Neil Rushton

A superb unbeaten century from Neil Ruston led his side to a first-innings victory against Central Otago in their Hawke Cup cricket match in Alexandra during the weekend.

It was an inspirational performance from Rushton as his side continued their dream start to the competition.

After two games, North Otago leaped out to a comfortable lead and with two games remaining they will be confident of winning the zone competition. That's not a bad effort from a team that finished rock bottom last season.

North Otago play their next Hawke Cup match against Southland on December 20 and 21 in Invercargill. Another first-innings win would virtually guarantee them victory in the three-team competition.

On of the most important decisions Rushton made before the game was winning the toss. Overnight rain and an overcast morning meant bowling first was the desired option.

North Otago's bowlers preformed brilliantly and utilised the conditions perfectly.

Central Otago were in taters at 81 for four, but a 67-run partnership between Chris Maslin and Brendon Domigan steadied the ship. But then Rushton stepped up and snared three quick wickets to dismiss Central Otago for 232.

North Otago's first innings got of to a shaky start and they were in deep trouble at 55 for four. But debutant Dan Meikle and Rushton combined to put their side in a winning position.

Meikle, batting at No. 3, batted for 152 minutes for 30 runs, while Rushton batted nearly five hours for his unbeaten 100.

He hit 10 fours during his time in the middle to complete one of the most memorable innings in North Otago's recent history.

Some aggressive lower order batting from Bobby Singh guided North Otago through to 238 for eight declared.

From there it was always going to be tough for either side to push for an outright win, with the pitch and outfield heavily favouring the batsmen after a day of sunshine.

Central Otago batted aggressively in their second turn at bat, making their way to 180 for three declared from 34 overs, leaving the visitors two hours for a victory target of 175.

But North Otago never threatened the total and when the stumps were pulled early, they had made their way to 23 without loss.

Their were plenty of positives to emerge from the game. The two players making their debuts during the weekend both enhanced their reputations.

Meikle made the most of his chances batting at No. 3, while St Kevin College's Rafferty Fox showed he is a player of the future with a promising bowling display.

In the first innings he claimed one for 44 off 15 overs, while in the second innings he was a bit more expensive, finishing with none for 70 off 12 overs.

But most of North Otago's bowlers were put to the sword, with Central Otago's batsmen throwing caution to the wind, scoring at more than five an over.

Short Scorecard(s)

Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series

North Otago vs Central Otago at Molyneux Park, Alexandra
Central Otago 232 (N.W. Rushton 3-44, C.M. Smith 3-58, P. Johnston 2-30 ) & 180-3dec (S. Singh 3-45 )
North Otago 238-8dec ( N.W. Rushton 100no, D. Meikle 30, C.M. Smith 29, S. Singh 20no, A.B. Sewell 11 ) & 23-0 ( C.A. Smith 11no, S.A. Simpson 11no )
First innings win to North Otago

Player Pages:
Raffery Fox | Daniel Meikle | Neil Rushton | S Singh |