DAY FOUR: DAY THREE: SKYCITY Northern Knights 380 all out and 310-4 declared lead SBS Bank Otago Volts 189 all out and 474 all out (Michael Bracewell 147, Mark Craig 104, Scott Kuggeleijn 4-104) at University Oval.
The Volts went much closer than anyone imagined to pulling off a seemingly impossible victory – chasing 502 to beat the Knights, they made the third highest first class score in NZ cricket history, coming up an agonising 28 runs short of the win.
On a wicket that suited the batsmen the Knights were frustrated in their hunt for the final wickets. Mark Craig scored a fine 104, including a 102 final stand with Jacob Duffy as the Volts edged close to their target.
Knights skipper Daniel Flynn had been forced to rotate his bowlers and look for some inspiration during the day, as the Volts progressed. Earlier, Michael Bracewell went for 147 lbw to Ish Sodhi with just under 200 still needed, while Ryan Duffy (48) had made a valuable contribution earlier.
Craig was the last man to go, bowled by Scott Kuggeleijn to end a match the Knights had dominated throughout, but still somehow lost at the last. They sit second on the log, while the Volts are bottom after two matches.
DAY THREE: SKYCITY Northern Knights 380 all out and 310-4 declared (Joe Carter 125, Brad Wilson 82) lead SBS Bank Otago Volts 189 all out and 143-2 (Hamish Rutherford 74, Michael Bracewell 49*) by 357 runs at University Oval.
The Volts have a large chase still ahead of them on day four with seven wickets in hand, after whittling away at their 502 run target on day three.
The Knights rattled up 310 in their 68 overs, with Joe Cater leading the way with his maiden first-class century of 125. Daniel Flynn was steady with 82, while Scott Kuggeleijn whacked 19 from nine deliveries and Mitchell Santner 19 from 14 to take the lead over 500 before the declaration came.
The Volts were positive in the face of such a large target, with Hamish Rutherford making 74 to go with his 78 in the first innings before falling to Graeme Aldridge, caught by Siefert
The Volts will go into day three with Michael Bracewell looking solid on 49* with a large total still to get, while Sodhi and the Knights will be hoping for a repeat performance of day two.
DAY TWO: SKYCITY Northern Knights 380 all out (Ish Sodhi 82*, Tim Siefert 49, Neil Wagner 4-99) and 4-0 lead SBS Bank Otago Volts 189 all out (Hamish Rutherford 78, Ish Sodhi 5-27) by 195 runs at University Oval, Dunedin.
Ish Sodhi had a large say on day two with the ball and the bat – his unbeaten 82* helped the Knights reach 380 in their first innings, while his 5-27 reduced the Volts to 189 all out in theirs.
He put on an 88 run stand for the eighth wicket with Tim Siefert, who batted diligently for 113 balls before falling to Neil Wagner, caught by Mark Craig, one short of his half century.
Wagner went on to take four wickets in the innings, including Mitchell Santner, who contributed a valuable 45.
In reply, the Volts could only muster 189, lead by Hamish Rutherford’s 78. Rutherford looked in fine touch, striking ten fours, but there was carnage all around him. The Volts collapsed from 4-140 to 189 all out, as Sodhi wrecked havoc in the middle and lower order, well supported by Santner.
The Knights batsmen had two overs to negotiate at the end of the day, which they did without loss.
DAY ONE: SKYCITY Northern Knights 188-6 (Daniel Flynn 68, Brad Wilson 61, Neil Wagner 1-50).
After drizzle delayed a start until 2.30pm in extremely fresh temperatures in Dunedin, SKYCITY Northern Knights openers Daniel Flynn (68) and Brad Wilson (61) got their team away to a solid start, with a first wicket stand of 102.
They helped themselves to some wayward lines, with a high percentage of their runs coming from boundaries, as the Volts attack struggled to take advantage of a green-looking pitch.
Flynn was first to go, offering no shot to Jacob Duffy delivery that took out his off stump. From there the Volts bowlers came back into the match, helped by sharp catching - Hamish Rutherford caught Brad Wilson for 61 at first slip, then Bharat Popli for 22 from Mark Craig's bowling.
The catches bookended debutant Michael Rae's maiden first class wicket, getting Joe Carter to play on to his stumps for 18.
Neil Wagner had Daryl Mitchell lbw for two, his 200th first class wicket for the Volts, to his delight.
Play will resume at 10am tomorrow.
