Yes. Wait. Oh no.
The Volts bumbled their way to a humbling six-wicket loss to Northern Districts in Whangarei yesterday.
The miserable performance was best summed up by the run out of Neil Broom.
The Volts had slumped to 21 for two but were trying to get the innings back on track through the veteran right-hander and the skipper Nick Kelly.
They added 36 in conservative partnership. But the hard work was undone by a comically bad run out.
Kelly clipped the ball into the leg side and set off for a single. Broom responded by setting off for what should have been a comfortable run.
But Kelly hesitated and Broom, in his hurry to do a rapid U-turn, stumbled then fell.
Meanwhile, Kelly had changed his mind again and set off at full pace with his head down.
Broom was on his knees and elbows by this stage, desperately scrambling to regain his footing and make it back to his end.
Unbeknownst to him, Kelly was winning the race. Broom’s bat slipped from his grip just as Kelly would have emerged in his peripheral vision.
He laid prone on the ground for a moment and then trudged off without looking over at Kelly, who did his best to look the other way as well.
Some earlier eye contact would have avoided the pair ending up at the same end.
It was a terrible blunder in an uninspiring innings by Otago which was ended prematurely on 139 in the 40th over.
Kelly top scored with 59, but he will have some making up to do in the shed.
Matt Fisher nabbed three for 24 and Scott Kuggeleijn took two for 26.
Northern mowed down the modest tally lickety-split.
Opener Katene Clarke clobbered six fours on his way to 28 from 12 balls. Debutant Chris Swanson added 41 from 52 balls, and Black Cap Tim Seifert whacked 51 from 46.
Peter Bocock hit the winning runs in the 23rd over.
The Volts have slipped down the competition standings to fifth.
In the other Ford Trophy games, Auckland smashed 365 for five against Canterbury at Eden Park Outer Oval.
Robbie O’Donnell swatted an undefeated 100 and Adithya Ashok took four wickets to help dismiss Canterbury for 146.
In a rain-affected game in New Plymouth, Central Districts also took the long handle to Wellington, smashing 310 for five wickets in — wait for it — 29 overs.
New Zealand cricket fans are adjusting to the idea of a national side without Ross Taylor, but no-one would have wanted him to still be on test duty in Christchurch yesterday more than the Wellington bowlers.
They were helpless as the experienced Taylor plundered 111 not out off 51 balls, finding the Pukekura Park boundaries — which are admittedly not far away — 14 times, and clearing them on a further five occasions.
Wellington quick Ollie Newton in particular had a day he would rather forget, disappearing for 77 from his six overs.
Taking a measure of revenge for their bowling colleagues, Finn Allen teed off at the outset of the Wellington response to make 49 from 29, and Michael Bracewell continued his fine power hitting this season with a swashbuckling 93 off just 42 balls, including 8 sixes.
But there were no other support acts of note from the Wellington order, and with its own innings reduced to 20 overs after more rain, it could only get through to 184 for six, 43 runs short of its Duckworth-Lewis adjusted target.
FORD TROPHY
OTAGO
D Phillips c Seifert b Kuggeleijn 16
M Renwick b Kuggeleijn 4
N Broom run out (Kuggeleijn/Walker/Seifert) 13
N Kelly b Walker 59
M Rippon st Seifert b Santner 8
A Kitchen c Clarke b Walker 18
M Chu b Fisher 2
T Muller not out 3
J Duffy c Santner b Fisher 0
B Lockrose run out (Clarke/Walker) 0
M Bacon c Seifert b Fisher 1
Extras (6b, 3lb, 6w) 15
Total (all out, 39.5 overs) 139
Fall: 1-20, 2-21, 3-57, 4-84, 5-125, 6-129, 7-129, 8-130, 9-133, 10-139.
Bowling: S Kuggeleijn 7-0-26-2, A Verma 7-0-20-0 (1w), M Fisher 8.5-1-24-3 (5w), J Walker 10-1-35-2, M Santner 7-0-25-1.
NORTHERN DISTRICTS
J Raval c Kelly b Rippon 11
K Clarke b Muller 28
T Seifert lbw b Rippon 51
C Swanson c Chu b Rippon 41
M Santner not out 0
P Bocock not out 3
Extras (1lb, 4w, 1nb) 6
Total (for 4 wkts, 22.4 overs) 140
Fall: 1-32, 2-63, 3-128, 4-137.
Bowling: J Duffy 4-0-46-0 (3w); T Muller 4-0-17-1 (1nb); M Rippon 8.4-1-50-3; A Kitchen 4-2-9-0; B Lockrose 2-0-17-0 (1w).
Result: Northern Districts won by six wickets.
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Comments
Urgent need now to recruit for next season. Becomes more obvious after each game.
Clearly some players bodies are not up to the rigours of first class cricket with constant injury, whilst others are lacking the skills/temperament/technique to survive and prosper. Sad, but that's the evidence being presented week in/week out.