The inability to ram home the advantage cost North Otago its Hawke Cup elimination match against Southland played at Awamoa Park over the weekend. With the North otago bowlers spearheaded by Peter Bee in control in the first session of play on Saturday, Southland went to lunch with their four top batsmen back in the pavilion with only 50 runs on the board after 150 minutes of play. Such was the dominance of the local bowlers that of the 42 overs bowled in the morning exactly half were maidens.

Bee, who will transfer to Wyndham next month, troubled all batsmen with his left arm medium paced deliveries. After lunch Brain McKechnie and Kevin Burns set about to build the Southland innings. The pair added 81 for the fifth wicket but at 120 burns was run out giving North Otago its second breakthrough.

In the space of only seven runs Southland lost a further three wickets and at 127 for eight the game had swung almost completely North Otago's way.

But the advantage was not rammed home and a tenacious innings of 31 by Southland wicket keeper Brent Crawford took Southland through to what proved to be a match winning first innings total.

Peter Bee with four for 41 of 23 overs, 10 of which were maidens, produced the best bowling performance while North Otago skipper Colin Smart celebrated his 41st birthday with three for 24 of 25 overs and three balls, 15 of these being maidens.

The North Otago openers Bob Wilson and David Reid played out the final 45 minutes of the first day relatively untroubled by the Southland attack and at stumps had 17 runs on the board without loss.

Southland struck early on the second day when in his third over of the morning Brian McKechnie found the edge of Wilson's bat and Graeme Thompson took the catch at first slip. Four runs later Crawford took a simple catch behind off Thomson to dismiss Reid and with the departure of Graeme Taiaroa for one shortly after North Otago had slumped to 32 for the loss of three wickets.

Norm McKenzie, middling the ball well looked to be a batsman able to wear down the attack but when on 23 Owen Ramsay brought a ball in to him on the rise and Roger Verrall took the catch.

A couple of massive sixes from Gobie Johnston enlivened the next period of play but with the total at 62 Southland claimed the wickets of Bob Bowman (0) and Johnston (14) and at six for 62 North Otago faced an uphill struggle. An inform Chris Taylor added 20 runs for the seventh wicket with Trevor Robertson and a further 28 runs with Rodger Bee for the eighth wicket before Taylor, who was playing with a confident air, was stumped by Crawford off the bowling of Stevenson.

Peter Bee staged a stubborn rear-guard action, taking the total through to 132 before Thomson gave Southland the vital first innings lead when lifted Bee's off stump out of the ground.

As in the North Otago innings, the batsmen found the runs hard to come by. Thomson bowled 32 overs and five balls with only a short spell to take four for 40. Fifteen of his overs were maidens while Brian McKechnie off 15 overs, thirteen of which were maidens, conceded only three runs.

Admittedly in the case of McKechnie the batsmen were forced to play few strokes as the ball was more than not lighted outside the off stump. Spinner Jim Stevenson gave a disciplined performance retaining his control even when the batsmen began to score runs and he finished with three for 58.

Short Scorecard(s)

Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series

Southland vs North Otago at Awamoa Park, Oamaru
Southland 170 ( B.J. McKechnie 57, B. Crawford 31, K. Burns 30, R. Verrall 15, G. Dawson 12, P. Bee 4-41, C. Smart 3-24 ) & 88-3 ( G. Dawson 27, J. Lindsay 18no, G. Hogue 16 )
North Otago 132 ( C. Taylor 31, P. Bee 28, N.W. McKenzie 23, G. Johnson 14, R.S. Wilson 13, G.B. Thomson 4-40, Stevenson 3-58, Ramsay 2-23 )
First innings win to Southland
Full scorecard for the match