North Otago won the toss and asked Otago Country to bat, and had immediate success when David Sewell bowled Peter Breen with the first ball of the innings.
Brendan Domigan (67) and James Pyle (24) added 64 for the second wicket and Domigan then combined with Andrew Jarrod (47) in a third wicket stand of 61.
Sewell cleaned out the top order, claiming four of the first five wickets to fall, finishing with five for 63 off 17 overs.
Of the remaining Otago Country batsmen, only Cameron Rutherford with 28 showed any resistance as the innings closed at 222. Apart from Sewell, Chris Ware and leftarm offspinner Jordan Horrell took two wickets each.
North Otago opening batsman Ben Cant held the North Otago innings together as wickets fell around him and it was only a 59-run stand between Cant (73) and Paul Odell (25) that gave the North Otago innings a semblance of comfort before the side was dismissed for 181, 41 runs in arrears.
Brendan Domigan took four for 50 for Otago Country while Eric Standfield and Cameron Rutherford claimed two wickets each.
Otago Country batted through until the declaration came with the second innings total at 205 for eight, an overall lead of 246 with 43 overs remaining on the final day. Domigan led the way with 59 and with Breen (34) featured in an opening stand of 99, but both lost their wickets in the space of one run. Horrell claimed four for 56 off 14 overs.
North Otago lost opener Jeremiah Shields with the total at nine but Matt Machan and Cant added 56 for the second with Machan dominating the innings with 91 runs from 91 balls before he was caught behind, short of his century. At stumps, North Otago was holding on at 184 for eight, Daniel Ford taking four for 53 off 14 overs.
- Terry O'Neill
