It is a tough gig. Otago captain Jacob Duffy knows that better than most.
He has to bowl to guys such as Guptill and co during the power play and then returns at the death for more punishment.
It can be brutal. The margin between a good ball and one which sails over the rope can be awfully thin.
But there is nothing like that feeling when a plan comes together. And so far Otago is winning those key moments.
The Volts beat Auckland at Eden Park Outer Oval on Saturday despite the home side boasting an all-star cast featuring eight past or present internationals, and despite Glenn Phillips posting an undefeated century and Guptill looking in ominous form with a hard-hit 46.
It is round two against Guptill, Phillips, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson and the like.
‘‘Obviously they’ve got world-class batsmen in their team and lots of them, so it is a tricky one,’’ Duffy said when asked about the bowling plans.
‘‘But we put a lot of work into our scouting and plans and things like that.
‘‘I guess we have more of a defensive mind frame because guys like that come so hard at you, you’re sort of on the back foot from ball one.
‘‘You just have to take the blows when they come and then pounce at certain times which we managed to do in Auckland.
‘‘We’ve played two very good teams so far and managed to come out on top playing our brand of cricket.
‘‘I think we are kind of finding our identity a little bit about how we go about our business.’’
Nathan Smith (21) has been one of the standout performers with the ball. The right-arm medium pacer has taken seven wickets at an average of 8.28.
He took a career-best five for 14 to help clinch a 43-run win against Northern Districts in Hamilton on Monday night.
‘‘I think we’ve known for a couple of years that he is going to be a special player. It is kind of similar to Josh Finnie. It is good to see those guys start to come good.’’
Finnie flayed 47 from 18 balls in the win against the Knights.
‘‘[Smith] has such good depth options and he has a very cool head on his shoulders. He plays beyond his years.’’
The death bowling has been a feature in Otago’s two wins. But it has been the batting in which the side has made the most improvement.
Neil Broom anchored Otago’s win against Auckland with a fine innings of 93.
Finnie, Hamish Rutherford, Nick Kelly and Dean Foxcroft have all played important innings as well. The Volts have scored 408 runs in two games.
‘‘Our confidence is high but beating that team twice will be pretty hard. But we’ve got to keep backing our preparation because it is what has got us across the line.’’
