Canterbury bet southern rivals Otago by three wickets in their final match of the Provincial A tournament in Lincoln.
Chasing Otago’s first-innings total of 185 for seven, David Fulton (55*) and Matt McEwan (44*) put on an unbeaten partnership worth 87 for the eighth wicket to lead their side to an unlikely victory after 19.3 overs.
It had looked as if the home side were going to fall well-short of their target, having been struggling at 102 for seven after 13 overs. Henry Nicholls (22) had been the top-scorer amongst the top six batsmen, but no-one had taken the pursuit by the scruff of the neck.
That was until Fulton and McEwan met at the crease, with the duo going at an extraordinary strike-rate of over 200. Fulton struck eight fours and a six, while McEwan whacked three of each.
Together they saw out the total with three balls to spare.
Earlier, Otago’s Iain Robertson had slammed a 46 ball 83 to give the visitors a more than competitive total.
The dynamic number four reached the rope 14 times and alongside some helpful cameos from Sam Wells (29), Mark Craig (19) and Greg Knowles (34*) took his side past the 180 mark – an imposing score on any pitch.
Theo van Woerkom, not for the first time this tournament, was the pick of the Canterbury bowlers and finished with figures of three for 18 from four overs.
