Super Smash | Seth Rance’ career-best figures help Central Stags dominate Otago

Central Districts also known as Stags registered its third win in four games to go on top of the Super Smash 2021-22 points table. It beat Otago Volts, the same it took over to go at top of the table. More than just a win, it was overall domination by the team from the Napier based side because 53 runs victory margin in T20 cricket is as good as innings win in Test cricket. 

Seth Rance, the 34-year-old experienced bowler was the hero for the Districts as he gave his career-best performance, picking a five-wicket haul for the first time in his 11-year-old career. He finished with figures of 5/19 in his spell of 3.5 overs. His spell was the most instrumental aspect in getting the Volts bowled out for 127 in only the 17th over, giving the Stags a comprehensive win. 

The Volts did start well in the chase, getting off to a flyer, hitting 24 runs in the first two overs. However, it was Rance who broke through and got Hamish Rutherford bowled for seven runs. On the very next ball, he removed Dale Phillips, the other opener with a pitch of a delivery. From there on, there was actually no one apart from Llew Johnson and to an extent Ananru Kitchen getting among runs. 

While Johnson scored 38 off 23, Kitchen scored 14. It was thanks to Daryl Duffy’s late blows that Otago got past 100 and eventually ended on 123. 

Earlier in the day, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Stags rode on the back of a brilliant 76 from their First Class skipper Greg Hay. Apart from Hay, Dane Cleaver scored 45 off just 32 balls to help his team reach 180-4 in 20 overs. For Volts, Duffy, Kitchen and Jake Gibson picked one wicket each while part-timer Rutherford also picked one wicket.