A strong all-round performance has left North Otago sitting pretty at the top in the Southern District Hawke Cup table with 20 points after a close-knit six-run first innings win over Southland in the weekend.
The match was scheduled to take place in Invercargill at Queens Park, but wet weather forced Southland to move their game to Oamaru
Although it was in Oamaru it was still a home game for Southland so they provided the umpires and balls for the match.
With this victory North Otago also claimed the Otago Districts Shield after beating both teams in the Otago area and beating both the same year for the first time in close to 50 years.
North Otago lost the toss and Southland captain Jason Domigan asked them to beat. Things did not start well with both openers, Jeremy Smith and Glynn Cameron, falling early on.
Jeremiah Shields and Duncan Drew did their best to fix things with a 27-run partnership before Shields fell for 22 with the score at 44.
This brought Ben Cant to the crease and he dug his heels in with Drew keeping the score ticking over getting it to 83 before he was given lbw to Southland's 17-year-old spinner Liam McWilliam.
From here Cant and South African Francois Mostert had the job of getting the side through to a respectable score.
They struggled early but scoring became easier and they took the North Otago score to 153 before disaster struck when Cant was dismissed for 48 by a fantastic one-handed catch at point by Jonathan Hodson.
Four runs later Mostert (39) tried sweeping a McWilliam delivery and all he could was sky it and leacy pressure on the lower order with the side sitting on 157/6.
The introduction of Jamie Glenn to the bowling crease prove a masterstroke for Southland after he moved Regan George and Lachlan Kingan in successive deliveries.
Brady Kingan, Nathan Smith and Jordan Horrell managed to get North Otago trhough to a defendable 184.
It was about 20 runs short of what they would have been targeting, but in the end proved to be just enough.
Southland started poorly losing both openers including Otago Volt Ryan Duffy to seam bowler Nathan Smith and from here Southland were always on the back foot.
Amar Singh tried to take the game away from North Otago with a quick-fire 26, but when he was out lbw to Jeremy Smith Southland's innings began to fall away.
Mostert picked up a couple of key wickets in Southland's wicket keeper Shaun Fitzgibbon and former Otago Volt Craig Smith.
At stumps on day one Southland were 104/7 and staring down the barrel of defeat.
They lost an early wicket on Sunday but McWilliams made 29 and when Domigan, who dislocated his knee fielding a ball on day one, walking out to bat Southland still need 51.
When Domigan was bowled by Nathan Smith they were just six runs short, all out for 179. Mostert finished with 5-63 off 31 overs while Smith claimed 3-44 from 14.
North Otago were 27/2 in their second innings when the game was called off at 4pm due to the rain.
Next up they face South Canterbury in Timaru on January 17 and 18.
Short Scorecard(s)
Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series
Southland vs North Otago at Milner Park, Oamaru
North Otago 184 ( B.C. Cant 48, F. Mostert 39, D.J. Drew 34, J.H. Shields 22, J. Glenn 3-23, L. McWilliam 2-30, B. Andrews-Kennedy 2-34, C.M. Smith 2-36 ) & 27-2 (J. Glenn 2-12 )
Southland 179 ( J. Domigan 32, L. McWilliam 29, A. Singh 26, J. Hodson 22no, J. Wadsworth 18, F. Mostert 5-63, N.G. Smith 3-44 )
First innings win to North Otago
Full scorecard for the match
Team Pages:
North Otago 2014-2015 |