Cricket: Otago top four ready for final challenge

Aaron Redmond.
Aaron Redmond.
Otago top-order batsman Aaron Redmond is no stranger to finals cricket.

The 34-year-old has played in five finals for Otago and two for Canterbury. He did not need to play in 2008-09 twenty20 final for Otago against Canterbury.

That game was abandoned due to poor weather and Otago was crowned champion.

The Volts also won the 2007-08 one-day title, following a 20-year drought, and last season the team won 10 consecutive games to win the HRV Cup.

Otago will get an opportunity to defend that title in Hamilton on Saturday night.

Northern Districts plays Canterbury in the preliminary final on Friday night and the winner will join the Volts in the final.

These days Redmond gets more excited than nervous about the big matches.

That said, he was not about to fall back on the old cliche ''it is just another game''.

''It is what you strive for all season,'' he said.

''When you are a bit younger, you can get a bit overawed by the occasion and get a little bit nervous. But for me it is just really exciting.''

Finals, though, definitely bring an edge to the camp which Redmond anticipates will sharpen as the match draws nearer.

''People say it is just another game but, realistically, it isn't. It ends up being the one-off game which decides how you are going to be remembered.''

Batsmen tend to win twenty20 games with the odd exception.

Jacob Duffy bowled a superb last over to help Otago beat Wellington by one run last week.

But chances are, Otago's top four will have a large bearing on the outcome of the final and the team's prospects are in good hands.

Redmond is in the top 10 for runs scored in the tournament with 196 runs at 39.20.

He has a twenty20 hundred and nine 50s to his name at this level and that makes him a serious threat.

Opener Neil Broom showed the world what he is capable of when he smashed an undefeated 117 against Perth at the Champions League in India last year.

His batting partner, Hamish Rutherford, is no slouch either.

He whacked 171 on test debut and, at one stage in his career, was pigeon-holed as a specialist twenty20 player.

The overseas professional, Ryan ten Doeschate, completes the top order. He is just simply one of the best finishers in the game.

He has played a staggering 197 twenty20 games, has two hundreds, averages nearly 30 at a strike rate of 137.19 and chips in with the odd wicket, too.

It is quite a record and his arrival in the province last summer helped take the Otago team to a new level.

Just last week he hit 24 runs from the last over of the innings to help set up that dramatic one-run win against Wellington.

When it is considered Otago will be without Black Caps Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Jimmy Neesham and Nathan McCullum, the province really is spoilt for talent.

The Volts are also missing seamer Ian Butler, who is sideline with a chronic back complaint.

That they have made it to the final largely without the services of those players, speaks volumes for the depth in the side, Redmond said.

''I know we have young squad but quite a few of the guys have actually played in big games now,'' he said.

''The side has been a little bit depleted at times through this tournament but I think we've got nothing to lose. We had a great side last year and I think the side this year has been great as well.

''Obviously we are missing a few key guys ... but the players who have stepped in have done really well. It also puts a little more onus on the guys like myself, who have played a lot of cricket, to try and lead the team from the front.''

Auckland ended a disappointing T20 campaign on a winning note at Eden Park yesterday, The New Zealand Herald reported.

It beat bottom side Central Districts by 33 runs.

Auckland reached 194 for five, with 40s from Colin de Grandhomme and import Chris Nash, and restricted CD to 161 for seven.

Auckland finished fifth on 20 points, while CD did not win a single game and ended on six points. Final points: Otago 26, ND and Canterbury 24, Wellington 20, Auckland 20, CD 6.

Add a Comment

OUTSTREAM