The Plunket Shield

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30979, 8 February 1966, Page 16

The Plunket Shield

Wellington’s colourful victory at Eden Park yesterday made it a convincing winner of the Plunket Shield for 1965-1966. Wellington won all of its five matches, three of them outright, and it was singularly appropriate that its final success should come on the call of time, for this has been a season of spectacular finishes. Perhaps Canterbury, deprived of a tilt at the title by Wellington’s win, was a shade unlucky that one of Auckland’s best bowlers, R. E. Sutton, was off the field, injured, in the last exciting period of play. But there will be sympathy for Auckland, too: it has been a nen e wracking series for Auckland players, who, after the tensions and trials of their match at Lancaster Park, have had three home matches, each of which produced a tremendous finish, for only one outright victory. Canterbury’s final match, against Otago later this week, is now deprived of particular interest. But few will begrudge Wellington its success. Not a highlyregarded team when the season began, it achieved a comfortable victory over Canterbury, and, in its most important hour, at Auckland, its fielding and batting were of a higher quality than has been general through a shield series of moderate attainments but unusual interest