Cricket: Volts' jolt early wake up

Homeboy Tom Bruce enjoyed his knock but not the final outcome after CD's first T20 outing in New Plymouth. Photo / File

Will CD hit snooze button again?

It was their favourite home turf, the jokers were in the pack and, hey, even the flipping coin fell in favour of the Central Districts Stags.

So why had the Devon Hotel-sponsored domestic cricket team come up so short in their opening Georgie Pie Super Smash Twenty20 match against the Otago Volts in New Plymouth, yesterday?

Frankly, to put it in sporting parlance, the batsmen failed to turn up at the postage stamp-sized Pukekura Park and CD had little to write home about in their six-wicket slump to the visitors, who had three overs left in the bank.

Well, of course, with the exception of homeboy Tom Bruce making his T20 debut.
Just as the 24-year-old took to bowlers in his rookie first-class season late last summer, the right-hander was 82 not out from 51 deliveries, including six boundaries and four sixes.

"It's a pretty pleasing debut, especially on my home ground but it's a team game so, unfortunately, the end result wasn't there but that's cricket," said No5 Bruce who saved CD's blushes but felt they would have been all right had they scored a few more runs.

The 139-8 was always going to be below par as leftie George Worker's promising 14 runs from 14 balls came unstuck from a pull shot before fellow opener Jesse Ryder found the seven-ball stay for a run too stifling as he chopped on to his stumps.

Sam Wells trapped No3 William Young lbw for six but Dane Cleaver's 18 from 16 balls gave CD some hope.

The others came and went with figures that resembled the grocery bill of a bargain-basement store.

The prudent will rightly argue Otago's bowlers must take some credit and they do with some disciplined bowling from captain Nathan McCullum and Neil Wagner although Warren Barnes took 3-33 from his allotted four overs.

The Southerners were equally adept in constructing their run chase with openers Anaru Kitchen (47 runs) and Neil Broom (29) as CD bowlers haemorrhaged 74 in the first seven overs.

Andrew Mathieson's 3-18 gave the Stags some spring in their step but the Otago middle order were staunch.

The batsmen took a shine to English import Mitchell Claydon, who is here to exude calmness on the young and restless, on debut.

Preying mantis-fashioned spinner Marty Kain and newbie Joshua Clarkson were worthy of a mention in the frugality stakes.

Bruce said the Kruger van Wyk-skippered CD couldn't transform what they were doing during training to match day but it certainly wasn't for the lack of trying.

The Stags were looking forward to reloading for tomorrow night's televised match against Otago on a virgin drop-in wicket on a rugby park at Yarrow Stadium.

The burning question is will CD, under floodlights, be as sharp as New Zealand Cricket's snazzy scoreboard that shows live highlights?