Wellington did just enough to defend their first innings total of 163 for nine, beating Canterbury by four runs in their Provincial A Twenty20 match at Lincoln.
The middle and lower-order did the business for the visitors, with Josh Brodie top scoring with 44. In reply Henry Nicholls brought up his fourth consecutive half-century, but was unable to see his side home as they were held to 159 for six.
The key partnership in the pursuit was forged between Nicholls (52) and captain Brent Findlay (41), with the duo putting on 81 for the fourth wicket.
However disaster struck when Findlay and Nicholls were dismissed inside four balls, with the run-rate quickly ballooning afterwards to leave the tail with a real challenge.
Their effort, though admirable, wouldn’t be good enough, as they fell just five short of victory.
Harry Boam was problematic for the Canterbury batsmen, taking three wickets in his four overs for 23 runs.
The home side however will be frustrated they had to chase such a high total in the first place.
They had Wellington 62 for five at one stage in the first-innings and were looking likely to roll them for under 100.
Brodie though fought back with 44 from 37 balls and alongside cameos from Boam (30) and Niranjan Naguleswaran (30*) towards the end of the innings, ensured the bowlers would have something to defend.
The victory puts Wellington back on top of the points table, with their clash against Auckland in the next round pivotal to who would take the title.
