CLT20 as it happened: Broom leads Otago to 62-run victory over Perth

1900 IST

Otago win by 62 runs.

After 20 overs, Perth Scorchers are 180/6.

Cartwright hung around make an unbeaten 73 from 54 ball but it was never going to be enough as Perth ended up 62 runs short. It was a dominant performance by Otago, who are showing they are genuine title contenders in this tournament.

1838 IST

After 15 overs, Scorchers are 126 for 4, with Cartwright on 47 and Turner on 22.

Voges fell to Nathan having made 36 but the game is just ambling along with the result pretty much decided already. Voges tried to clear deep midwicket but didn’t get the distance.

Adam Voges c Butler b NL McCullum 36 (27b 5x4 0x6)

Hilton Cartwright keeps his side going but there is little happening right now. He has put together a 50-run partnership.

1810 IST

After 7 overs, Perth Scorchers are 49 for 3, with Voges on 14 and Cartwright on 16.

Adam Voges and Hilton Cartwright have steadied the ship, going at roughly 7 runs an over, but with the asking rate over 14 already, it was more a defensive exercise than any one offering a realistic chance of winning the game.

1750 IST

Perth Scorchers got to a terrible start. Liam Davis fell for a duck first ball, cutting a short ball to third man.

Liam Davis c Rutherford b Butler 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)

Ashton Agar came out playing his shots and hit one six but couldn’t play them for long, skying one which the keeper takes comfortably. And all that in the first over.

Ashton Agar c †de Boorder b Butler 10 (5b 1x4 1x6)

Scorchers captain Simon Katich was then run out without facing a ball in the second over, leaving his team 15 for 3 after 2 overs.

Simon Katich run out 0 (0b 0x4 0x6)

1730 IST

Broom gets into the 90s with a wonderful lofted drive over long-off that cleared the fielder and the boundary. A top edge then flies over the keeper and everything else as he reaches his 100 from 51 balls. He spent the first 26 making 29. He made 71 from the next 25. It has been an incredible innings.

He makes it three sixes in a row when he times a low full toss outside off over the sight screen. The highs of two wickets in two balls for Paris have long since been forgotten as 21 runs come from the 19th over.

One more six from Broom in the final over – he finishes with 117 from 56 balls – and Jimmy Neesham hits two of the last three deliveries for four. 93 runs came from the last five overs, for the loss of RTD. No idea how Scorchers recover from that mauling.

Broom hit 8 sixes and 9 fours in his bruising innings. Only Beer had an economy rate under 10.

1715 IST

Broom and RTD then take apart Cockley, hitting him for a six apiece as they plunder 19 runs from the 16th over. Broom brought up the 100 partnership with consecutive fours off Paris in a touch over 6 overs, with RTD continuing to take the aerial route to smash Paris for six over long on. This has been clinical, destructive batting at its best as 20 come from the 17th over.

RTD gets to his 50 with a single. Took him just 21 balls as he hit four sixes and four fours. Otago went from 150 to 200 in 14 balls.

It finally ends when RTD mistimes a pull off a fulltoss outside offstump and finds the fielder at wide mid-on.

Ryan ten Doeschate c Davis b Behrendorff 66 (26b, 3x4, 6x6)

The damage has been done though. The pair added 128 in just 8 overs. After 17.5 overs, Otago are 204 for 4.

1700 IST

After 15 overs, Otago are 149 for 3, with RTD on 30 and Broom on 69

Having spent time at the crease, Broom took over where de Brooder left off. Together with RTD, Otago dismantle Voges. RTD is lucky to be dropped at long-on, with the ball bouncing off the fielder’s head and going for four, but he capitalisies with a straight six and Broom joines the party with six over mid-on too.

Then he goes after Beer. A straight drive for four is followed by a casual inside-out cover drive which flies over the ropes to bring up his 50 from 34 balls. He went from 29 to 52 in just 8 deliveries.

Broom continues his stunning onslaught, picking up three consecutive fours off Cockley, though not without some luck as a top-edged pull goes to the third man boundary.

RTD keeps pace, slog sweeping Agar for six and needing just 14 balls to get to 30. In all, 72 came from the the last five overs.

1640 IST

After 10 overs, Otago are 77 for 3, with Broom on 29 and Ryan ten Doeschate on 1.

Derek de Brooder counter-attacked following the loss of those two early wickets. He struck Michael Beer and Burt Cockley for a couple of fours each, then crashed Hilton Cartwright for six. He began to take apart Adam Voges, reverse-sweeping him for four and then smashing him over midwicket for six. But he tried to play one shot too many and was bowled.

Derek de Boorder b Voges 45 (28b, 5x4, 2x6)

Neil Broom provided solid support at the other end, picking up the occasional boundary in getting to 29 from 25 balls.

1615 IST

Joel Paris struck with the first two deliveries of the third over to remove Hamish Rutherford and Brendon McCullum.

Rutherford lbw b Paris 2 (5b, 0x4, 0x6)

McCullum lbw b Paris 0 (1b, 0x4, 0x6)

The second wicket of Brendon is a huge blow for the batting side, given the form that McCullum has been in so far.

After 2 overs, Otago are 9 for 2

1545 IST

Here are your playing XIs:

Perth: A Agar, L Davis, S Katich, A Voges, H Cartwright, A Turner, T Triffitt, J Paris, J Behrendorff, B Cockley, M Beer.

Otago: OT XI: H Rutherford, N Broom, B McCullum, R ten Doeschate, J Neesham, N McCullum, D de Boorder, I Butler, N Wagner, N Beard, J McMillan.

1530 IST

Perth Scorchers captain Simon Katich has chosen to field first. Otago captain Brendon McCullum is not terribly upset by this.

Preview

Both the matches involving the two teams were called off after huge puddles on the outfield turned the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad into almost a two days ago. The abandonment meant the two teams got two points each from their respective matches. It would be hard to tell whether both teams were happy with the split points.

Otago made their Champions League debut on the back of some impressive performances during the qualification stage of the tournament. Led admirably by Brendon McCullum, they have shown to be deserving candidates for promotion with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Faisalabad Wolves, an equally convincing six-wicket victory over Kandurata Maroons and a dominating five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to confirm their participation in the Champions League.

The Scorchers, who had a forgettable inaugural season last year registering just one victory apart from being besieged by off-field problems, would be looking to put their best foot forward against the New Zealand side whose confidence would be sky high coming into the league stage. Scorchers will be banking on captain and veteran Simon Katich and limited overs specialist Adam Voges in the batting department.

Apart from Katich, Voges and Test discard Marcus North, there are no other big names in their batting line-up. The bowling department, led by 42-year-old Brad Hogg, is spin-heavy.

Teen sensation and left-arm spinner Ashton Agar who made a brilliant 98 on debut against England at Trent Bridge two months back, left-arm orthodox Michael Beer and offie Ashton Turner form the fulcrum of Scorchers’ spin department, which might come handy in the subcontinent conditions.

For Otago, the McCullum brothers – Brendon and Nathan – have played key roles in the team’s success in the qualification stage. While skipper and batting mainstay Brendon has shone with the bat, Nathan has turned in decent bowling performances to help the team’s cause.

Squads:

Perth Scorchers: Simon Katich (c), Michael Beer, Hilton Cartwright, Liam Davis, Joe Mennie, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Burt Cockley, Brad Hogg, Marcus North, Tom Triffitt (wk), Adam Voges.

Otago Volts: Brendon McCullum (c & wk), Nicholas Beard, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Mark Craig, Derek de Boorder, Jacob Duffy, James McMillan, James Neesham, Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Ryan ten Doeschate, Neil Wagner.