Game Otago gets close to big target

Wellington wicketkeeper Tom Blundell hits the ball while Otago wicketkeeper Ben Cox jumps in the air at a Super Smash game at the University of Otago Oval yesterday. Photo: Gerard O'Brien

Otago was gallant and almost scaled what appeared to be a steep climb.

But it ultimately came up short and its title aspirationsin the Super Smash twenty20 competition are hanging by a thread.

Attempting to chase down a hefty Wellington total of 221 for three wickets, Otago made a rocketing start at the University of Otago Oval yesterday, and at one stage was well ahead of the run rate.

However, in the end. the side lost too many quick wickets, no-one could keep up the momentum and the home team lost by 11 runs.

Otago openers Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford batted like men possessed in an attempt to chase down the target.

The duo hit 26 off one Ben Sears over and Broom reached his 50 in 20 balls, hitting 44 of the runs through boundaries. In one over, he hit the ball out of the ground twice and it was hard to believe he was coming back from injury.

Otago was well placed at 111 for no wicket after just nine overs.But Rutherford tried to put the ball over the long-off boundary and only succeeded in getting caught.

Broom then became somewhat bogged down as Jeetan Patel, in combination with young spinner Rachin Ravindra, cut out the loose balls and slowed down the deliveries.

The target got steeper and Otago needed 84 runs off eight overs.Broom then played a ramp shot off Patel, which was neither here nor there, and it simply went into the hands of Sears at short fine leg.

That was a huge loss and, although Otago kept looking for the win, no-one could grab the Wellington bowling by the scruff of the neck. The side needed 65 runs off the last five but, despite some good hitting by Brad Wilson in the final over getting it close, Wellington bagged the win.

Former Otago all-rounder Jimmy Neesham bowled two quality overs at the end to keep the screws on the Otago batsmen.

With the loss, Otago slips to fifth position on the ladder with all teams having two games to play.Otago will travel to bottom-of-the-table Canterbury next Saturday and then finishes with a game against Northern Districts in Hamilton on February 9.

Although it can still make the top three and get into the playoffs, having four sides above it makes it a difficult equation.

Wellington leapfrogged Otago with the win yesterday and it can thank opening batsman Devon Conway for the victory. He scored an unbeaten century, bringing up the three figures in the final over.

He started off well, got rather bogged down in the middle of his innings but hit cleanly at the end to get to his century.

The South African hit 70 runs in boundaries and shared a 142-run partnership with Tom Blundell. Blundell, who has became a rather forgotten man in New Zealand cricket, struck the ball to all corners of the ground. He could have had a century but holed out off Nathan Smith.