Chris Drum sent big signals out to the Test selectors today as he led a depleted Auckland attack to a comprehensive victory by an innings and six runs over Canterbury at Eden Park in their fifth-round State Championship match.

Drum, bowling with pace and control, took five for 33 in the second innings to go with his five for 22 in the first. His dominance came as Canterbury, needing 178 to avoid the follow-on, crumbled in the morning, stiffened their resolve in the afternoon, and then ran up the white flag as Drum made maximum use of the new ball to take the last three wickets.

Canterbury started the day at 49/1, still 129 behind. Auckland started the day without Tama Canning and a doubt over Drum as cramp had restricted his appearance the previous evening to one over. They also lost Gareth Shaw with a groin strain suffered while fielding but not before the debutant had bowled Aaron Redmond for 17 just when the Canterbury all-rounder looked to be settling in.

Drum, with assistance from his captain, Brooke Walker, was left to shoulder the burden and did it magnificently. He was fast and accurate and the Canterbury batsmen had little answer. They might look sideways at the drop-in pitch - and not a few comments were passed during the match about its uneven bounce. However, shot selection and execution had plenty to do with the cheap demise of many of the batsmen on both sides.

In the morning session, Canterbury lost six wickets, going from the overnight 49/1 to 106/7 (very similar to Auckland's innings before their eighth-wicket record partnership) at lunch. The pattern was set when Shanan Stewart tried to belt the second ball he faced from Walker and only managed to dolly it to Llorne Howell at point. He departed for his overnight score of 35 and the procession began.

Only the resistance of Gareth Hopkins (36) and Ryan Burson (26) in a 48-run eighth wicket partnership allowed Canterbury a sniff of at least making Auckland bat again and at best forcing a draw. After the collapse in the morning, Canterbury got through to the shadow of tea before they lost another wicket. But Hopkins' departure with the score at 149 after Drum took the new ball was the signal that the end was nigh.

A couple of Warren Wisneski belts offered entertainment value but Drum would not be denied, cleaning out Burson and Chris Martin with successive balls to end the innings at 172, six runs short of making Auckland bat again.

Walker, two for 43 off 25, and Aaron Barnes, two for 20 from 14, provided Drum the support he needed. It was a special match for both players, Walker collecting his 100th first-class wicket, Barnes his 50th.

Commenting on the pitch, the Auckland coach, Tony Sail, noted that the main problem was that, being under covers for a couple of wet days. it was soft on the first day. But, as he said, it did dry out.

Certainly Matt Horne and then Reece Young and Rob Nicol on the first day of play, Stewart in both innings and then Hopkins and Burson showed that it was possible to build innings.

Sail signalled out the youngsters Young and Nicol for praise and acknowledged Drum's fine contribution.

Of Canning and Shaw, he said their injuries would be assessed over the next two days before the match against Northern Districts starting on Monday on the Outer Oval, into which Auckland go as competition leaders on 19 points, five points ahead of their neighbours.

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