Hawke Cup

North Otago beat Mid Canterbury outright by 132 runs to move to the top of the Hawke Cup points table, although this was North Otago's final game.

Otago Country put together a dismal performance in its first Hawke Cup outing of the season, losing outright to Southland at Queens Park, in Invercargill yesterday.

The party is over for Otago Country and the onus goes on the side to hold on to the Hawke Cup in its first defence at Alexandra this weekend.

Modern sport is not all smash-and-bash cricket, farcical boxing matches and multimillion-dollar transfer fees. Sports reporter Steve Hepburn finds the successful Otago Country cricket team, which won the Hawke Cup off North Otago on Sunday, relies on good old pride and passion to succeed.

One part of Otago will be joyous and another will be desolate after the Hawke Cup cricket match in Oamaru this weekend. North Otago, in the first defence of its inaugural tenure, faces Otago Country in an intriguing battle of the heartland. Our regional correspondents, Terry O'Neill and Rhys Chamberlain, check in with the two camps.

It is the biggest match in Otago Country's calendar this weekend as it tries to prise provincial cricket's biggest prize from North Otago's hands.

Otago Country earned valuable first innings points in its penultimate zone six Hawke Cup elimination game against North Otago at Whitestone Contracting stadium over the weekend.

An excellent 123 from Queenstown's Fraser Wilson ensured that Otago Country achieved a first innings win over Southland in its Hawke challenge match at Molyneux Park yesterday.

Former Canterbury batsman Darren Broom is still the toast of Oamaru after he helped North Otago claim the Hawke Cup last summer with a fine century.