North Otago lost outright to Ashburton in a close finish in its U-Bix Cup elimination cricket game played at Ashburton Domain on the weekend.
North Otago batted first and struggled to reach 190 for nine declared against some tight bowling by Jason Stagg, Lindsay Forde and Ashley Ross. Mark Wilson was easily North Otago's best batsman scoring a fine 96 before he was run out just four runs short of his second consecutive U-Bix century.
Wilson played shots all around the wicket, hitting nine fours and one six in his innings which lasted four hours. A feature of his batting was his superb timing - most of his boundaries were effortless shots which raced from the bat.
Graham Johnston scored a useful 33 while Paddy Bleach scored 22 and more importantly batted for 87 minutes providing good support from Wilson. Bleach declared North Otago's innings closed shortly before afternoon tea giving Ashburton three and a half hours batting before close of play.
North Otago made a good start when David Cartwright dismissed opener Andrew Robertson with just ten runs on the board. However, Ashburton recovered well with Paul Rivett and Geoff Wright scoring 96 for the second wicket to be 152 for the loss of four wickets at stumps.
North Otago bowled well and fielded well in the first session of the second day and Ashburton added only 76 runs to its overnight total before it was dismissed for 228. Dave Walker and Jeff Mawhinney bowled particularly well although Cartwright, Bleach and Mike Willets also maintained a good line and length.
North Otago failed to fire in its second innings being dismissed for 177 in just 65 overs. Johnston, Mawhinney and Grant Ranger all made starts but did not go on and produce a big score that their team desperately needed.
Mawhinney was in an attacking mood hitting two fours and a six in his innings of 29 but it was North Otago's tailenders Bleach and Cartwright who produced some of the most positive batting. Bleach scored a fine 27 while Cartwright blasted a typically aggressive 30 not out.
Off-spinner Warren Eddington did most of the damage for Ashburton taking six wickets for 65 runs off 23 overs. Eddington bowled accurately and managed to extract spin from the deteriorating wicket.
Ashburton required the 140 runs to win and despite a middle order collapse reached its target with one over remaining. Ashburton was cruising to victory at 76 for no loss but a fine spell of bowling by Jeff Mawhinney had the home team struggling at 125 for six before Gary Jenkins scored the winning runs in the second last over.
North Otago's captain Paddy Bleach said today he was pleased with the positive approach taken by his team which resulted in a great game of cricket.
"We have a lot of young players in the team and so its important that they get as much experience as possible. Games like this are a good learning experience for them. It's also satisfying to play positive cricket."
Bleach said he was a little disappointed Ashburton continued batting after surpassing North Otago's first innings total. He said it was a negative decision which could have turned the game into a dour struggle for first innings points.
Bleach said he was very pleased with the performance of Ranger, Walker, Richard Macgregor and Gordon Lemon who were all making their debuts for North Otago.
"The new guys did pretty well and Mark Wilson was once again in great form. He was unlucky to be run out just short of his century but batted brilliantly for his 96."
Bleach said the only area of concern was the top order batting which had failed to impress in the two games.
Short Scorecard(s)
Representative - U-Bix Cup - Zone Series
North Otago vs Ashburton County at Ashburton Domain Oval, Ashburton
North Otago 190 ( M. Wilson 96, G. Johnson 33, P.D. Bleach 22, Stagg 2-27, Forde 2-44 ) & 177 ( G. Johnson 35, D.A. Cartwright 30no, J. Mawhinney 29, P.D. Bleach 27, G. Ranger 24, Eddington 6-65, Ross 2-64 )
Ashburton County 228 ( P. Rivett 62, G. Wright 48, A. Ross 41, W. Eddington 18, C. Bell 11, D.A. Cartwright 3-47, J. Mawhinney 3-58, M. Willetts 2-24, D. Walker 2-66 ) & 141-6 ( P. Rivett 43, A. Robertson 34, G. Wright 19, J. Mawhinney 3-41 )
Ashburton won by 4 wickets
Full scorecard for the match