North Otago beat Central Otago by 63 runs in a rather slow Hawke Cup elimination cricket match played in Balclutha in the weekend.

A slow wicket and slow batting by North Otago on the first day restricted scoring. North Otago batted all day for only 233 runs.

The highlight of the innings was a fine spell of off spin bowling by Warrick Berry. He took seven for 78 of 33 overs.

The three Otago selectors watched Saturday's play, and they must have been impressed by Berry's performance.

Central Otago could not match the North side in application when it batted on the second day.

Wickets fell steadily to the North Otago medium pacers who were able to make good use of some of the uneven bounce in the Balclutha wicket.

Short Scorecard(s)

Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series

North Otago vs Central Otago at Balclutha
North Otago 233 ( C. Taylor 48, J.F. Wright 44, R.S. Wilson 41, N.W. McKenzie 40, S.J. Blakely 16, W. Berry 7-78, Grant 2-34 )
Central Otago 170 ( L. Anderson 45no, S. McSkimming 39, T. Sutherland 27, K. Falconer 26, B. McSkimming 12, L.Ibbotson 11, R.J. Mason 4-45, S. Kendell 4-48, H. Munroe 2-37 )
First innings win to North Otago
Full scorecard for the match