Cricket: Butler set for return to Volts

Ian Butler
Ian Butler
Otago seamer Ian Butler is poised to make his return to domestic cricket.

The former Black Cap was in top form last season but has been sidelined since the first game this summer with a chronic back complaint.

He had an injection to help with inflammation and pain last month and has been back bowling for the last four weeks.

The 32-year-old played club cricket for University-Grange on Saturday and took one for 24 from nine overs.

His return could not come at a better time for Otago. The Volts are in last place in the one-day competition with one win from four games, and a loss to Wellington at the University Oval tomorrow could ruin their playoff prospects.

Stand-in coach Nathan King believes his side will need to win three of its four remaining matches to scrape into the final four.

Poor weather may also play a part. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, which means the Volts may need to win their last three games.

Otago started with a win but has lost its last three matches in final-over thrillers. It has been heartbreaking, but King said the camp was still in a positive frame of mind.

He said it was sometimes harder to lose the close games than to be comprehensively outplayed, but the team was still motivated and desperate to turn the campaign around.

The Volts' bowling attack has been hit hard, with James McMillan and Jacob Duffy sidelined with injury and all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and spinner Nathan McCullum in Bangladesh with the Black Caps for the ICC World Twenty20.

Butler will likely take Sam Blakely's spot in the starting XI, and his inclusion strengthens the side considerably. Last season, Butler was Otago's leading bowler in the Plunket Shield with 39 wickets at an average of 25.12. He took nine at 28.66 in the one-day competition and 11 wickets at 25 in twenty20 cricket.

He is a very handy lower order batsman with an ability to find the boundary. Butler replaces opening batsman Ryan Duffy in a 14-strong squad. Fellow opener Aaron Redmond missed the four-wicket loss to Canterbury on Wednesday because of a knee complaint. He has been named in the squad but will need to pass a fitness test.

Redmond's replacement, Iain Robertson, did a superb job, blasting 76 from 57 balls. He only found out on the morning of the match he would be playing, so it was a cracking effort. It would be a tough call to leave him out if Redmond was fit.

The batting, though, has not been the problem. Otago posted 327 for nine in the loss to Canterbury on Wednesday. It was a ground record for the University Oval, but the Volts were unable to defend the monster total.

Some poor fielding contributed to the disappointing outcome, but Otago's seam attack has struggled to make much impression. Neil Wagner has been the most penetrative, with seven wickets at 40.25. Bradley Scott has three wickets at 65.33 and Sam Wells one wicket for 108. Butler's inclusion should add some much-needed potency.

Wellington has the opposite problem. Its three-pronged pace attack of Mark Gillespie, Andy McKay and Brent Arnel is a real strength, but the team will be looking to make amends after folding for 154 against Northern Districts earlier this week.


Ford Trophy: University Oval, tomorrow
Otago:
Iain Robertson, Hamish Rutherford, Michael Bracewell, Ryan ten Doeschate, Jesse Ryder, Sam Wells, Derek de Boorder (captain), Ian Butler, Neil Wagner, Nick Beard, Bradley Scott, Mark Craig, Aaron Redmond, Sam Blakely.

Wellington: James Franklin (captain), Brent Arnel, Grant Elliott, Mark Gillespie, Andy McKay, Steve Murdoch, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Matt Taylor, Luke Woodcock, Henry Walsh, Michael Pollard.


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