Otago survived the wobbles on day three to post a win against Canterbury in Rangiora yesterday.
The 82-run margin sounds comfortable enough but this was a game which hung in the balance after 19 wickets fell on day three of the Plunket Shield fixture.
Having built a first-innings lead of 159, the Volts crashed to be all out for 139 in their second innings.
Earlier, Canterbury had suffered a similar fate. It resumed on Saturday morning well-placed at 176 for three thanks to a maiden century from Roneel Hira.
But the bowlers dominated as Otago picked up Canterbury's last seven wickets for just 34 runs.
When Canterbury resumed its second innings yesterday morning, it needed 207 runs to win with eight wickets in hand.
Peter Fulton added one to his overnight total of 33 before he nicked out. That set the tone with Neil Broom (58) following three overs later.
Henry Nicholls offered some valuable resistance, scoring 59 from 107 deliveries. But he quickly ran out of partners with the bowlers continuing to dominate.
The wickets were shared around - Jacob Duffy taking three for 57, Neil Wagner two for 56 and Mark Craig two for 74.
Part-time legspinner Aaron Redmond claimed the last two wickets to fall, and Wagner claimed his 18th five-wicket bag during Canterbury's first innings.
The win was not enough to lift Otago off the bottom of the competition table but it is a timely confidence-booster before the one-day tournament which gets under way after Christmas.
Several milestones were reached during the game. Canterbury skipper Fulton captained his province for the 49th time in first-class cricket, overhauling Lee Germon's previous record of 48.
Bradley Scott took his 150th first-class wicket for Otago when he dismissed Logan van Beek, and Redmond went past 7000 first-class runs, in his second innings.
• In Hamilton, Wellington was overwhelmed by Northern Districts' international attack.
Black Caps Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi combined to dismiss Wellington for just 58 to seal a 395-run win with a day to spare.
It was Wellington's lowest total against Northern Districts in first-class cricket. The Firebirds slumped from 24 for one to 24 for six during a remarkable three-over spell.
Southee finished with four for 18 and Boult two for 13, while Sodhi (two for nine) and Graeme Aldridge (two for 10) helped complete the rout. Five of Wellington's batsmen failed to get off the mark.
• At Eden Park Outer Oval, Central Districts beat Auckland by 245 runs. The home side struggled with the bat, posting 117 for nine in its first innings and 130 for nine it its second.
Bowler Dean Bartlett was forced to retire hurt in the first innings and did not bat in the second innings.
Central's Doug Bracewell took three wickets in each innings as did Ben Wheeler. Ben Smith (89) and Will Young (87) made healthy contributions with the bat to help their side prevail.
