But that was the position Otago coach Vaughn Johnson found himself in yesterday. The Volts scored an imposing 302 for six but let Auckland off the hook with a sloppy performance in the field and some ill-disciplined bowling in their Ford Trophy clash at the University Oval.
Opener Bradley Cachopa anchored the chase with a fabulous maiden century and some explosive hitting from Colin de Grandhomme sealed the dramatic two-wicket win at the University Oval. But both batsmen should have been out before they had a chance to influence the outcome of the one-dayer.
Cachopa played a masterful hand, attacking early and whacking a series of boundaries in a whirlwind 46-ball 50. He then switched from aggressor to anchor man. But his wonderful innings of 114 from 130 deliveries should have been cut short much earlier.
He was dropped on six when he got a thick edge down to third man. Sam Wells charged in and dived forward, grasping the catch in both hands only to have the ball knocked from his clutches when he landed. It was not easy but the type of catch you expect to be taken at this level.
The other big moment in the game came towards the end of the innings. Zimbabwean-born de Grandhomme whacked 43 from just 18 balls but before he really got into his rhythm he should have been stumped off the bowling of spinner Nick Beard.
De Grandhomme danced down the wicket and, with a ferocious northerly at his back, attempted to whack Beard back over his head. He missed and so did the keeper Derek de Boorder. He had two grabs at the ball and watched forlornly as it rolled away and with it the golden opportunity to remove the big-hitting all-rounder.
While they were key moments in the match Johnson put the blame for the loss firmly with the bowling effort.
"I'm not happy at all," Vaughn Johnson said moments after Michael Bates hit the winning runs.
"I thought the guys, under difficult and trying conditions, stuck to it reasonably well but we should really be able to defend 300.
"Chances like that cost you sooner or later and they did today. Our batting turned up but our bowling didn't.
"At the end of the day it is disappointing to lose that one but it went down to the second-to-last ball. Hopefully, it is not one we look back on and say, 'that has cost us'."
Strike bowler Neil Wagner has enjoyed much success in the first-class arena but that form has not always been seen in the limited-overs format. He was expensive, conceding 76 runs from 9.5 overs. The team conceded nine runs from wides as well which proved costly.
Earlier, Otago made a tentative beginning with the bat. Aaron Redmond's lean run continued when he set off on impossibly tight single and could not beat the underarm throw of Anaru Kitchen, and Broom charged Kyle Mills only to get an inside edge through to the keeper.
Craig Cumming, playing in his 100th one-day game for Otago, got the fightback under way with a superb innings of 78. He also become the first player to score 3000 one-day runs for Otago.
The 36-year-old paced his innings beautifully and combined with Wells in a 79-run stand for the fourth wicket and added 93 with Nathan McCullum for the fifth-wicket.
Jimmy Neesham and de Boorder finished the innings superbly with a 50-run partnership off 32 balls to guide Otago past 300.
Wells posted his maiden one-day half-century off 49 deliveries but struggled against Bhupinder Singh and was bowled trying to hit the spinner down the ground.
McCullum played quite a different type of innings. He bludgeoned the ball but it proved equally as effective as the all-rounder thrashed 64 from 52 deliveries.
With McCullum's demise the in-form Neesham picked up the challenge. He played the shot of the day - a wonderful lofted on-drive which clattered into the sight screen with a satisfying clunk.
His innings of 44 from 29 deliveries was a delight.
In other matches, Central Districts broke its Ford Trophy one-day duck for the season with a six-wicket win over Northern Districts in Hamilton yesterday.
Central bowled out Northern for 169 in 43.1 overs and then Mathew Sinclair made 63 not out to guide the visiting side home with 12 overs to spare.
Captain Grant Elliott led very much by example as Wellington also secured its first one-day win of the season.
Elliott's 103 powered Wellington to an imposing 307 for five against Canterbury in Timaru and it went on to seal victory by 33 runs when dismissing the home side for 274 in the 47th over.
