Thomas O’Connor, son of former New Zealand pacer Shayne, has beaten his father’s career-best first-class batting and bowling figures in back-to-back Plunket Shield games.
Thomas O'Connor hits four consecutive sixes en route to 84* from No.8
Playing for Otago in round seven of New Zealand’s premier FC tournament against Northern Districts, Thomas scored a match-winning and career-best 84* from No.8 after taking seven wickets in the match across two innings. This came after a career-best 13-85 outing with the ball against Auckland in round six of the Plunket Shield.
Match 21, Otago Volts vs Northern Districts
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Northern Districts batted first in the game at Dunedin, and riding on fifties from Jeet Raval (51), Bharat Popli (72) and Joe Carter (84), scored 339, with O’Connor returning figures of 4-86. In reply, Otago were bowled out for 258, with Jack Boyle (85) top-scoring for them, while O’Connor chipped in with a handy 21 from No.9.
The left-arm pacer then picked up three wickets in the second innings to restrict Northern Districts to 271, with Carter (81) hitting a second fifty in the game. In the chase of 353, O’Connor took guard with Otago at 249-6 after losing two quick wickets, joining Max Chu in the middle.
The duo ensured no further hiccups, adding 104 runs for the seventh wicket. While Chu held one end, O’Connor dazzled, hitting a 90-ball 84, including six fours and six maximums. He notably hit right-arm pacer Joshua Brown for four consecutive sixes to take Otago just nine runs from the win, which Chu achieved with a boundary.
Thomas O'Connor beats father Shayne's career-best FC bowling and batting figures
O’Connor’s tally of 105 runs and seven wickets in the game took his total to 114 runs and 20 wickets over the last two matches. He beat his father, Shayne’s career-best innings figures by taking 7-58 against Auckland, and his match figures by getting to 13-85 in the same game. He then also beat Shayne’s top score of 47 in first-class cricket with the 84* against Northern Districts - his first-ever half-century in the format, having played just five FC matches.
Moreover, he also became only the fourth player to hit four or more consecutive sixes in the Plunket Shield. Lee Germon holds that record with five back-to-back maximums hit during the 1989-90 season. Ken Rutherford and Craig McMillan also hit four consecutive sixes in the tournament.
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