captain and I appreciate the success he's had and I admire the success of the new acquistitions - Walker, Jones, Penn and the others - and I admire the contributions they've made.

"But the thing that really spoke to me about our achievement was that at lunch I looked around the room and everyone I looked at had made a contribution at some stage this season to this success. Ever time I looked at someone I could think of a game in which they'd done something important and that tops everything."

Johnson reserved none of the credit for himself yet he showered much on his young protege Bell who has been transformed under his tutelage. Nor is there a player in this Wellington squad who has not benefitted from his coaching, who has not grown as a player and a person with his influence.

"I believe that individually they have grown as people. Everyone has different personalities and needs but they've all become aware of the needs of the others and they all try to ensure those needs are met. In this team there's always been an awareness of others and a confidence in others and that's helped us make the grade. You achieve far more being selfless than you do being selfish.

"We wanted to win this. When we left Christchurch after losing to Canterbury and dipping out on the Shell Cup we said there's only one trophy left, let's grab it and we did."

Wellington carried on after achieving first innings points to reach 508 in an innings of 635 minutes and three new balls. Northern were 21/0 in their second innings at stumps.

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