Marcel McKenzie

The North Otago Hawke Cup cricket team managed to conjure something out of nothing by beating Central Otago in a rain-shortened zone elimination match in Oamaru yesterday.

Rain made the first day of the two day match a non event on Saturday, and it was not until 1pm yesterday that play got underway.

Both teams declared their first innings closed in a quest to get a result from the match.

The pitch proved lively having been under the covers for a couple of days, but North Otago's score of 146 proved to be enough, although captain Marcel McKenzie wasn't so sure it would be.

"We were hoping for 160 but we were a bit short of that" he said.

But the Central Otago bowlers did not make life easy for the North Otago batsmen.

Plenty of batsmen made starts, but none of them got away to a commanding score.

McKenzie and wicketkeeper-batsman Shaun Haig shared the top score with 30, while Jarod Waldron (21) was the only other batsman to get out of the teens.

John Lovelock was the best of the Central bowlers, generating good movement from the pitch in picking up four wickets.

However, North Otago's total proved to be enough as Central Otago folded for 88, about half an hour before stumps.

The two left armers, Neil Rushton and Craig Smith led the way with three wickets each, while James Lovelock attempted to match his brother John's efforts for Central Otago, claiming two wickets.

Fraser Wilson top-scored at number 10 with an unbeaten 17, but Smith had the final say for North Otago, bowling out the last Central batsman.

McKenzie was stoked with his bowlers response to defeating a smallish total and the team effort in the field.

"The bowlers are putting the ball in the right areas," he said.

However, there's certainly work to be done in the batting department before the crunch match against Southland in Invercargill this weekend - particularly the lack of someone going with the bat.

"There's been lots of starts - our guys have got to put their hands up, " he said.

"That's something that has been haunting us."

North Otago jumps to 24 points in the zone elimination series, while Southland has 12 points after the match against North Otago in Oamaru last month. Central Otago is yet to pick up any points.

Short Scorecard(s)

Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series

Central Otago vs North Otago at Centennial Park Oval, Oamaru
North Otago 0-0 ( ) & 146 ( S.B. Haig 30, M.N. McKenzie 30, J.M. Waldron 21, M. Patterson 19, N.W. Rushton 14, C.M. Smith 13, Lovelock 4-47, Wilson 2-19, Domigan 2-31 )
Central Otago 0-0 ( ) & 89 ( F. Wilson 17no, R. Hough 14, C. Nicolson 13, S. Harper 11, C.M. Smith 3-20, N.W. Rushton 3-33, J.H. Lovelock 2-17 )
North Otago won by 57 runs.
Full scorecard for the match

Player Pages:
Marcel McKenzie | Craig M Smith |