Otago’s 22-run loss to Auckland at Eden Park Outer Oval yesterday is one of those.
The Volts can put a tick on the check list next to full tosses, half-volleys and half-trackers. They produced a poor bowling display and it cost them dearly. Twenty20 debutant Glenn Phillips was the first to cash in on some loose bowling, swatting 55 from 32. Mark Chapman also had no compunction about dispatching the dross which came his way.
He smashed seven sixes and four fours in an inventive and punishing innings. And his 76 from 32 deliveries helped Auckland post 198 for five.
Otago started well but quickly faded, reaching 176 for seven.
"I reckon 175 was probably par on that wicket, so yeah, we weren’t good enough," Otago coach Rob Walter responded when asked about his side’s lacklustre bowling performance.
"If you are not landing [yorkers] then you’ve got to be changing your pace. But we just didn’t execute well enough. It is pretty simple.
"For me, it is not about winning and losing. I get pretty disappointed when we don’t execute the way I know we can, or stick to our game plan as we have discussed."
While the game was a repeat of last year’s final, Auckland fielded an inexperienced team which included fours players who were making their twenty20 debuts.
Otago, by contrast, had an experienced line-up and would have been looking to press its advantage in that area.
But the team started poorly with the ball and was not able to recover. Jacob Duffy was off his game. He bowled three overs and was smacked for 45 runs. He did pick up the wicket of Rob Nicol as a small consolation.
Warren Barnes, who made a big impact last season, also got his length wrong and went for more than 10 an over. Even Neil Wagner struggled to make an impact with none for 34 from four overs.Otago made a rollicking start to its reply as Anaru Kitchen found the boundary.
Derek de Boorder was promoted to No3 and made the most of his opportunity with 44 from 35. It was a curious move, though. With Otago chasing 199, one might have expect the team’s premier batsman, Neil Broom, to come in next.
"He [de Boorder] pretty much showed what he can do. He was striking at over 120 and kept the momentum of the innings going. And it just lengthens our batting line-up a little bit," Walter said.
"After six overs we were flying so we were in a good position. But then we just lost our way a little bit, particularly against the spinners. We were probably still in it up until about 12 or 13 overs but then it got a bit too much."
Auckland leg-spinner Tarun Nethula got the run rate under control for his team with an effective four-over spell. He bowled Kitchen and removed the dangerous Michael Bracewell to finish with two for 28. Fellow spinner Nicol also got through four tight overs.
In the other games, Central Districts beat Canterbury by seven runs by the DLS Method in New Plymouth, and Northern Districts beat Wellington by seven runs in Hamilton.
