Paul Hitchcock was in a pleasant, almost blissful state of shock tonight as he reviewed the bowling performance - his five wickets for 10 runs - which cast out Central Districts for 58 and gave Wellington a bonus point and a win by 110 runs in a State Shield match at the Basin Reserve.

Hitchcock recorded the 12th-best bowling analysis in New Zealand limited overs cricket - 5.3-2-10-5 - and provoked Central's dismissal for the second-lowest score in one-day games in New Zealand, counting Pakistan's 48 against Auckland in 1988/89, as the principal defender of Wellington's moderate total of 168. Otago's 64 against Wellington was previously the lowest score by one New Zealand province against another.

"It all happened so quickly," said Hitchcock who is sandy haired, wide eyed, mild mannered and who stands no taller than the average height of his interviewer.

"There was a little bit of movement there for us when we started to bowl. We got a couple of early wickets thanks to James Franklin and then it kind of all fell apart.

"We'd been pretty confident if we could get through the top of the CD order and particularly if we could get Mathew Sinclair, that they didn't have a lot of batting to come. We accomplished that through James Franklin and then I chipped in. To get five wickets in any match is great but to get five for 10 from as many overs is just incredible."

Wellington must have come to the middle for the second innings of the match feeling that their 168 all out in 49.4 overs was barely defensible. The ball had seamed sharply on a fresh wicket during the first overs of the day, when the Central seamers exploited their captain's decision to bowl on winning the toss.

They both hampered Wellington, who were still scoreless after three overs, and they set their innings tottering when they removed internationals Chris Nevin, Stephen Fleming and Matthew Bell for 39 runs in 17 overs.

Three run outs, each a piece of foolish miscommunication, took the core from Wellington's middle order, costing the wickets of Richard Jones for 26, David Sales for 23 and Franklin for 19, and leaving Wellington 100/6. Wellington leaned on their lower order and Mayu Pasupati with 28 and Mark Jefferson with 16 carried them to 168 before their last wicket fell in the 50th over.

"I guess I thought at 168 we were going to battle to win unless we got early wickets," said Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson.

"Sinclair was crucial. We knew if we could get him early we had a chance and he was the fifth wicket to fall. We felt pretty confident after that.

"I have to say I was disappointed the ball moved around as much as it did early on. There was a good crowd and they wanted to see the ball hit around the ground and over the boundary and they didn't get that.

"But at the same time Franklin and Hitchcock bowled exceptionally well and to win in those circumstances was just tremendous."

The memory of Wellington's innings of a labouring, almost forlorn performance at its outset and of a series of petty frustrations when resistance was attempted, then of a spirited finale. Still, their total seemed inconsequential and their ability to claim a bonus point when working with such a minimal foundation deserves immense respect.

The memory of Central's innings is of a blur - a smudge of green-shirted players coming and going against a green backdrop. They started more promisingly than Wellington and they were 20/1 after five overs when Wellington, who had already lost Nevin, were 1/1.

They were 35/4 after 10 overs, where Wellington had been 17/2 and had lost Fleming. But they were 47/7 when drinks were taken before the 15th over and their innings, their hopes of victory were already in ruins.

Franklin had burst through and fractured the opening partnership with only the fourth ball of their innings, arcing a full-pitched and swinging delivery through the guard of Jamie How who hadn't scored.

Opener David Kelly, with Sinclair, made a running repair and had Central 27/1 before Franklin managed another unplayable delivery, piercing Kelly's guard and leaving his stumps in disarray.

Then came Hitchcock, introduced into the attack from the southern end of the Basin Reserve after only seven overs and after Andrew Penn, who had been unlucky, had sent down three overs for 17 runs.

He struck first when he removed Ben Smith for 0 with his third ball. Smith, who loomed as a threat almost as great as Sinclair, laid back and cut the ball sweetly off the face to Penn who stood firm and claimed a catch on the third man boundary.

Then the cascade of wickets began. Glen Sulzberger fell to Hitchcock in the 10th over when Central was 35 and, crucially, Sinclair was out for 25, caught by Jones off Franklin, when Central was 41. Greg Todd followed, lbw to Hitchcock for 42, Campbell Furlong was bowled and joined Hitchcock's victims at 47 and Michael Mason was removed by Penn at 52.

Brent Hefford became the match's fourth run out victim when he slipped in mid pitch taking a second run with wicket-keeper Bevan Griggs and was out for 0 when Central was 53. Griggs fell lbw to Hitchcock five runs later and Central were all out for 58 in 17.3 overs and only 86 minutes.

Central's last eight wickets had fallen for 31 runs in less than an hour, theirt last five wickets for 17 runs in fewer than seven overs.

That included a long hiatus in the middle of Central innings when umpires Tony Hill and Billy Bowden asked the third umpire, Dave Ellwood, to consider whether Sinclair might not have been out hit wicket.

Sinclair had taken a single from Franklin, had almost been run out at the non-striker's end and it was then noticed a bail from the striker's wicket had been dislodged. Wellington captain Bell asked the umpires to consider whether Sinclair might not have stepped on his own stumps and there was a pause while that request was relayed to Ellwood and while the appropriate replay was found.

The verdict was negative but Sinclair was out soon afterwards and Central pursued a path that led relentlessly downhill.

Johnson had only praise for Hitchcock, who carries the stigma of being a one-day specialist but who harbours the hope of making a mark in the first-class game. He bowls deceptively quick medium pace, gains more bounce than might be expected from a man of his height and he has the wisdom to use wide variation.

"I think that on his day he's one of the best one-day bowlers in the country," Johnson said.

"Today his performance built the whole team up and gave us the confidence to believe we could win. He has the ability to bowl very good yorkers, to bounce the ball and he knows how to use those deliveries. His was a very intelligent performance."

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