The Otago Volts were holding out for a hero in their last twenty20 match of the season against Auckland yesterday.
They found him in Derek de Boorder.
The wicketkeeper-batsman struck a brilliant 50 not out off 40 deliveries to lead the Volts to victory by two wickets at the Eden Park Outer Oval.
The match was a game of four quarters, rather than one of two halves.
Both sides lost quick wickets early in each innings before their middle orders steadied the game.The Volts made a brilliant start to the match thanks to bowlers Jack Hunter and Matt Bacon.
Hunter had Auckland openers Sean Solia and Glenn Philips out within the first two overs.
Bacon had third-drop Mark Chapman and No4 batsman Craig Chachopa out and Auckland was reeling at 16 for four in the middle of the fourth over.
Middle-order batsmen Robert O’Donnell and Sam Curran got Auckland back on track with contributions of 34 and 32 runs respectively.
Then Ben Horne added 26 as the home side got to 140 in its 20 overs, on a slow pitch.
That target looked achievable, even for the out-of-form Volts. But they took their supporters on a wild ride. Like Auckland, Otago lost early wickets cheaply. Rob Nicol was out for a duck in the first over, then Shawn Hicks tried a horribly unsuccessful ramp shot and was out for three. Hamish Rutherford was then out in the third over which left the Volts three down with only nine runs on the board.
Josh Finnie steadied the Otago innings, firstly with Anaru Kitchen, who looked good striking consecutive sixes before his attempt at a third fell short and he was out for 14.That brought
de Boorder to the crease, and he and Finnie combined for a 36-run partnership that brought the match back within Otago’s reach.
However, with the Volts’ score at 70 and his own tally on 29, Finnie chopped a ball on to the stumps, bringing Michael Rippon out to bat He
made a vital 18 as de Boorder continued to accumulate runs as the mainstay of the Otago innings.
Christi Viljoen added nine off as many balls, but Matt Bacon did not trouble the scorers.
Next, up stepped Michael Rae who proved a capable foil to de Boorder. The pair edged Otago closer to victory with brilliant running and good shot selection.
Rae was faced with the task of hitting the winning runs in the final over, when Otago required one run to win with two balls remaining, and the tail-ender did not disappoint.
The victory means the Volts end their horror twenty20 campaign on a positive note and will now concentrate on the national one-day competition. Otago plays Canterbury at University Oval on January 27 in its next match of 50 overs.
