KEY POINTS:
There's a very long pause as Craig Cumming trawls his memory bank to recall what he was up to in the summer of 1987-88.
The fortunes of the Otago cricket team did not register on his conscience back then as he was trying his best to impress for South Canterbury in the South Island primary schoolboys' tournament in Invercargill.
That season marks the only time Otago have won the provincial one-day title, with a team containing the likes of Wally Lees, Kevin Burns, Richard Hoskin, Neil Mallender and Stephen Boock.
Nineteen years later Cumming has graduated from shorts to longs and the Otago captaincy as they enter the State Shield final determined to leave their own imprint on the history books.
Cumming, 30 and with seven tests and 12 one-day internationals behind him for New Zealand, knows what success will mean for Dunedin and the wider Otago region.
"It's been a long time, you can't hide from that," Cumming said of Otago's conspicuously empty trophy cabinet.
"Dunedin has been crying out for some success for a while. The rugby team has been meandering along a little bit and people are enjoying the fact we are in a final.
"In the last two-three weeks I've noticed a lot of support, a lot of people wishing us well and a lot of people getting excited about how well we've been going."
Otago qualified top after winning seven of their 10 preliminary matches but were reminded of Auckland's threat when losing the Twenty20 final to the same side last weekend.
Otago coach Mike Hesson will delay naming his team until today.
He is sweating on the fitness of fast bowler James McMillan, who hopes to play despite being sidelined for a fortnight by a side strain.
In his second season in charge after succeeding Glenn Turner in the role, Hesson believes the Otago players are not given their fair due from critics.
"Different people have stepped up at different times this summer which has been great because it shows we have got quite a depth of character," he said.
"A number of players in our team have a lot more skills than they're probably given credit for.
"People talk about them fighting above their weight but there's actually some very talented players in our group."
A crowd of 3000-4000 is expected at University Oval, where Hesson predicts a score of 250-plus will be required by the team batting first.
- NZPA
