McCullum, Broom thump Northern Districts

Brendon McCullum helped Otago finish off their HRV Cup engagements on a high with a dominating victory over the Northern Districts by nine wickets at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The contest was inconsequential since Auckland and Canterbury have already qualified for the final on January 22.

ND got off to a poor start after opting to bat, with both the openers dismissed with just 9 runs on the board. Debutant JA Duffy took three wickets to shatter the ND top order, before the middle order took charge to rescue the innings. Hamish Marshall bashed four sixes and eight fours for his 45-ball 86 while Scott Syris anchored proceedngs with his 45 off 24. They shared a 93-run stand for the fifth wicket to power the total to 187 for 5.

Otago's chase was dented early with the run-out of Hamish Rutherford for nought in the first over, but Neil Broom and McCullum rapidly took the game out of ND's grasp. Their unbroken 188-run stand spanned just 98 balls of blistering hitting, including 12 sixes and 15 fours. McCullum hammered 103 off 54 balls, making Broom's 79 off 50 seem almost sedate. Otago roared home with 16 balls remaining - their third win of the season.