As the bottom of the table Otago Volts headed to New Plymouth on the weekend, probably the last thing they needed to hear was that they now hadn’t won a T20 match in more than a year.
But all that was about to change.
Twice the former champions in this format, the Volts broke their epic drought in sensational style by doing what very few manage to achieve — restricting the powerhouse Stags on their home slice of batting paradise that is Pukekura Park.
Rob Nicol and Neil Broom bring plenty of experience at the top
The Stags’ decision to bat first backfired spectacularly as the Volts chopped down their top four all for single figures, no batsman reaching 50 for the hosts in a total that would have been even less defendable had it not been for number nine Seth Rance smashing a career best 42 off 15 balls.
The Volts chased down the target of 148 with almost two overs to spare and got to sing their victory song at last.
Rob Nicol leads with the bat. PHOTOSPORT
“There was a touch of relief, to be honest,” says captain Rob Nicol who’s led the side for the first time this summer after migrating from the Auckland Aces, whom he also captained.
“In terms of where we’re at and what we’ve been doing so far, it was also a nice little measuring stick going for us going forward.”
Shawn Hicks has had a good campaign despite a golden duck in New Plymouth. PHOTOSPORT
That forward vision is important to Nicol for although the southerners are at arm’s length from the leading bunch in the Burger King Super Smash — and can not progress further in this year’s title race, the team sits just one point behind leaders the Central Stags in the country’s other white-ball contest, the one-day Ford Trophy.
So all the meaning to be taken from their back-to-back matches with the Stags — the second of which takes place this afternoon at Invercargill’s Queen’s Park — and their final round against the Auckland Aces away at Eden Park is viewed now through The Ford Trophy prism.
The Volts have reshuffled their pack. PHOTOSPORT
Squad changes in the Volts have attracted curiosity but have no doubt have been angled towards getting a solid wider group in form and ready to tackle the back five rounds of that campaign which resumes in Dunedin on January 27.
“Basically after we lost in Alex we sort of knew we weren’t a chance,” Nicol says, “so we were looking at what we could do to progress in other areas, and looking forward to that Ford Trophy.
“That’s something that’s really poignant in our minds in terms of what we can achieve this season, so we’re starting to actively work towards that — trying to find some rhythm in terms of our individuals and our team dynamic moving forward.”
One of those individuals is clearly paceman Michael Rae (above). The big man in his trademark retro white headband steamed in at Pukekura Park for 3-14 in just his second T20 for the Volts — a career best with a white-hot dot ball percentage of 54.2 at a ground that traditionally favours batsmen.
The fifth bowler to be used in the Volts’ attack, Rae began by taking out BLACKCAP Tom Bruce before arguably turning the match by coming back to get dangerous hitter Josh Clarkson and then Dane Cleaver caught on 17 in the space of three overs, pushing the Stags deeper into the dirt at 66 for six.
“Yeah I was rapt for “Razor” in terms of what he was trying to do there and how he was doing it was perfect for us,” says Nicol.
“He’s put his hand up for the next couple of games in this competition but then also into The Ford Trophy [in which he has yet to make his debut].
“We knew what he could do in the [four-day] Plunket Shield and he’s brought that energy, the charisma and talent to the white ball format — and hopefully he can do that again in Invercargill this afternoon.”
Rae’s standout height and ability to extract bounce also makes the 22-year-old an exciting find for the Volts.
“That was probably his point of difference, a little bit like Ticks [Central Stags paceman Blair Tickner] — just hitting the deck and making the batsman make a decision. In T20s I think that can be a really relevant skill set.”
Bowling first was a bonus, says Nicol, after the Stags won the toss and opted to bat first.
“We just thought that, potentially, with the wicket having been under cover for a couple of days [due to a passing storm] and moisture around the ground, that that was the way to go. We weren’t disappointed to be asked to bowl first and I would have done that had I won the toss.”
The Volts could take pride not only in Rae’s performance, but a fired-up Anaru Kitchen who grabbed his career best bowling figures of 3-24 and then later contributing a key 34 off 22 balls in the middle order.
“Anaru came into the game with a lot of energy and I’m not sure whether that’s because he had just come out of the BLACKCAPS environment and felt the energy around that group, but he brought it back to us, and that was highly commendable from him — he was shouting from the boundary and diving around, putting a lot of energy on the ball when he was bowling and then in his batting he was really calm. It was really refreshing for our group to have someone like that coming back and nice and positive.”
The Volts will be looking for more of the same, hoping to contain the unchanged and wounded Stags at Queen’s Park.
Having had them 81 for seven in the last match, the Volts may just have to hold that thought to keep the confidence running.
Nicol: “That hadn’t happened for us in the whole competition either, so that was something we really jumped on, obviously pretty happy with that — but also I think that’s the key to the competition. If you can get early wickets, it changes the whole dynamic of the fixture.”
Despite lagging in fifth spot, the Stags go into this afternoon’s 4pm match with a game in hand and can still make the Finals if the T20 gods smile on them from here.
