It is not morse code.
It is not an internet address.
It is not a cryptic clue for three down.
It is the Otago scorecard between overs two and four.
Ideally the Volts would have scored a few runs during that period of their Super Smash game against Northern Districts in Queenstown yesterday.
It was going to take some wonderful batting to bounce back from nine for three.
Wonderful was in short supply.
The Volts limped to 123 for eight.
Northern Districts mowed down the target in the 16th over with seven wickets in hand. Joe Carter smashed a six over the embankment to put an exclamation mark on the victory.
Michael Rippon top-scored for Otago with 40, and Jake Gibson chipped in with 25.
But it was not enough to make a game of it. Not even close.
What the Volts needed was those three disastrous overs back and another 50-odd runs.
The first over actually went well for the Volts. They collected nine runs from it without calamity.
But Scott Kuggeleijn derailed the first cab. Hamish Rutherford speared a catch to Joe Walker.
Kristian Clarke backed up with a double wicket maiden. He nicked out Thorn Parkes, who joined the team late as a replacement for Dale Phillips who was ill, and then trapped Josh Finnie lbw next ball.
The hat-trick was averted, but that was a small victory for the Volts who were in free fall.
Dean Foxcroft (12) decided he would have to play some shots anyway. He opted to attack Brett Hampton’s bowling.
But it just brought another wicket for the visitors.
At the halfway mark Otago was 42 for four.
Rippon added some starch and Gibson some momentum. But the Brave never allowed the Volts back into the game.
Mitchell Santner took two for 19 in a tidy spell.
Kuggeleijn got the key wicket of Rutherford, while Kristian Clarke’s double wicket maiden was devastating.
The other K. Clarke — Katene Clarke — blasted three fours in a short stay at the top of the order.
He was overly ambitious perhaps, but he put his side on the right trajectory for an early finish.
Tim Seifert (36) likes to play his shots and got cracking as well.
He flayed Finnie for back-to-back sixes but then got a top edge while attempting to make it three in a row.
If Otago was still harbouring any hope, it peaked when Jeet Raval (18) clonked a catch to mid-on shortly after Seifert’s departure.
But Santner (41 not out) teed off, whacking four sixes and three boundaries in a punishing hitting spree to help seal the win.
The game attracted 436 spectators which was well down on the crowds which have shown up to Molyneux Park for similar fixtures in the past.
The Volts will host Auckland at the same venue tomorrow.
OTAGO
H Rutherford c Walker b Kuggeleijn 8 (9)
T Parkes c Seifert b KDC Clarke 1 (6)
D Foxcroft c Cooper b Hampton 12 (17)
J Finnie lbw b KDC Clarke 0 (1)
M Rippon not out 23 (30)
L Johnson c Kuggeleijn b Pringle 13 (12)
J Gibson c Walker b Santner 25 (18)
J Duffy run out (Santner/Seifert) 5 (3)
M Rae not out 6 (4)
B Lockrose not out 10 (6)
Extras (2b, 1w) 3
Total (for 8wkts, 20 overs) 123
Fall: 1-9, 2-9, 3-9, 4-31, 5-56, 6-99, 7-100, 8-109.
Bowling: T Pringle 4-0-26-1, S Kuggeleijn 4-2-16-1, KDC Clarke 4-1-29-2 (1w), B Hampton 2-0-16-1, M Santner 4-0-19-2, J Walker 2-0-15-0.
NORTHERN DISTRICTS
KD Clarke c Bacon b Lockrose 13 (9)
T Seifert c Duffy b Finnie 36 (24)
J Raval c Johnson b Foxcroft 18 (21)
J Carter not out 17 (17)
M Santner not out 41 (20)
Extras (1lb) 1
Total (for 3 wkts, 15.1 overs) 126
Fall: 1-15, 2-67, 3-73.
Bowling: J Duffy 2.1-0-21-0, B Lockrose 4-0-29-1, M Rae 1-0-9-0, M Bacon 2-0-7-0, M Rippon 1-0-11-0, D Foxcroft 4-0-35-1.
J Finnie 1-0-13-1.
Result: Northern Districts won by seven wickets.
