Otago have beaten Northern Districts by 83 runs in the Provincial A tournament being held at Lincoln.
Northern were handed their first loss largely thanks to Otago opener Hamish Rutherford who made a stunning 120. His contribution was then backed up with a devastating performance by the Otago bowling attack.
Otago were put into bat by Northern and were in danger of collapsing at 29 for two until Rutherford found his feet at the crease and gave the Northern bowlers all sorts of headaches.
His spectacular 120 came off just 96 balls and included 12 fours and four sixes.
During his stint at the crease he found help from Darren Broom (44) and Iain Robertson (36) to see Otago finish 264 all out in the 49th over.
Pick of the bowlers was Brandin Hiini who collected the impressive figures of four for 38 from 9.4 overs.
In reply Northern never really got going. Michael Dodunski and Brook Hatwell made starts of 21 and 23, but the rest of the top order barely contributed at all.
Brett Hampton stopped the rot for Northern as he top scored for his team with 55 from 65 balls. Northern however were reeling at six for 67 and it was clear Hatwell was going to improve his stats, but very little else.
The tail wagged a little to make the game seem closer than it really was, but in the end Otago dismissed Northern for 181 in the 36th over.
Otago will be buoyed by the 83 run win as they prepare to take on Wellington tomorrow.
