Central Districts, perennial whipping boys in domestic cricket over the years, turned giant killers at Jade Stadium in Christchurch today and won a famous victory over Canterbury to claim the Shell Cup for only the second time in their history.

The marvellous rags to riches story of CD this season which went into the last stages of the Cup without three key members of their attack from last summer, Andrew Penn (now with Wellington), Lance Hamilton and Michael Mason (both injured) was achieved on the back of some outstanding bowling by five bowlers who worked their skills to the maximum.

Brent Hefford was awarded the man of the finals series after today's game and he typified the CD approach which saw he, Ewen Thompson and Andrew Schwass come out of the back blocks of the game in New Zealand to a level of prominence they could not have imagined at the start of the season.

Add to them the greater role played by off spinner Glen Sulzberger and the increasing bowling contribution from Jacob Oram and the mixture is all the more phenomenal.

They held Canterbury to 176/8 in their 50 overs and then relaxed as Mathew Sinclair and Craig Spearman hit CD out of any trouble at all in the best batting display of the finals to ensure their side victory, and a trip to the southern hemisphere tournament in Perth in late March.

Spearman was 71 not out at the end off 89 balls with six fours and three sixes. Sinclair was run out for 54, off 82 balls with seven fours and one six. When Ben Smith hit 44 off 47 balls with nine fours the win was sealed.

The cricket through the finals was not of the highest quality, there were too many batting faults for that to apply. But the CD grit after losing the first game made it a memorable win.

As captain Jacob Oram said: "After being one-nil down it was a big challenge to come down here and win two out of two.

"I can't say enough about our bowlers. For six games in a row they've handled the pressure. They've been very basic, straight, the back of a length and to bowl Canterbury out for under 200 three times in a row, on top of the 73 and 67 we had in the last two rounds of the Cup was outstanding."

The players had been disappointed in losing the first final in Napier, not so much just for the loss, but for the way they had lost.

"We knew we hadn't played to our full potential. And I'm really happy that it was our batting that was the one to fire," he said.

Oram thought the bubble had burst for the Cantabrians when Glen Sulzberger dismissed Nathan Astle and Gary Stead with successive balls.

Astle and Craig McMillan had added 75 for the second wicket and looked set to give the CD bowlers the greatest test.

But once the two wickets were lost, the nature of the requirements for McMillan changed.

"We knew Macca [McMillan] had to go on and bat through. At that stage they were still only scoring three and a halves and if we did well from there they could score between 220-250.

"But even if they got that I still had confidence in our batters," he said.

Oram also acknowledged a four-day camp the team held at the Rugby Academy in Palmerston North as important in the development of the season.

"That was huge. Normally we had only a two-day camp before the start of the season and so much was coming at you that it tended to go in one ear and out the other.

"But this time we had four good days and we built a culture and feeling with everyone in the team wanting to play for each other, and that was seen this weekend. It is so important for us because we come from everywhere," he said.

Sulzberger's effort was crucial with his second three-wicket haul in two days, his first three-wicket hauls. He took 3-27 from 10 overs and he could take special satisfaction from the success after his effort with the bat which ensured in the second final that CD got to a defendable total.

"I was a little bit worried the way things started. I knew they would come a little bit harder at me, especially with nine wickets in hand, at the start of my spell. But that fifth over changed things for us.

"There was a lot of determination to win and to win well. Their 170 was less than they might have got and there were a lot of nerves but Craig and Skippy [Sinclair] played some beautiful cricket," he said.

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