Devastated Manawatu need miracle

BY PETER LAMPP

Oamaru and surrounds will be bouncing if and when North Otago steal the Hawke Cup from Manawatu at Fitzherbert Park today.

Manawatu need something miraculous today to deny a North Otago team who can thank the deeds of two of their selectors, and disastrous batting by Manawatu.

After two days' play in the final challenge of the summer, North Otago last night had seven wickets in hand, a lead of 186 and held the ace cards. Talk about devastating.

First-innings leads are everything in this stuff and Manawatu could muster a pathetic 159 in reply to North Otago's battling 207.

Manawatu had repelled the strong challenge of Bay Plenty and whipped Marlborough but lost their hard-won poise against the team from New Zealand's second-smallest district.

North Otago selector Pete Cartwright said his men were "in bonus territory" just securing a challenge and being in Palmerston North. North Otago has never won the Cup in four challenges in a century.

"But all we said on the way up we wanted to put these guys under pressure," he said.

They did and he said a win would be massive for North Otago.

"It would be the biggest thing North Otago cricket has ever achieved by a long shot."

Manawatu might be eight men short of their perfect side, but Bryn Templeman with six wickets had the maroons all but marooned at 116 for nine on Saturday.

For the first time the teenage quicks, Adam Milne (with Central Districts) and Bevan Small (injured) were not there with their extra velocity to deliver the coup de grace and North Otago added an infuriating, but fighting 91 for the last wicket.

If they lift the Cup, they can thank the two selectors aged in their 30s, who have both played for Otago, Duncan Drew (102) and David Sewell (37 not out), for the defiant rearguard. They put their nostrils down and enjoyed the slow, flat deck, only removed when Jason McGregor bowled his only ball of the innings.

No one had scored a ton against Manawatu for more than a season. Drew got his in a stay of more than four and a half hours, something Manawatu's batsmen had been doing this year.

Whether it was complacency or lunacy, Manawatu's batting was condemned for being needlessly reckless.

Two were out hooking and one of them was Ian Sandbrook, usually the team's stonewall, when he was on 38.

Manawatu survived the first hour yesterday after being 61 for three overnight but then lost five wickets in 42 minutes – Roald Badenhorst hooking, Dane Cleaver drop-kicking to the fine leg boundary, David Meiring flicking to square leg.

"I was one of those, getting caught on the boundary in a three-day match," Sandbrook lamented. "They were all bad balls.

"Not taking anything away from North Otago; it was not their bowling. It was our poor shots and execution. We just got ourselves out.

"They [North Otago] have done well; hung in and battled."

So after 13 gutsy days of Hawke Cup cricket, Manawatu lost its head on the 14th.

A disappointed Sandbrook was praying for salvation in the 100 overs today.

Scoreboard

North Otago

First innings

C Smith c Cleaver b Templeman 1

B Cant c Murphy b Templeman 2

S Eathorne c Cunningham b Templeman 6

D Broom c Meiring b Lash 5

D Drew c Cleaver b McGregor 102

S Simpson c Cleaver b Lash 29

G Cameron lbw b Lash 0

P Odell c Meiring b Templeman 9

J Horrell b Templeman 0

D Simpson c Cleaver b Templeman 4

D Sewell not out 37

Extras (11lb 1nb) 12

Total 207

Fall: 2 5 14 20 76 80 110 110 116 207

Bowling: B Templeman 20 5 56 6, J Lash 18 7 42 3, R Badenhorst 21 2 58 0, J Cunningham 12 3 35 0, W Murrie 2 1 5 0, J McGregor 0.1 0 0 1.

Second innings

C Smith b Cunningham 32

B Cant c Badenhorst b Murray 28

S Eathorne c Meiring b Cunningham 4

D Broom not out 58

D Drew not out 12

Extras (2b 1w 1nb) 4

Total for 3 wkts 138

Fall: 46 50 94

Bowling: B Templeman 10 2 31 0, J Lash 4 1 8 0 (1nb), J McGregor 10 4 19 0, R Badenhorst 7 0 27 0, J Cunningham 14 2 36 2, L Murray 6 2 15 1.

Manawatu

First innings

L Murray lbw b Sewell 4

W Murrie c Cameron b Brown 18

I Sandbrook c Odell b Cant 38

M Short lbw b Cant 11

D Meiring c Sewell b Odell 22

R Badenhorst c Odell b Cant 2

D Cleaver c Cant b Sewell 1

J Cunningham c S Simpson b Sewell 6

J McGregor lbw b Simpson 11

B Templeman b Smith 20

J Lash not out 15

Extras (3b 6lb 1w 1nb) 11

Total 159

Fall: 6 41 57 99 101 103 105 111 142 159

Bowling: D Sewell 24 8 50 3, D Simpson 10 2 18 0, B Cant 19 6 29 3, D Broom 10 5 15 1, J Horrell 6 3 15 0, Palmerston North Odell 8 2 13 1, C Smith 4 1 101.

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