John Crombie

North Otago unleashed a new bowling star and rediscovered their winning touch in a two-day match against Central Otago in Alexandra at the weekend.

An outright win, by four wickets after chasing nearly 250 runs in the second innings, has brought North Otago right back into contention for a challenge for the Hawke Cup later this summer.

It sets up an intriguing match against Southland in Invercargill early next month which may decide who wins the southern zone of the competition.

North Otago captain Mark Wilson was really lost for words last night as he contemplated a victory which has seemed unlikely when his team gave up a significant deficit on the first innings.

"I'm just absolutely stoked at this point in time" Wilson said from Molyneux Park.

"For a while there it seemed like there was no way we were going to win, but cricket can be a funny game sometimes."

The week leading up to the game had been a difficult one for Wilson, when he struggled to find a playing 11 in the absence of nine first choice players

The players called into the team did not let their captain down and have again put pressure on those who missed the game to regain their places in the squad.

"It obviously wasn't an ideal build-up to the game, but we came over with 11 players and decided to do the best we could," Wilson said.

"The atmosphere among the team has been great. We've played some positive cricket and finally been rewarded with a win."

Wilson's Union team mate Glynn Cameron emerged as the surprise North Otago hero from the weekend after showing his skills with the ball in Central Otago's second innings.

Cameron, an opening batsman, took seven wickets as Central were dismissed for 191, setting North Otago a victory target of 245.

"It was just one of those things really, Glynn offers something a little bit different to our bowling attack and he responded magnificently," Wilson said.

"The guys were gutted to give up so many runs on the first innings, but we knew we had plenty of time to push for a win if we took some quick wickets."

Central Otago claimed early honours in the game by posting 271 in their first innings, with experienced captain Lindsay Bren and Nigel Harvey scoring half centuries.

Stephan Ridley and John Crombie each took three wickets for North Otago, who soon slipped to 98 for four in reply before Wilson and Grant Billcliff came together in a stabilising partnership.

Wilson made 45 and Billcliff fell just two short of a well deserved century as North Otago were dismissed for 217.

Cameron took centre stage when Central Otago batted for a second time, claiming seven for 82 off 14.4 over, leaving North Otago with a not insignificant victory target to pursue.

Their chase started terribly - openers Andrew Sewell and Aaron Dawe went for ducks - but Cameron (39) and Billcliff (38) made useful contributions.

Duncan Drew, who played for Otago B before Christmas, staked his claim to man of the match honours by stroking his way to 95, leaving Ridley (38 not out) and Crombie (13 not out) to seal a win in the 47th over.

Short Scorecard(s)

Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series

North Otago vs Central Otago at Molyneux Park, Alexandra
Central Otago 271 ( L. Breen 55, N. Harvey 50, A. Jones 41, J. Lovelock 27no, L. Tomlin 25, G. Douglas 24, B. Paterson 13, S. Ridley 3-27, J.B. Crombie 3-52, G.J. Billcliff 2-62 ) & 191 ( G. Douglas 33, L. Tomlin 32, L. Breen 31, N. Harvey 19, B. Domigan 17, J. Lovelock 16, M. Adair 12, A. Jones 11, G.R. Cameron 7-82, S. Ridley 2-69 )
North Otago 217 ( G.J. Billcliff 98, M. Wilson 45, A. Dawe 22, A.B. Sewell 12, Adair 5-47, Domigan 3-53 ) & 247-6 ( D.J. Drew 95, G.J. Billcliff 38, S. Ridley 38no, G.R. Cameron 29, M. Wilson 19, J.B. Crombie 13no, Jones 2-28, Paterson 2-34 )
North Otago won by 4 wickets
Full scorecard for the match

Player Pages:
Glynn Cameron | John Crombie | Duncan Drew | Steven Ridley | Mark Wilson |