2022/23 • ROUND 8
NORTHERN DISTRICTS beat OTAGO VOLTS by 7 wickets
Bonus point victory
Seddon Park, Hamilton
25 January 2023
Selected milestones
List A debut: Nick Kwant
Tim Seifert: 50th List A match
Katene Clarke | PHOTOSPORT
With the middle of the table as tight as the proverbial at the business end of the season, Northern Districts snatched an invaluable opportunity against the visiting Volts to jump from third into second on the table.
The Otago Volts meanwhile lost valuable ground, conceding a bonus point as ND raced home, in a 223-run chase on a hot Hamilton afternoon, with almost 20 whopping overs to spare.
Bonus points are highly prized on the points table and the seven wicket win saw ND bounce back strongly from a heavy loss to the Central Stags at the same venue the previous week, overtaking Canterbury and now just two points behind leaders the Stags with two rounds to go.
ND wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert slammed a half century to celebrate his 50th cap match for his team in List A one-day matches, top-scoring in the chase with 80 at a run-a-ball clip.
Earlier, captain Jeet Raval had won the toss and bowled, Seifert opening his day with two stumpings off Pete Drysdale and Freddy Walker.
Otago had made a positive start with the welcome flow of runs for captain Hamish Rutherford, scratching his way back into form with a top score at the top for the Volts of 57.
But whilst his team had previously been doing very well regardless of his scant contributions in the batting department, this time it was the inverse for the Volts whose batting fell away following the loss of Dean Foxcroft (stumped on 30) at the halfway mark - when the visitors were reasonably well placed at 105 for two.
Foxcroft and Rutherford had combined for an 86-run stand for the second wicket and it was a massive breakthrough for the recalled Drysdale.
Number four Dale Phillips stuck around from there and reached 41, but he was stymied by the loss of a succession of three partners, before he himself departed at 176/7.
Northern's attack toughed out the heat and humidity, not to mention the early threat of growing partnerships, to haul themselves right back into the frame. Drysdale, Walker and Scott Kuggeleijn all finished with a brace; youngster Kristian Clarke again did some damage with 3-48 and Brett Hampton put some pressure on without the tangible reward of a wicket.
A total of 222/9 meant ND would need just under five runs per over, but they had their eye on more than that. Seifert's solid start, combined with an explosive 68 off just 45 balls from Katene Clarke, gave the team the power surge it needed at the top to go chasing that valuable bonus point as well as a win.
Between them the pair slammed seven sixes in an entertaining 148-run opening stand in the space of just 20 overs, more than half the run chase ticked off before Clarke was deceived whilst playing back to Josh Finnie.
Raval and Seifert then fell in a clump, Finnie picking up his second, but Joe Carter and Henry Cooper settled things down to ram home the victory with an unbroken 41*-run stand, in just 30.5 overs.
