A 90-run tenth wicket partnership between North Otago's Paddy Bleach and David Sewell was not enough to prevent Central Otago gaining an outright win in a U-Bix Cup cricket match played at Molyneux Park in Alexandra in the weekend.
North Otago was battling to restore some pride at 99 for nine in its second innings after following-on when Bleach and Sewell came together for a tenacious last wicket fight-back. The pair batted for 138 minutes before Sewell was finally caught for 42 as North Otago reached 189.
Bleach recorded his highest U-Bix Cup score finishing 84 not out after batting for 227 minutes and facing 253 balls. It was a magnificent innings by the North Otago medium pacer who played shots all around the wicket against some accurate bowling.
The last wicket partnership gave North Otago an overall lead of 84 which Central Otago had no difficulty surpassing in the final session. Central lost three wickets before reaching its target with an hour of play remaining.
Central Otago had earlier scored 222 in its first innings after winning the toss and batting first. A 70-run eighth wicket partnership between Gary Soper (50) and Warren Myers (34) enabled Central Otago to get a competitive total after it was struggling at 119 for seven.
Neil Rushton was the top bowler for North Otago returning the figures of four for 32 of 16.2. Rushton made a vital breakthrough for North Otago in his eighth over when he took two wickets and then wrapped up the tail taking the last two wickets to fail in consecutive overs.
North Otago made a dismissal start to its innings, losing three wickets for 14 runs before Kel Mansfield (51) and captain Mark Wilson (21) staged a recovery. The pair combined to score 57 runs for he fourth wicket but once they were out North Otago rapidly succumbed to be all out for 117.
Bleach and Sewell provided the single highlight of the innings when North Otago was forced follow-on and the top order batting collapsed. Campbell Ogilvie (15), John Crombie (10) and Stephen Neil (16) were the only batsmen to reach double figures as Central's bowlers dominated the final day.
It was a disappointing result for North Otago which failed to capitalise on a strong position at lunch on the first day and then with a few exceptions, batted poorly.
"We let ourselves down - we had them in trouble in the first innings and let them escape and get 222 and then we did not bat well. Our bowlers did a good job and we fielded tidily but we got ourselves out with some silly shots," Wilson said this morning.
With the exception of Bleach, Sewell and Mansfield the batsmen were too impatient and showed their inexperience by trying to chase runs when they were tied down, he said.
North Otago's batsmen would have to reassess their approach before the next U-Bix game against Ashburton at Centennial Park this weekend, he said.
"U-Bix cricket is all about one innings and it is important to stay at the crease for a long time and accumulate runs. I think the younger players learned a lot this weekend and we will be a better side against Ashburton."
Central Otago's win places it at the top of the southern zone competition with an outright win and first innings points to its credit.
Short Scorecard(s)
Representative - U-Bix Cup - Zone Series
North Otago vs Central Otago at Molyneux Park, Alexandra
Central Otago 222 ( G. Soper 50no, W. Myers 34, J. Smail 25, G. Blakely 21, S. Hinton 21, T. Kitto 20, K. McKnight 20, D. White 14, N.W. Rushton 4-32, A. Robertson 2-29, S. Neil 2-68 ) & 86-3 ( J. Smail 39no, T. Kitto 18, G. Blakely 17, J.B. Crombie 2-14 )
North Otago 117 ( K.J. Mansfield 51, J.B. Crombie 23, M. Wilson 21, Myers 2-5, G. Soper 2-26, Lockhart 2-30, Hinton 2-32 ) & 189 ( P.D. Bleach 84no, D.G. Sewell 42, S. Neil 16, C. Ogilive 15, Hinton 3-48, G. Soper 3-76, Lockhart 2-13 )
Central Otago won by 7 wickets
Full scorecard for the match