Auckland 12-7 .... Wellington 432-0!

THE scores are reminiscent of one of those back garden games when the older boys take on the juniors, only this is a first-class match and the team being battered are Auckland, 23 times winners of New Zealand’s premier regional competition, the Plunkett Shield.

Their batsmen must have felt like kids as five of the top seven returned to the Basin Reserve pavilion in Wellington, a traditionally high-scoring ground, having failed to trouble the scorers. The score at the time? 12-7!

In fairness, something of a recovery followed with Auckland finishing with 62 all out. And, surely, Wellington would struggle, too.

Several playing hours later, however, the home side were an astonishing 432-0, a record opening stand in New Zealand cricket.

Wellington went on to declare at 553-3 before claiming a huge innings victory within three days.

Wellington’s record breaking openers were Michael Papp and Luke Woodcock.

Journeyman Papp, 38, who had been doing the rounds of New Zealand first-class cricket since 1998, scored 316 not out and voiced a level of surprise that would have further humiliated Auckland when he said: “I’d struggled in preseason and was just hoping to get off the mark and anything else was a bonus, to be honest.”

Woodcock made 151 and at 35 it meant Auckland had been shown up by a pair with a combined age of 73. Scores: Auckland 62 (Newton 4-26, Bennett 3-2) and 286 (Raval 73).

Wellington 553-3dec (Papps 316no,Woodcock 151). Wellington won by and innings and 205 runs.

There was another domestic record-breaking batting performance in the opening round of the new Plunkett Shield season.

South African-born Brad Schmulian, 27, who had been trying to make his way in New Zealand cricket for some seasons, made the highest individual innings on firstclass debut.

He hit 203 off 207 balls for Central Districts against Northern Districts at Mount Maunganui, beating the previous best of 175 that had stood for 136 years.