In one of those odd conjunctions of circumstance which give sport poignancy, even a certain nobility, Wellington achieved its first win in 11 years in the Shell Trophy at the Basin Reserve today on the 24th birthday of its first-season captain Matthew Bell.

And though there is a day remaining in this long Trophy season in which Bell has been tested for the first time under the responsibilities of leadership, he visibly relaxed tonight and gave way to what he called a "pleasant tiredness."

This has been a trying season for Bell - 23 when he was elevated to the captaincy in one of the more bold directives of Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson, 24 to the day when the season's end loomed with Wellington champions of the Max and Trophy competitions, almost finalist in the Cup.

That Cup disappointment cast the only blemish over the season. Otherwise, Bell took a full and wholesome pleasure in his personal performance both as player and captain - his five Trophy centuries and his gradual adjustment to the leadership of a young side, building unity.

He relished the development among his mainly young side of a collective pride, a sense of unity and a fierce determination to play for the benefit of each other. And he speculated, without immodesty, that his own form at the start of the season - when four of his centuries were collected - that he had provided a sound example for his team to follow.

There was often an impression this season that the captaincy had been thrust on an unwilling Bell because of the prospective unavailability throughout the season of other prospective candidates - Roger Twose, Stephen Fleming or Jason Wells.

In fact, Bell revealed tonight, he had deliberately and forcefully pressed Johnson at the end of last season to trust him with the captaincy. Though young and despite some shaky recent form, Bell believed the captaincy would be good for him and that he would be good for the captaincy.

"I said to Vaughn last year I want to captain this team next year," Bell said. "I believed it would be good for me as a cricketer and good for me as a person and I think my results have shown that to be true.

"While some days have been mentally tough and physically tough and while its been tiring, tonight it's a pleasant tiredness.

"I have to admit there was a lump in my throat at lunchtime when we had sealed first innings points and knew we'd won the Trophy. There was a lot of relief that we'd finally won."

Bell said winning the Max title had given his captaincy career an early injection, boosting his confidence and though there was disappointment in failing to perform in the Shell Cup, the Trophy became the team's main objective.

He was never one to mince words with his players and he told them during the season that he expected everyone to pull their weight; the captaincy was important to him and he would not abide anyone who made him look bad.

At the end of the third day of his team's match with Northern today, with the Trophy win secured, Bell led a very special debriefing in which he spoke individually to each of his team-mates and recalled matches in which their contribution had been vital. That had been Wellington's strength, he said: that in every match and when it was asked for someone would produce the innings, the bowling performance that was vitally needed.

"When the Trophy started I set out to bat for myself because that was my way of leading from the front," Bell said. "In these last few rounds the guys have knuckled down and peformed and I think they took a leaf from my book.

"At some stage during the season everyone contributed. There was always someone able to do the right thing at the right time.

"I make no secret about it. When I took on the captaincy I didn't want to take too much flack so I told the players straight out I expected them to stand up and be counted. I told them they had to be accountable. I said it's not good enough to bowl both sides of the wicket, to drop catches or waste wickets.

"I believe implicitly that you have to do the basics. I knew if we did the ordinary things well, extraordinary things could happen and the performance of people like Iain O'Brien (Wellington's leading wicket-taker in his first Trophy season) is evidence of that.

"So tonight it was good to be able to look around the dressing room and say to everyone that in the Trophy they all contributed - you contributed in this game, you contributed in that. That's the character of this team."

© CricInfo