Otago’s push for Plunket Shield glory got off to a roller-coaster start at the University Oval yesterday.
They rolled Wellington for 156.
That was all giggles and backslapping.
Thomas O’Connor picked up another big bag of wickets.
The next part was all head-shaking and thousand-yard stares.
Former Otago seamer Nathan Smith (two for 11) teamed up with James Hartshorn (two for 26) to reduce the home team to 41 for four when bad light rescued the Volts from more pain. The pitch was best described as sporting. And by sporting, we mean green and a touch soft on top.
The toss was crucial.
Tom Blundell called tails and moments later was giving his side the bad news - Wellington were batting first.
O’Connor struck twice in the third over. The 21-year-old leftarmer had picked up 20 wickets in the two games prior and came into the match hot.
With a new cherry, the wind at his back and a decent covering of grass, O’Connor was menacing.
The batting was not particularly clever, though. It was duck season.
Opener Jesse Tashkoff (0) chased a wider delivery and was brilliantly caught by Max Chu. The dangerous Tim Robinson (0) speared a catch to gully, and the equally dangerous Nick Kelly was trapped lbw first ball. Wellington were reeling at 10 for three.
A dozen or so young men had populated the usually empty embankment and celebrated each wicket by showering beer over themselves and each other. And why not?
The fun did not stop there.
O’Connor (four for 45) nabbed a fourth. Muhammad Abbas had a lash and sliced a catch to Luke Georgeson at first slip.
The lovable misfits on the embankment were joined by more enthusiastic fans.
They had doubled in mass and were at full voice when Georgeson removed Nick Greenwood or 15. More beer showers.
Blundell (25) countered. He punched a crisp drive down the ground and clipped another off his pads. Smith clubbed a series of early boundaries to help the visitors rebound from a disastrous 28 for five.
He just kept finding the middle of the bat and lofted a delivery from Danru Ferns over long-on for a sparkling six.
His cameo was growing in substance and had reached the level of annoying as far as the Volts were concerned.
He had a life on 43. Jacob Cumming grassed a tough chance at second slip. Now it was a lot more than annoying.
Smith lost a couple of co-conspirators at the other end and had to continue with the plan of clobbering it at every opportunity.
His 15th first-class half-century had come up off 40 balls, and at tea the Firebirds were 142 for eight.
The break broke Smith’s concentration and he was dismissed for a valuable 71. Matt Bacon delivered that blow and got the final wicket thanks to Tom Jones, who dived forward to take a nice catch in the outfield.
Otago did not find batting any easier. But they are only a decent partnership or two away from regaining the initiative.
In the other games, Northern Districts are 93 for four in reply to Central Districts’ tally of 235 at Seddon Park, while Auckland are 280 for nine in their crucial game against Canterbury at Eden Park Outer Oval.
• The Dunedin premier grade one-day final between North East Valley and Albion today has been shifted from Tonga Park to Brooklands Park. The covers blew off and the pitch got wet.
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