Optimism after Volts’ first hitout

Otago has lost its first hitout of the season but showed some promise.

The Volts dismissed Canterbury for 262 but came up 71 runs short at Hagley Oval yesterday.

Coach Rob Walter was reasonably pleased with his side’s effort.

"Overall it was not a bad bowling performance in our first competitive hitout," he said.

"We’ve only been on grass for two days, really, so there was some really good stuff there.

"Everyone sort of chipped in as you can see from the figures.

"From a batting point of view, Cam Hawkins started the innings nicely but was not able to convert a start, unfortunately.

"And then the partnership in the middle between Josh
[Finnie] and Dale [Phillips] was great to see against a good bowling line-up.

Finnie made 61 and Phillips top-scored for the Volts with 65, while Hawkins’ effort of 32 was helpful.

But there were too many misses elsewhere in the line-up.

Canterbury had a couple of early hiccups. Openers Tom Latham (3) and Chad Bowes (6) perished cheaply.

Ken McClure struck 62 to lead the recovery. He combined with Leo Carter (32) to set up a useful platform.

But Cole McConchie was the star. He walloped 77 to help put a decent total on the board.

Otago captain Jacob Duffy was the pick of the Volts bowlers with three for 39.

But the other key seamers also stood up. Nathan Smith claimed two for 33 and Matt Bacon nabbed two for 38.

Travis Muller also took two wickets but got clobbered for 53 runs from his eight overs.

The teams will play a twenty20 match today before Otago returns home to Dunedin.

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