A maiden first class century by North Otago and Country batsman Kelvin Mansfield was the highlight of North Otago's U Bix Cup elimination match against Southland at Centennial Park over the weekend.
The young allrounder came to the crease early on the second day when North Otago was in all sorts of strife chasing Southland's first innings total of 273 for six declared.
Although a little uncertain early in his innings, Mansfield's confidence grew as he began to use his feet and when the North Otago declaration came shortly after lunch, Mansfield was unbeaten on 101.
His innings included 13 fours and three sixes.
He faced 123 balls and was at the crease for only 116 minutes.
With Trevor Robertson, Mansfield featured in an unbeaten eighth wicket stand of 94.
Southland skipper Terry Ward won the toss and decided to bat on the placid Centennial Park pitch.
Openers Mike Lamont and Dave Bennet added 33 before Bennet was out for 33 and at lunch on the first day after 180 minutes of play Southland was 132 for the loss of four wickets.
Any hopes of a North Otago breakthrough early in the second session of play were well and truly thwarted by Ross Murdoch. Murdoch defied the attack and when Ward declared Murdoch was unbeaten on 100.
Norm McKenzie was the pick of the North Otago bowlers, bowling non stop for 29 overs, eventually bowling a mammoth 40 overs to take two for 74.
North Otago skipper Graeme Ballantyne was hard to get away.
His first 13 overs conceded only 11 runs and in all he bowled 25 overs for 63 runs.
The North Otago first innings faced its first ball at 18 minutes to five on the first day and the seventh over of the innings saw Nigel Cartwright caught behind by Murdoch off Robbie Hill's bowling without scoring.
At 5-0 North Otago looked shaky but Bruce McGregor and Dave Reid batted sensibly and solidly to take North Otago through to 66 for one at stumps on Saturday night, with McGregor on 43 and Reid on 20.
The pair added a further 20 runs on Sunday morning before McGregor was out for an invaluable 58..
Ashley Flannery faced only two balls before he was stumped off Peter Skelt's bowling.
Reid went three runs later and with the demise of Ballantyne seven runs later, North Otago had lost four wickets for the addition of only nine runs.
Andrew Hore's dismissal with the total at 104 meant that the North Otago top order was back in the pavilion for the addition of only 18 runs.
Mansfield proved to be the man of the moment.
With Norm McKenzie he added 44 for the seventh wicket and then featured in that unbeaten stand with Robertson before the declaration shortly after lunch, with North Otago at 242 for seven still 41 runs behind the Southland total.
There was some criticism around the ground of Ballantyne's action in not going for at least first innings points for the local side but his tactics were sound ones.
"If North Otago was to have a show of winning a challenge we needed an outright and a first innings win, and with only a couple of matches remaining it was essential that we attempted to go for maximum points in this game.
"Our declaration had to come at that time, in order to put the ball in Southland's court and hope they would give us a target to chase.
"There was no way we'd Southland out with the time left.
"After all we are a better batting side than a bowling one and I had to play to our strength.
"As it turned out Southland did give us a chance". Southland batted through 48 overs in its second innings with Lamont and Bennett featuring in an opening stand of 105 before Lamont was out, hit wicket, trying get a Ballantyne delivery away fro 4.
Brookland was the only other Southland wicket to fall and at the declaration Bennet was on 72 and Southland with its 179 left North Otago the task of scoring 201 to win in 65 minutes and 20 overs.
McGregor and Cartwright gave North Otago a "filer" whipped on 69 runs in 60 minutes before McGregor was out for 36.
Flannery had a forgettable match facing six balls in his second visit before being dismissed for tow.
This heralded the beginning of yet another North Otago middle order collapse.
Mansfield went one run later, Ballantyne went without an addition to the score; Hore and Cartwright add 14 runs before Hore was leg before for four; a run later Cartwright was walking for 42 and the shutters finally went up went Norm McKenzie played right across the line of a Skelt delivery and the seventh North Otago wicket had fallen with the score at 100.
David Reid and Trevor Robertson saw out the last eight overs adding only two more runs.
Skelt tied up the North Otago bowlers with his "leggies" bowling six overs of which six were maidens (his last 5 overs were insiders) and he took four for 15.
Warwick Head who took 0 for 78 in North Otago's first innings, mainly because of some rather unorthodox field placing's, improved in the second innings to take 3 for 17 off 11 overs.
Short Scorecard(s)
Representative - Hawke Cup - Zone Series
Southland vs North Otago at Centennial Park Oval, Oamaru
Southland 273 ( R. Murdock 100no, T. Ward 34, A. Brookland 30, R. Hill 29, M.J. Lamont 27, D. Skelt 19no, S. Culhane 16, N.W. McKenzie 2-74 ) & 179-2dec ( D. Bennett 72no, M.J. Lamont 42, A. Brookland 26, T. Ward 11no )
North Otago 242-7dec ( K.J. Mansfield 101no, B. McGregor 58, D.W. Reid 23, N.W. McKenzie 21, T. Roberson 17no, D. Skelt 5-98, R. Hill 2-18 ) & 102-7 ( N.D. Cartwright 42, B. McGregor 36, P. Skelt 4-15, W. Heads 3-17 )
First innings win to Southland
Full scorecard for the match