A belligerent 62 by North Otago tail ender Stephen Neill denied South Canterbury an outright win in a rain shortened Fuji-Xerox elimination cricket game played at Centennial Park yesterday.
After play was abandoned on Saturday due to rain, Neill came to the crease yesterday when North Otago was struggling at 108 for seven in its second innings. With a lead of only 83 runs and just an hour of play remaining, the home team was in danger of losing outright in one day.
However, Neill went on to the offensive blasting 60 off 56 balls to deny South Canterbury vital competition points. Neill received solid support from number 10 batsmen Richard Sidon with the pair putting on 55 runs for the ninth wicket before Sidon was bowled for eight.
Chris Cunningham had earlier scored an attractive 50 in North Otago's second innings but otherwise there was little for the locals to enthuse about.
It was dismissed for just 110 runs in the first innings and bowled poorly as South Canterbury reached 135 for two declared in reply.
The low first innings total was particularly disappointing after openers Glynn Cameron and Stu Dean gave their team a solid platform, scoring 52 for the first wicket. Cameron batted steadily for 32 when he was run out while Dean reached 19 when he was trapped leg before wicket by South Canterbury destroyer Todd Elliotte.
Cameron's departure started a disastrous collapse with North Otago losing its next nine wickets for just 58 runs.
"When we were 50 without loss I thought we were looking at a score of over 200 - then we folded. Their offspinner Todd Elliotte bowled very well but there was also some poor shot selection on our part", North Otago coach Bruce Sewell said.
Elliotte who took six for 41 in the first innings and completed the game with ten wickets, was largely responsible for putting his team in a position to win the match outright.
There was no doubt Elliotte bowled well, extracting considerable turn from the Centennial Park wicket but his outstanding figures were also a result of some abysmal batting.
The other top performance for South Canterbury was from opener Kasem Ibudulla who scored 75 not out as the visitors raced to 135 in 26 overs.
Despite North Otago's emphatic loss, Mr Sewell said there were some positive aspects to come out of the match.
Cunningham and Neill batted superbly in the second innings and ultimately saved an outright loss while Dean and Cameron's opening stand in the first innings was encouraging. Duncan Drew also showed some form with an aggressive 22 before he was ousted in a leg before decision.
On the negative side of the ledger, Mr Sewell said too many of his batsmen got themselves out with poor shots. A tendency to try and attack the good deliveries was a major problem especially in the second innings when wickets were at a premium and there was no pressure to score runs.
Mr Sewell said if North Otago improved this aspect of its game it could be competitive against rated Southland team in its next game in Invercargill on February 8-9.
Short Scorecard(s)
Representative - Fuji Xerox Cup - Zone Series
South Canterbury vs North Otago at Centennial Park, Oamaru
North Otago 110 ( G.R. Cameron 32, D.J. Drew 22, S. Dean 19, Elliotte 6-41, Charles 2-24 ) & 183 ( S. Neil 60no, C.K. Cunningham 50, N.W. Rushton 23, Elliotte 4-71, Shaw 2-18 )
South Canterbury 135-2dec ( K.B.K. Ibadulla 75no, P. Duffield 26, R. De Joux 16 )
First innings win to South Canterbury
Full scorecard for the match