Taylor Cumberland was hungry for runs and it showed as Otago Country claimed first-innings points in a drawn Hawke Cup qualifying match in Alexandra yesterday.
Country scored 308 for nine against Mid Canterbury before declaring its first innings closed.
Mid Canterbury was then dismissed for 231, and Country was 208 for one in its second dig, 285 runs in front, when the game was called off with time running out.
Cumberland, who first made waves in cricket when he smacked a double century in an interschool for King’s High School in 2013, scored an unbeaten century, his first at this level, and a half-century for Country at Molyneux Park.
In the first innings, he made a patient 54 off 107 balls.
That was the entree for the main course, a wonderful 119 not out yesterday off 108 balls (16 fours) as Cumberland had the freedom to attack knowing Country could not be beaten.
He added 113 for the first wicket with Cam Jackson (56) and an unbeaten 95 for the second with Sukhdev Singh (30).
Cumberland had been part of a balanced Country batting effort in the first innings.
Michael Goldstein continued his run of form with 75, and all of the top nine batters in the order passed double figures.
Swaran Sandhu then took over with the ball, claiming four for 57 as Mid Canterbury fell short after having been looking reasonably well placed at 155 for three.
Otago Country earns eight points for winning the first-innings battle.
Country and Southland are tied at the top of zone four on 16 points, though Southland has a game in hand.
North Otago (12) has also played one game fewer than Country has, while Mid and South Canterbury (both 5) lag behind.
Meanwhile, Hawke Cup holder Hawke’s Bay has seen off its first challenger of the summer.
Angus Schaw took five wickets for Hawke’s Bay as Manawatu was dismissed for 290 in Napier.
The home side then cruised to a first-innings lead, reaching 292 for three off 114.3 overs thanks to Bayley Wiggins (72), Jono Whitley (68) and Brad Schmulian (64).
