Match B: Northern Districts v Otago at Albany, 16 Nov 2001 Lynn McConnell |
Otago innings:
Northern Districts innings: |
Almost straight afterwards Matt Hart was caught at mid-off by Kerry Walmsley for one leaving ND 4/2.
By the end of the fourth over, ND had built to 30/2 with Scott Styris and James Marshall starting to find the measure of the Otago attack.
ND were looking in real strife at the end of the sixth over at 42/6, but Styris finally found the touch he was looking for in the seventh over when 24 runs came from David Sewell's bowling. Styris had 30 runs from 14 balls, including a six and a Max four for eight runs.
When the eighth over started ND were 66/3. Grant Bradburn speared the first ball from Craig Cumming for four through the gully followed by three singles and a Max two for four then Cumming gained his wicket, caught just outside the Max zone at mid-off for 35. ND were 77/4 with two overs remaining.
A superb piece of fielding by Walmsley in the deep, where he rolled to pick up a ball and throw back into the wickets found Simon Doull short of his ground as ND slumped to 84/6. Hatwell followed in the next over and at the end of the 10 overs ND were 93/7, a lead of 97 runs.
McMillan finished well for Otago and did well to take two for 11 off two overs.
He was out first ball he faced, the second ball of the innings, when hitting a ball from Joseph Yovich straight down the throat of Mark Bailey at backward square leg.
But Brendon McCullum kept on going, maintaining the benefits of the heavy programme of matchplay he enjoyed with the New Zealand Academy to get to 31 in the fourth over by which stage Otago were 38/2. The 50 came up in the fourth over. However, Chris Gaffaney departed at 55 having scored 18 from nine balls, and the problems started to mount for Otago.
Craig Pryor offered an easy chance for Scott Styris to pick up a caught and bowled dismissal which left Otago 74/4. Cumming had a life when looking to be caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Mark Bailey, but Bailey fell over the boundary in taking the catch resulting in four runs.
Having got to 82, Jordan Sheed overbalanced when trying to put off-spinner Grant Bradburn away on the leg-side and was stumped by Rob Hart.
Four runs later Cumming, on 16, departed attempting to blast Ian Butler over the Max zone but falling short were Evan Marshall was waiting to take the catch.
With one over to go Otago were 92/6 and lost Scott Waide on 97 with three balls of the innings remaining. He was unlucky to pull a wide ball from outside off stump into the waiting hands of mid-on, the ball deserved a worse fate. James McMillan then departed for a first-ball duck, leg before wicket to Joseph Yovich.
Otago finished on 99/8 with Yovich taking three for 26 off three overs, and Scott Styris had 2/12 from two overs.
ND had a four run lead at the end of the first innings.
Conditions were not as brilliant as for the morning game with a cool north-westerly breeze blowing across the back ground at North Harbour's Albany Stadium, a superb new venue on the New Zealand cricket scene.
Mark Bailey proved the key man for Northern Districts.
Bailey and Matthew Hart opened the batting and Hart made 20 runs off 14 balls but once he was out, bowled round his legs when shuffling in the crease to James McMillan's bowling, Bailey took over in impressive style.
Evan Marshall suffered when his first three overs went for 50 runs. Bailey advanced to 50 in the eighth over, off 24 balls.
ND were 79/1 after seven overs with Scott Styris not seeing a lot of the strike.
That was reflected in his dismissal when easily caught by McMillan at mid-off from Craig Cumming's bowling having made five runs off eight balls. With new batsman Grant Bradburn squirting a ball wide of the slip area for four runs, ND finished eight overs on 86/2.
David Sewell was brought in to bowl the penultimate over of the first innings and did a superb job in restricting the scoring to only five runs from the over at the most helter-skelter stage of the innings, especially when ND had so many wickets still in hand.
Otago did well in keeping Bailey away from the strike and on the chances he did get, he was only able to pick up singles and that created some desperation that resulted in Bailey hitting out in the last over only to be caught at long on by David Sewell for 54 scored off 29 balls.
Bradburn hit a six off the second to last ball and two runs were scrambled off the last ball to see ND to 103/3. He was 15 not out at the close.
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Date-stamped : 16 Nov2001 - 14:54