McKenzie makes a point to selectors

Neil McKenzie, ignored by the national selectors for the first three games against New Zealand, waved his bat under the noses of Rushdie Magiet and colleagues with a stylish century to help Northerns Titans beat North West Dragons by 29 runs at Supersport Park on Wednesday night.

Not one of the national selectors in the Gauteng region turned up to watch McKenzie in a Standard Bank Cup game where he put together the sort of performance which revived a struggling innings, his 103 coming off 109 balls and including 12 fours.

McKenzie learned only hours before the side left Nairobi on Sunday that he had been left out of the national squad for the opening matches of the limited overs international season against the competitive New Zealanders. This after the selectors had earlier indicated they were grooming the Titans batsman for a middle-order place.

McKenzie and the Northerns Titans captain, Gerald Dros, posted a national domestic record of 181 runs for the fourth wicket as Northerns put together a total of 239 for seven in their 45 overs.

Dros scored an impressive 86 off 99 balls and, with his three wickets for 52 earned man of the match award.

Greg Smith's left-arm pace (3-24) ripped through the North West top-order as the Dragons ran out of steam, scoring 210 for seven. Mark Lavine made 63 off 56 balls with three fours and six sixes, two of them among the biggest seen at the venue in a long time.