High and Dry: Easts in seventh heaven

Lance Dry can't quite believe it.

He thought one was good, two great and three superb, but seven titles in succession?

The Eastern Suburbs skipper reckons it's ridiculous.

Easts made short work of final number seven in The Dominion Post premier competition yesterday when they beat North City by seven wickets.

The 32 they needed to complete the win looked a bit more of a mountain than a molehill for a while yesterday.

"It looked like 100 for a while there," Dry said. "We were 3-8 and the 32 looked a wee way off, but you should always get 32."

They did get there to secure a historic seventh straight victory that confirms Easts' domination of the Wellington club scene.

Dry, who has captained Easts to each title, said while it looked easy in the record books, it was hard work in the middle.

"Certainly in these last few years, we've had to come from behind to win it. At the start we probably dominated but everyone else has raised the bar, and we've had to scrap it out and win.

"It's hard to believe to be honest. It's hard enough to win one, but seven in a row, it's ridiculous."

Dry played a heavy hand in the victory with 70 not out in a first innings total of 385 that included a century to John Peters. Norths' Michael Martin was out one short of a century in Norths' second innings of 235 after they had scored 181 in the first innings.

The only black mark on Easts' win came when Somerset professional John Francis smashed the stumps after he was out for his second duck. The ill-tempered display was witnessed by Cricket Wellington chief executive Gavin Larsen and may yet have a sequel.

"He had a bit of a moment, but he has been fantastic for us," Dry said of Francis. "It was a black moment, but it didn't overshadow what we've achieved."

Meanwhile, Hutt District secured their place in the premier league for next summer when they beat Johnsonville by five wickets in The Dominion Post senior final.

Hutt replace Petone-Riverside in the top flight.

Hutt were helped to the win by a 98 from Andrew Nightingale in their first innings of 325. Johnsonville's Sam Outtrim secured 10 for 138 in the match with his left-arm spin.

- © Fairfax NZ News