Otago's season ground to an end with a draw against Northern Districts in Whangarei. The flat finish capped off a miserable Plunket Shield campaign. The Volts were much better in coloured clothing, though. Cricket writer Adrian Seconi reports.

You are still out if the ball hits the wickets, but cricketers get three strikes these days.

If your plans do not work out in one format, then no worries because there are still another two opportunities to salvage something from the season.

Otago did well enough in pyjama cricket to earn a pass mark for the summer but its results in first-class cricket were feeble.

Twenty20 might grab the headlines and generate broadcasting revenue, and one-day cricket is still riding a post-World Cup high but, for seasoned observers, first-class cricket is still the best gauge of a domestic player's ability and collectively Otago was poor.

The team certainly had challenges, particularly early on with so many players unavailable or injured. But that argument starts to feel rather flimsy, considering whom Otago was able to call on for the majority of the season.

Even with Black Caps Neil Wagner and Mark Craig and former test opener Hamish Rutherford largely absent, the Volts still had an impressive core of players in Neil Broom, Jimmy Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Brad Wilson and Anaru Kitchen.

Better results than one win, five losses and four draws could certainly be expected from that group.

It was Otago's worst result in the first-class competition since 2006-07 when the team also finished last. Other than one memorable humid morning in Dunedin, Otago tended to struggle with the ball.

The batting was not much better, either, with two notable exceptions. Wilson (886 runs at 46.63) and Broom (633 at 52.75) did their part.

The Volts were more comfortable in the white-ball formats. They were surprisingly good in the twenty20 competition, winning six of their round-robin games and qualifying in top spot.

Otago leant on Broom with the bat and the former international delivered some quality innings, scoring 299 runs at an average 37.37. Bracewell struggled in four-day cricket but was a chief contributor for the Volts with 299 runs as well.

Kitchen had his moments with 259 runs, while with the ball, Warren Barnes was a revelation. The transplanted Aucklander took 15 wickets at an average of 19 and his economy rate of 7.12 was pretty decent, as well.

It was a great shame injury prevented him from playing any first-class cricket.

Barnes was part of an Otago attack which functioned really well. Duffy also picked up 15 wickets, while Nathan McCullum was frugal and deadly with 13 wickets at 16.69.

Auckland was too strong in the final, though, winning by 20 runs.

In the one-day competition, it was round five before Otago recorded its first win and that slow start ultimately may have cost the Volts.

Otago was playing some excellent cricket at the business end and was well on top in its preliminary final against Canterbury at Hagley Oval.

But poor weather meant the game could not be completed and Canterbury made the final courtesy of having qualified higher.

Once again Broom was the star. He was the competition's leading scorer with 508 runs, at an average of 84.66.

Rutherford and Bracewell also made big contributions with the bat, while Wagner led the attack with 16 wickets at an average of 22.93. Duffy took one wicket fewer but his 15 scalps at an average of 15.33 was an impressive result.

 

Player reports

BATSMEN

Neil Broom
Was outstanding in all three formats. Bound to be named player of the year. 8.5 out of 10

Michael Bracewell
Form deserted him in the four-day competition but played some nice knocks in coloured clothing. 7

Anaru Kitchen
Got out in the same way a lot and did not bat with enough discipline. 6

Brad Wilson
Excellent value at the top of the order. Captained the first-class side when Hamish Rutherford was sidelined. 8

Ryan Duffy
Big improver. Scored his maiden first-class hundred and carried his bat in an innings. 6.5

Hamish Rutherford
Missed most of the Plunket Shield but had a good one-day campaign.6.5

ALL-ROUNDERS

Jimmy Neesham
Had back problems and was on limited bowling loads. Capable of better with the bat. 7

Sam Wells
Only got half of his game going. Bowled well in limited-overs cricket but struggled with the bat. 6

Christi Viljoen
Made a late impact when called into the team. Swung the ball plenty. 7

BOWLERS

Jacob Duffy
Very good with the white ball but did not have the impact he would have liked in first-class cricket. 7.5

Warren Barnes
Not sighted in first-class cricket but brilliant with the white ball. 8

Nathan McCullum
Still a very canny twenty20 bowler. 7.5

Jack Hunter
Decent rookie campaign. Had one great morning to help Otago secure its only win in the Plunket Shield. 6.5

Neil Wagner
Featured strongly in the one-day campaign. 7.5

Craig Smith
Admiral effort. Bowled a lot of overs. 6

Mark Craig
Was returning to some of his best form when he broke his hand. 6.5

Rhys Phillips
Struggled to make the most of his opportunities. 5

KEEPER

Derek de Boorder
Left batting with the tail far too often. Solid enough season. 6.5