North Otago produced a superb team effort to beat Ashburton by an innings and 20 runs in a U-Bix cricket game played in cold windy conditions at Centennial Park.
It was a vastly improved performance from North Otago which showed tremendous commitment to completely outplay Ashburton. The win was one of the emphatic recorded by a North Otago side in U-Bix Cup cricket match.
North Otago made a good start to the match on Saturday after being sent in to bat on a wicket that played well on both days. Trevor Robertson, Gerald Ward and Graeme Johnson scored runs at a steady rate as North Otago reached 54 for two at lunch.
North Otago faltered slightly when Johnson and Robertson were dismissed in quick succession after the break but then Kelvin Mansfield and Peter Brown came to the crease and took control. The pair scored 100 runs in 74 minutes for the fifth wicket in a great exhibition of batting.
Mansfield was in sensational form, blasting ten fours and three sixes in his innings which lasted only 86 minutes. He was particularly severe on the slow bowlers taking 16 runs off one over from Warren Eddington.
Mansfield brought up his 50 in spectacular fashion with a big six over mid wicket and looked to be unstoppable when he mistimed a pull short and was caught on the boundary for 84.
Brown was out for 26 soon after but Wayne Robbins, Paddy Bleach and John Crombie frustrated the Ashburton bowlers by putting on 91 runs in the last four wickets.
Bleach and Crombie showed scant regard for the new ball, which was taken in the 97th over scoring 54 runs for the eighth wicket.
North Otago was finally dismissed an hour and a half before stumps for a very respectable total of 301.
Dean Harrison was the best of the Ashburton bowlers who all had problems restricting the run rate later in the innings. The right arm medium pacer took five for 93 in 33 overs.
Ashburton made a safe beginning to its innings with openers Andrew Robertson and Warren Smith taking their side through to 28 without loss. However, the visitors struggled in the final hour of play to be 90 for the loss of four wickets at the end if the first day's play.
Ashburton's woes continued as it collapsed to be all out for 129 in the first hour of play yesterday.
John Crombie initiated the downfall when he dismissed Jason Stagg and Warren Eddington in consecutive deliveries in his fifth over. He had Chris Bell caught behind on the first ball of his next over completing a devastating spell of fast bowling.
North Otago enforced the follow on and had immediate success as Graeme Pitches had Andrew Robertson caught behind for a duck in the first over. Ashburton continued losing wickets at regular intervals and was soon in trouble at 81 for four.
Richard Ellis and Eddington provided some resistance with a 56 run fifth wicket partnership but once they were out the innings quickly ended. Ashburton lost its last six wickets for just 15 runs to be all out for 152.
Pitches and Bleach did most of the damage for North Otago, ripping through the middle and lower order batting. Pitches troubled all of the batsmen with the amount of lift he extracted from the pitch while Bleach generated a lot of pace bowling with the strong southerly at his back.
North Otago coach Sean Tracy was thrilled with his teams performance which gave it vital points in the U-Bix Cup competition. Mr Tracy was especially pleased with the commitment of the players which he considered was the key factor in the win.
"It was a superb team effort and I thought all the players had a very professional attitude to the match. We were on top from the word go and controlled each session on both days," he said after the match.
Mr Tracy said another pleasing aspect of the game was the marked improvement in North Otago's batting. He said the top order had not been firing in recent games and desperately needed to score runs.
"We were a bit slow to get going but they bowled tightly in the opening session. Trevor gave us a good platform and then Kel got us going and we kept the momentum up for the rest of the innings.
"We batted very well although the turning point came when we bowled them out in the first hour today. In the finish we took nine wickets in the morning session that set up the outright."
The win gives North Otago a good confidence booster before it plays its next U-Bix game against Southland on January 16-17.
Short Scorecard(s)
Representative - U-Bix Cup - Zone Series
Ashburton County vs North Otago at Centennial Park Oval, Oamaru
North Otago 301 ( K.J. Mansfield 84, T. Roberson 42, P.D. Bleach 36, P. Brown 26, J.B. Crombie 26, W. Robbins 24, G. Ward 20, G. Johnson 15, Harrison 5-93, Mably 3-59, Eddington 2-73 )
Ashburton County 129 ( A. Robertson 45, B. Ellis 26, W. Smith 17, J. Overend 17, J.B. Crombie 3-35, G. Pitches 2-9, P.D. Bleach 2-27 ) & 152 ( R. Ellis 44, W. Eddington 42, T. Clarke 16, D. Mably 13, P.D. Bleach 4-16, G. Pitches 3-46 )
North Otago won by an innings and 20 runs
Full scorecard for the match