Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate probably felt more like breakfast than playing a twenty/20 match last night.
The jet-lagged all-rounder got off the plane from South Africa early on Thursday morning and about 36 hours later - right about when he might normally sit down to some bacon and eggs - he was dragging Otago back into its HRV Cup match against Northern Districts with a fine innings of 65 from 45 deliveries at Seddon Park in Hamilton .
The Volts had slumped to 15 for three and then 41 for four before ten Doeschate led the fightback, combining in a rapid 66-run partnership with Michael Bracewell (31 off 20) to help his side reach 173 for seven.
It was good enough for an 11-run win with seamer Ian Butler and left-arm spinner Nick Beard bowling beautifully during the middle stages to help restrict the home side to 162 for eight.
Butler picked up the key wicket of Scott Styris with a bouncer, and Beard captured the wickets of Black Cap Daniel Flynn (1) and English professional Steven Croft (30 off 30) in the 15th over to finish with three for 26 from four overs.
Black Caps Tim Southee (21 off 10) and BJ Watling (35 off 17) tried desperately to get the 51 runs needed off the last three overs and got pretty close.
Earlier, Aaron Redmond hammered Anton Devcich for six over long-on from the fourth ball of the match. But the left-arm spinner took immediate revenge, dropping in a shorter, quicker delivery which cramped Redmond for space. He spooned an ugly cross-bat shot straight back to the bowler.
A poor start got worse when Hamish Rutherford over-committed and was run out at the non-striker's end. And for some reason Neil Broom thought it was a good idea to charge the first delivery he faced from Southee and got a chunky edge.
At the halfway stage, Otago was 46 for four and in desperate need of a partnership of any kind.
The repair job was left to ten Doeschate and Bracewell. Ten Doeschate took 15 or 20 deliveries before he started to really get going. He lapped Kane Williamson behind square to bring up his first boundary and then used his feet nicely to get to the pitch and dispatched a six over long-on.
Bracewell chimed in with a couple of crisp lofted drives over cover and six over midwicket as the pair brought up their 50-run partnership off just 32 balls. Ian Butler swung hard for 12 off five deliveries. He seemed bemused at being given out caught behind after a prolonged appeal from Watling proved successful. Neil Wagner bought up 150 for the team, getting off the mark with a six, and James Fuller swatted two sixes in the last over to score an undefeated 27 from 11 deliveries.
Otago has one win from two matches and is in fourth place. Northern leads with three wins from four games. Wellington is in second place with two wins from three games, Auckland has a win from its only match and Canterbury and Central Districts are yet to register a win.
