South Canterbury crushed Mid Canterbury by an innings and 11 runs in Timaru to seal a Hawke Cup challenge for a third consecutive season.
Oliver Linton helped blast out Mid Canterbury for a measly 75 with a first innings haul of six for 33.
Then South’s No 8 Sam Carlaw counterattacked with 84 to drag his side through to 189.
They had previously slumped to 25 for six, with even reaching Mid Canterbury’s 75 looking like a tall order.
Strike bowler Jed Mckerrow ensured the outright win thanks to a spell of five for 28 to help dismiss Mid Canterbury for 103 in their second innings.
Otago Country had been tied with South Canterbury on 25 points going into the final round of the zone 4 games.
They pressed hard for a victory against Southland in Invercargill but came unstuck.
They rolled Southland for 213 and posted 153 for one declared.
But the home side reached 178 in their second innings, and that left Otago Country needing 239 to win from a minimum of 37 overs.
The chase started poorly when star batter Hugo Bogue, who scored an undefeated 82 in the first innings, was dismissed first ball of the innings.
Cameron Jackson thumped 75, and Taylor Cumberland added 46.
But Otago Country slumped to be all out for 161 and lost by 77 runs.
Earlier, Otago Country bowlers Sukhdev Singh Sandhu took four for 51 and Toby Gallie claimed three for 31 in the first innings.
Singh Sandhu chipped away at Southland in their second dig. He took three for 65, and Charanjeet Sigh claimed a stunning four for 28.
