North Otago and Central Otago had to settle for a draw on the second and final day of their representative cricket fixture played at Centennial Park over the weekend.

North Otago made first use of the pitch and it was only a solid 42 from Graeme Taiaroa and 34 from Graeme Johnson which gave the North Otago total some sort of respectability. Further down the order Bob Bowman batted sensibly for an unbeaten 28. The remainder of the North Otago batsmen persisted in flashing outside the off stump and it was only some bad handling lapses in the field by Central that allowed the local side to reach 171.

Allrounder Trevor Sutherland found the standard of cricket more to his liking and took four for 23 while Lonnie Anderson took three for 69.

North Otago made a sensational start in Central's first innings. Trevor Robertson clean bowled Geoff Blakely with the second ball of the match and in the following over Peter Cook had Paul Walker caught and behind by Bowman and Central were two down without a run on the board. Neville Muir was the third batsman to go with the total at 15 but North Otago were unable to press home the advantage mainly through the lack of a third medium pacer in the side.

Sutherland and Colin Buttar put on 61 for the fourth wicket but it was a match saving fifth wicket partnership that carried Central past the North Otago total with Buttar (75) and Graeme Fergusson (25) adding 94, possibly, however, lost any chance of an outright through batting through to 226 before the innings came to a close shortly before lunch on the second day. Of the North Otago bowlers Chris Taylor (3/53), Norm McKenzie (2/31) and Peter Cook (2/37) took the wickets.

Bob Wilson dominated the North Otago second innings with a superb 87 with Graeme Ballantyne and Chris Taylor batting confidently for 24 and 26 not out respectively before the innings was declared at 176 for 8 leaving Central the task of scoring 122 runs for the outright in 60 minutes and 20 overs, a task that soon slipped beyond the grasp of the side when it lost Blakely and Walker early on.

Walker had a far from memorable debut being dismissed without scoring after facing three balls in the first innings and only two balls in the second, on both occasions being caught behind.

At stumps Central Otago were 70 for the loss of three wickets.

A feature of the game was the superb fielding of two players, Central's Graeme Fergusson and North Otago's Peter Cook, both of whom set a high example with their swift movement around the field, their clean pickups and their accurate returns.

Short Scorecard(s)

Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series

Central Otago vs North Otago at Centennial Park Oval, Oamaru
North Otago 171 ( G. Taiaroa 42, G. Johnson 34, R. Bowman 28no, G.J. Ballantyne 15, R.S. Wilson 14, Sutherland 4-23, Anderson 3-69, Blanchard 2-18 ) & 176-8dec ( R.S. Wilson 87, C. Taylor 25no, G.J. Ballantyne 24, Sutherland 4-54 )
Central Otago 226 ( C.W. Buttar 75, T.D. Sutherland 52, G. Ferguson 25, L. Anderson 25, N. Hore 11, A. McHutcheon 11no, C. Taylor 3-53, N.W. McKenzie 2-31, P. Cook 2-37, T. Roberson 2-39 ) & 70-3 ( T.D. Sutherland 26no, N. Muir 26, G. Blakely 13, C. Smart 2-23 )
First innings win to Central Otago
Full scorecard for the match