CRICKET: Pointless task? No way say Stags | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

You could almost cut the atmosphere with a knife.

It was Mase the Ace (Michael Mason) on the Hastings City end of the crease.

On the Napier City end, Thommo (Ewen Thompson) was chugging in with equal venom on the final day.

The Central Districts boys were clapping and firing up the seam merchants during their four-day Plunket Shield match against the Otago Volts yesterday at Nelson Park, Napier, as they went through a marathon 30 overs between them before spinner George Worker relieved Thompson after 14 overs.

The Stags didn't claim any points last night, but as they high-fived and slapped each other's backs off the field one could have easily mistaken them for having won the match.

Otago took only two first-innings points but Volts coach Mike Hesson wasn't smiling as his battle-weary boys trudged off the field.

For once the old Broom (Neil) from the first innings wasn't sweeping so well.

Cumming (Craig) didn't stay long, going for just three runs and Butler (Ian) had the door shut on him as he ran for his third run.

Beard (Nick) was not out on six and Wells (Sam) was, well, Otago's most consistent performer, when the bails were lifted for the last time to, peculiarly, leave the hosts decidedly jubilant.

While the cheap play on names flow off the tongue, unfortunately for the Southerners runs didn't come so easily as they seemed stifled in their bid to shut CD out.

Instead, Hesson's counterpart, English international Dermot Reeve, received a congratulatory bear hug from CD skipper Jamie How in front of the pavilion.

``Well done, coachy,'' a beaming How said after denying the visitors outright victory in a match where the Stags were playing catch-up cricket for a lion's share of the four days.

Reeve, who was sparring in front of the pavilion with trainer James Amon, unwittingly symbolised the Stags' fighting spirit on the field.

``Yeah, go Thommo. Come on, Mase, seven down we need one more,'' he yelled, in the mould of Rocky Balboa, the character actor Sylvester Stallone immortalised in his 1976 film, as a reluctant Butler walked off the crease after both umpires found him short of the chalk after some deliberation.

Fielders showed a spring in their step as Tim Weston performed acrobatics precariously close to the boundary rope while Cornwall skipper Brad Patton put his body on the line, massaging the pain out of his hand after stopping a cracking shot which had a four written all over it.

``The application with the bat, all the way from the second innings was good. You're always going to have the odd rash shot but, on the whole, I was very happy with the batting in the second innings,'' Reeve told SportToday.

``The boys showed a lot of character there with Mason and Thompson bowling hell of a long spells and we had a little sniff of victory at the end with us needing only two more wickets.''

Expecting intensity all the time, the coach expected his players to have the attitude of every ball in a match should be an event.

However, a circumspect Reeve emphasised their first innings was poor despite the good fightback.

``We've got to make sure we don't stuff up with the bat in the first innings in the future,'' he said, reflecting on a similar scenario and how a good run chase got them into the final.

He felt yesterday was a fair result and stood by his captain's decision to put Otago in to bat after winning the toss.

``We've got to back the captain with the same intensity we did in the last 30 overs by improving with the bat and bowl,'' he said, adding the workload on Mason and Thompson was too great too.

With the impending return of the likes Doug Bracewell and Kieran Noema-Barnett for the next game against the Canterbury Wizards at Rangiora from December 3-6 should ease that load.

``Today's little session at the end there was very much fuelled with adrenalin and the bowlers were trying to get wickets at a crunch time. Mason showed a lot of his experience and that's why he's such a great competitor in that spell.''

Two-match-old Seth Rance also got kudos for his batting although he needed to polish his bowling.

Napier Technical Old Boys strike bowler Jeremy Kuru will see a specialist on Monday to assess his injured knee but he seems to be out for at least two more shield games.

Volts coach Hesson said: ``To work so hard for 220 overs but to not get the result at the end was bitterly disappointing.''

He was pleased with the way his men stuck to their task by creating opportunities over the first two days but were not able to get the 10 wickets in the second innings quickly enough.

``Obviously the wicket was slower and it wasn't bouncing enough and it made it harder with the field setting. We probably needed to get them [CD] out 10 overs earlier,'' he said, giving CD credit for a great fightback.

Clarifying the dispute over the ball yesterday, umpire Watkin said Thompson was happy with the replacement ball but Mason wasn't, claiming it had a mark on it.

``Ewen was getting some swing but Mason was happy too once he got a few wickets,'' said a grinning Watkin after Mason took four scalps and Thompson three.