It is too soon to say how international rookies Andy McKay and Peter Ingram will fare in the long term but they have already made a big impression on their skipper Daniel Vettori.
Was it worth the six-year wait? Probably not.
When Shane Bond ripped through the Pakistan batting line-up in Dunedin in November, he did so out of his love of the game.
New Zealand's 16-strong Winter Olympics squad is highly regarded but medals might be as hard to find as snow at the bottom of Cypress Mountain, Dunedin-based national performance director Ashley Light says.
Netball Otago's financial outlook is a lot rosier than it was this time last year, with the incorporated society recording its first profit in three years.
World champion Alison Shanks will lead an 11-strong Otago team at the New Zealand elite track cycling championships in Invercargill beginning tonight.
Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori was "pretty pleased" with his side's five-wicket win against Bangladesh but knows improvements will have to be made before the Australians arrive later this month.
Black Caps and Otago batsman Neil Broom has been mowing down bowling attacks all summer long but yesterday it was his backyard's turn.
It is probably several weeks too late to make much of an impact, but top-order batsman Aaron Redmond will make his return for Otago tomorrow.
While most cricket fans have had Monday's one-day international marked on their calendar, 300 budding young cricketers have been looking forward to tomorrow even more.
New Southern Steel captain Megan Dehn is not the type to rant and rave or lay down the law.
Bangladesh is probably not going to drag too many extra punters through the University Oval gates for Monday's one-day international in Dunedin.
A poor batting display has left Otago's prospects of a repeat twenty/20 title in a perilous position.
Shanan Stewart is one of only a handful of batsmen around the country capable of consistently bashing 50-odd off half that number of deliveries.
Otago leg-spinner Emma Campbell was lost for words when she got a phone call from White Ferns coach Gary Stead telling her she had been selected in the one-day side.
Brendon McCullum just keeps finding new ways to entertain and kept a crowd of 2810 enthralled with a magical innings at the University Oval last night.
Otago all-rounder Sam Wells returns from injury but classy opener Aaron Redmond continues to struggle with a muscle strain and will miss the Volts' crucial match against Auckland in Oamaru today.
Otago all-rounder Yasir Arafat was responsible for more than 200 of the runs scored in a one-day match in Oamaru yesterday.
The Southern Steel has drawn another New Zealand side, the Central Pulse, for its opening game of the annual Netball Cup in Sydney.
China dominates world table tennis and Fiji is good at sevens, right? Well, sort of.
