CRICKET - Volts hoping to switch on in rare jaunt up north

One-day cricket is about confidence, everyone who takes the park has the confidence of the captain and the coach ... Craig CummingOtago cricket captain Craig Cumming is hoping the Volts can entertain the Whangarei crowd on a rare trip north of Auckland, as well as reaping a vital win to start the second round of the State Shield one-day series.
The visiting side are identifying Sunday's match as a chance to redeem themselves after a below par first round nine-wicket loss against the Northern Knights at Alexandria and a chance to kick-off the second round of the competition in a positive fashion.
"We've had some very good one-dayers against ND in the past and I think the match in Alex was out of the ordinary, so hopefully the crowd will see a good match on Sunday with a couple of scores over 250 and hopefully we'll get one more run than ND," Cumming said.
The right-handed batsman was a test opener for New Zealand in 11 tests and 12 ODIs but since then - given a good stock of openers at the province - he has dropped down the order to bat at No4.
The change has suited him and the 33-year-old has averaged 87.5 in his four matches in the series to date - thanks in part to two not out scores.
Otago now sit in third place on the series table - one point behind the Knights and both teams are keen on making the most of their good starts to earn semifinal berths.
"The second round is all about making sure you play well because all the teams have had four or five games to get to know their structures and the level of play goes up another notch," Cumming said.
Otago have become one of the top exponents of the domestic one-day game since rebuilding the side a few year ago.
They are the current one-day champions and were the beaten finalist in 2007 and a semifinalist in 2006. Cumming said they determined to make the semifinals once again this year.
"We've been very consistent in the one-day game over the past three years and I suppose part of our strength is our diversity. We've got players that can do certain things in different conditions and we're not pigeonholed with one certain style."
Cumming said the team had a philosophy that everyone understood.
"One-day cricket is about confidence, everyone who takes the park has the confidence of the captain and the coach and knows that everyone in the team is backing their ability and that helps them do their job."
It has been a long time since Cumming last played in Whangarei - at the old Cobham Oval - more than 10 years ago and the new ground is very much to his liking.
"The new ground looks fantastic, it's a nice big ground and there are great facilities and we've heard good things about the pitch," he said.
Otago have been on the road for 10 days after matches against Wellington and Auckland and Cumming said they were enjoying their stay in the north after arriving on Wednesday evening.
"It's a part of the country we don't get to often and the guys are enjoying it. The weather's been beautiful and we've been well looked after. Hopefully the pitch will produce a lot of runs," he said.