About the same time the Otago rugby players were gritting their teeth while watching Canterbury hoist the NPC trophy, the Volts were opening the summer with a relatively comprehensive loss to the same province.
The Volts failed to bat out their 50 overs in the Ford Trophy clash at Hagley Oval, crumbling for 206 with seven balls left in the innings.
It would be unfair to say Canterbury cruised to victory, but it would be reasonably accurate to say one man proved the difference.
Black Caps top-order batter Henry Nicholls cracked his ninth List A century to guide Canterbury to a six-wicket win in the 39th over.
Otago had made a bright start to their first campaign under rookie coach Josh Tasman-Jones.
New opener Jack Boyle, who previously played for Canterbury, and Jamal Todd put on 51 for the first wicket.
Left-hander Todd cracked boundaries off consecutive Fraser Sheat deliveries and raced to 24 off 24 balls (five fours) when he got a little ambitious with a pull shot and skied an Angus McKenzie short ball to the hands of Michael Rae in the deep.
Thorn Parkes then got run out for one as he was the victim of a direct hit from fielder Rhys Mariu.
At the other end, Boyle was making a promising start to his Volts career.
He played shots around the wicket and moved smoothly to his half-century in 60 balls.
Looking to accelerate the scoring rate, Boyle had reached 64 (77 balls, nine fours) when he was caught lbw on the back foot from a smart Sheat ball.
The Volts were still handily placed at 127 for three, but the Johnson and Johnson firm, basher Llew and newcomer Troy, fell for single figures.
Max Chu grafted for 36 off 48 and Luke Georgeson 32 off 56, but neither the innings nor the scoring rates were enough to get the Volts to a really challenging target.
Ex-Otago players did much of the damage with the ball for Canterbury.
Michael Rippon claimed three for 28, McKenzie three for 30 and Rae one for 39.
Canterbury raced to 72 without loss in reply before Chad Bowes (24) fended a rising Matt Bacon ball to Troy Johnson at cover.
When Mariu turned run out victim — he was called through for a risky single and Llew Johnson threw down the stumps — there was a glimmer of hope for the Volts.
Nicholls extinguished that hope.
The new Canterbury captain passed 5500 List A runs when he reached 51, and he posted his ton off 108 balls.
Matt Boyle chipped in with 34 and Nicholls was undefeated on 117 (125 balls, 14 fours) when victory was achieved.
Danru Ferns also made his Otago debut, grabbing a wicket after contributing 15 with the bat.
Central Stags allrounder Josh Clarkson snaffled his maiden one-day five-wicket bag in New Plymouth.
His five for 32 started with two wickets in two balls against the Wellington Firebirds, who were eventually rolled for 199 in the 41st over.
Opening batter Brad Schmulian (60) and former Otago favourite Dean Foxcroft (51 off 47 balls) powered Central to a four-wicket win with 10.4 overs to spare.
In Auckland, the Aces beat Northern by six wickets.
Joe Carter scored 53 in Northern’s meagre 168, while Jock McKenzie led the Auckland attack with three for 36.
The Aces lost early wickets before Bevan Jacobs smashed an unbeaten 67 off just 45 balls (three fours, seven sixes) to guide the Aces to victory in the 29th over.
Round two is on Thursday, with the Aces hosting the Volts, Central playing Northern at Pukekura Park and Wellington playing Canterbury at the Basin Reserve.
OTAGO
J Boyle lbw Sheat 64
J Todd c Rae b McKenzie 24
T Parkes run out 1
M Chu c Bowes b Rippon 36
L Johnson lbw McKenzie 3
T Johnson b Rippon 5
L Georgeson c Boyle b Rae 32
B Lockrose c and b Rippon 7
D Ferns run out 15
M Bacon b McKenzie 3
J McKay not out 2
Extras (10 lb, 4 w) 14
Total (all out; 48.5 overs) 206
Fall: 1/51, 2/53, 3/127, 4/136, 5/140, 6/143, 7/163, 8/197, 9/202.
Bowling: F Sheat 9-0-41-1 (1w), A McKenzie 8.5-2-30-3 (1w) , I Sodhi 10-1-41-0, M Rae 10-0-39-1 (2w), C McConchie 2-0-17-0, M Rippon 9-1-28-3.
CANTERBURY
H Nicholls not out 117
C Bowes c T Johnson b Bacon 24
R Mariu run out 0
M Boyle c Chu b Ferns 34
C McConchie c T Johnson b Lockrose 15
M Hay not out 10
Extras (3 b, 4 w) 7
Total (for 4 wickets; 38.5 overs) 207
Fall: 1/72, 2/75, 3/146, 4/182.
Bowling: D Ferns 8-0-45-1 (2w), L Georgeson 6-0-28-0, M Bacon 5-0-34-1 (1w), B Lockrose 10-1-50-1, J Boyle 5-0-18-0, J McKay 4.5-0-29-0 (1w).
Result: Canterbury won by six wickets.
