What do Otago cricketers Jesse Ryder and Michael Bracewell have in common?
Well, they are both lefties. They both like to hit the ball hard and they have both scored back-to-back hundreds to get their summers off to a wonderful start.
Ryder scored 117 against his former team, Wellington, last month and was in a belligerent mood against Canterbury in Rangiora yesterday, smashing 22 fours in his innings of 120 - that is 88 runs in boundaries.
Bracewell scored 107 in the match against Wellington and backed up with a fine innings of 129.
The pair combined to add 178 for the third wicket to help the Volts reach 374 in reply to Canterbury's first-innings total of 243.
At stumps on day two, Canterbury was in trouble at 87 for five and trailed Otago by 44 runs.
The game is on track for an early finish unless Canterbury can muster a lower-order rally.
Ryder has not played international cricket since February last year, after deciding to take a break from the game at that level. But he has made no secret of his desire to get his spot back in the Black Caps.
He has been included in a New Zealand team to play a West Indies XI in a warm-up match later this month.
If it goes well, and with two centuries in two games, his chances of being named in the Black Caps side for the first test against the West Indies in Dunedin early next month must be better than average.
However, Ryder, who was much more comfortable talking about Bracewell's knock than his own, felt he needed to play more first-class cricket before returning to the top level.
He is also struggling with a knee injury and was uncertain whether he would be fit for the warm-up game.
''I've had two games so it is just a matter of continuing to score the runs and just being a consistent player for the Volts and see what happens,'' he said.
As for the knee, Ryder said he would monitor it over the next few days and he hoped to be fit for the warm-up match.
Ryder brought up his 15th first-class hundred with a sweep shot off the bowling of spinner Tim Johnston but talked up Bracewell's third.
''He made batting look easy. He showed a lot of composure. He looked solid all day and put the bad ball away.
''It was awesome to bat with him. He played his game and I played mine and we both fed off each other. He also has two 100s this year and he is going really well.''
Aaron Redmond also raised a milestone. He was solid at the top of the innings with 56 and brought up his 4000th first-class run for Otago when he reached 52. Only eight Otago batsmen have scored more runs for the province than Redmond.
Debutant Ryan Duffy added four to his overnight score of 14 before he was bowled by Todd Astle.
The legspinner took four for 102 from 26 overs. Pace bowler Hamish Bennett was expensive but also claimed four wickets. He removed Derek de Boorder and Iain Robertson in one over, which helped prevent the Volts from building a much larger lead.
Matt Henry was perhaps the pick of the Canterbury bowlers, taking two for 70 from 25 overs.
Otago's other lefties, Neil Wagner and Blair Soper, joined forces to knock over Canterbury's top order. Soper struck first, trapping George Worker lbw, and capped off a good day by capturing Shanan Stewart's wicket. Wagner removed key men Dean Brownlie for one and Peter Fulton for 17.
Spinner Mark Craig provided the final strike for Otago, trapping Brad Cachopa lbw for 27.
