His superb undefeated knock of 120 helped the Volts claw their way off the bottom of the Ford Trophy standings and into Friday’s elimination final against Canterbury in Queenstown.
The Volts had to play some bold cricket to get there.
They overhauled Northern Districts’ tally of 240 in the 38th over with seven wickets to spare, which sounds like a cakewalk.
But reality was quite different.
Otago found itself in a difficult situation yesterday after the two other Ford Trophy games were abandoned and the points shared.
That relegated the Volts to last place.
But the close nature of the tournament meant they could still slip into the playoffs with a bonus-point win against the Brave.
Northern Districts was not too keen on that scenario unfolding since it was its spot the Volts would be taking.
The visiting side faltered, though, and it staggered through to an under-par total.
Matt Bacon took three for 36 and Michael Rae nabbed four for 50 — his last two deliveries were hit for 10 runs.
Jake Gibson’s frugal nine-over spell of one for 27 was valuable as well.
Brett Hampton clubbed 74 and Tim Seifert made 47 at the top.
While the tally was light, Northern Districts had 10 overs up their sleeves.
The Volts needed to reach the target within 40 overs in order to pick up said bonus point and advance.
That meant the home team needed to score at just over six an over, which was a much harder proposition.
Rutherford and Max Chu (48) put on 102 for the opening wicket to set up the platform.
Dean Foxcroft made a major contribution as well with 47. He combined in a stunning 123-run stand with Rutherford.
But it was Rutherford who won the day. His missed the Super Smash elimination final last week due to a back complaint.
He was able to brush that off and play a winning hand despite looking stiffer than a lamp post.
"It was really pleasing to be able to produce a match-winning performance in what turned out to be a quarterfinal," Rutherford said.
"We knew we needed to win with a bonus point ... so it was a dream result to bowl first and know what we needed to chase.
"The bowlers did a sensational job to keep it to a score where we only needed six an over, so that wasn’t out of reach."
That bowling effort was certainly notable.
A bit of extra bounce from Rae accounted for Katene Clarke. Ben Lockrose had to rush forward to make a top catch at third man.
Jeet Raval lobbed up another catch to Lockrose, who was at mid-off this time.
Northern was were under further pressure when Lockrose bowled Henry Cooper for four and Mitchell Santner got an edge through to the keeper on nine.
Santner had looked in crisp form too.
The innings was teetering, but Hampton hit a flurry of boundaries to help transfer some of the pressure to the Volts’ cadre of spinners.
He combined with Tim Seifert to add 63. But a disastrous single ended up with both players at one end.
Hampton had run through, but Seifert changed his mind and tried to scamper back.
It was photo finish but Seifert had to go, having made 47.
Hampton took out some frustration on Glenn Phillips, clobbering the offspinner for a couple of sixes and a four.
He was working his team in a good spot to defend the bonus point.
But the Volts brought back Bacon to secure the breakthrough and he delivered.
He got the ball to shape away and Hampton pushed it to Foxcroft at cover.
It was big wicket in the context of the game.
Central Districts qualified top and is through to Sunday’s final, which is also in Queenstown.
NORTHERN DISTRICTS
KD Clarke c Lockrose b Rae 7
T Seifert run out (Foxcroft/Lockrose) 47
J Raval c Lockrose b Bacon 2
J Carter not out 20
H Cooper b Lockrose 4
M Santner c Chu b Gibson 9
B Hampton c Foxcroft b Bacon 74
KDC Clarke c Johnson b Rae 20
T Pringle c G Phillips b Rae 27
J Walker c & b Rae 2
S Johnston c Gibson b Bacon 10
Extras (7lb, 11w) 18
Total (all out, 49.3 overs) 240
Fall: 1-7, 2-14, 2-50* (Joe Carter retired not out), 3-59, 4-72, 5-135, 6-186, 7-219, 8-227, 9-228.
Bowling: M Bacon 9.3 overs, 1 maidens 36 runs, 3wickets (1w), M Rae 10-2-50-4 (1w), B Lockrose 7-0-42-1 (1w), J Gibson 9-0-27-1, M Rippon 10-1-44-0 (2w), G Phillips 4-0-34-0.
OTAGO
H Rutherford not out 120
M Chu c sub (F Walker) b Pringle 48
G Phillips c Seifert b KDC Clarke 5
D Foxcroft c KD Clarke b KDC Clarke 47
L Johnson not out 8
Extras (2lb, 11w) 13
Total (3 wickets, 37.4 overs) 241
Fall: 1-102, 2-109, 3-232.
Bowling: K Clarke 7-0-34-2 (3w), S Johnston 6-1-38-0 (3w), B Hampton 6-0-44-0 (1w), J Walker 3-0-23-0, M Santner 9.4-0-52-0, T Pringle 6-0-48-1.
Result: Otago won by seven wickets.
