Otago coach Rob Walter has questioned his side’s application following an embarrassing loss to Canterbury at Hagley Oval yesterday.
The Volts were dismissed for a paltry 173 in their second innings, handing the home side a victory by an innings and 119 runs.
Other than some tenacious batting by Brad Wilson in the first innings, and a determined half century by Derek de Boorder in the second, Walter was struggling to find any positives.
The Volts were bowled out for 140 on the opening day. Canterbury responded with 432 for nine declared and ran through Otago’s batting line-up for a second time, clinching the win with a day to spare.
It was a comprehensive defeat which Walter was not about to sugar coat.
"We showed great character last week, but not much character in the second innings [yesterday]," Walter said.
"Your backs are against the wall when you are 220 behind and you are not necessarily expecting to play yourselves out of it.
"But I guess the most disappointing thing is the lack of character we showed [yesterday]."
The pitch was under covers for three days leading up to the match and it was a bad toss to lose for Otago. However, Wilson showed how to bat on the surface with a watchful innings of 70.
"Brad Wilson certainly showed that it was a deck you could bat on by applying yourself. He gave everyone an example of the type of batting and the type of application that was required."
Canterbury opener Chad Bowes was put down early in his innings and went on to post 137.
"We missed a couple of opportunities which could have changed the game, but that is cricket. You have to create another one which we didn’t manage to do."
The pitch changed nature on day two and was easier going for the batsmen, but Otago did not bowl well.
Jacob Duffy’s remodelled action came under pressure and the right-armer conceded 4.50 runs an over.
"It wasn’t as bad as the numbers suggest, but it wasn’t his best day out, either. It wouldn’t be fair to say he has gone backwards after bowling beautifully just a week earlier," Walter said.
Leg-spinner Michael Rippon did not bowl due to a minor back injury, which put pressure on the rest of the bowling unit. Michael Rae ended up bowling 28.4 overs in a heavy workload as Canterbury’s total continued to mount.Otago’s Nathan Smith was tidy, though, with one for 45 from 17 overs.
Canterbury’s Logan van Beek was the star in the second innings with five for 43. It was his third first-class five-wicket bag.
In Napier, Wellington is 205 for four in its second innings and leads Central Districts by 68 runs with a day to play. Veteran opener Michael Papps is undefeated on 96.
In Auckland, the home side dismissed Northern Districts for 334 for a first innings lead of 127, then increased that to 278 with eight wickets in hand by the close of play on day three.
