The top of the table Central Stags bounced back from a blip in Christchurch with a commanding 53-run victory over the Volts in Napier that saw several sheets of stats rewritten.
At the end of it all, the swing king Seth Rance led his side off the park with his maiden T20 five-wicket bag, while another erstwhile BLACKCAP in captain and part-time off-spinner Tom Bruce had taken his career best figures (3-9) with the ball as well.
In the first innings, spritely 37-year-old Greg Hay batted throughout the 20 overs (dismissed on the last ball of the innings) for his second T20 half ton since his shock Dream11 Super Smash recall after a six-year absence in the format.
His renaissance continued with a new career best T20 high score of 76.
If that wasn't enough to ponder, Otago Volts captain Hamish Rutherford made a rare appearance at the bowling crease and took his maiden T20 wicket - and a big one at that, big-hitter Josh Clarkson departing cheaply - in his 160th T20 match.
Opening batsman Hay's presence at the crease proved a godsend for the Stags with his wily, hybrid first-class/T20 game suiting the sluggish conditions - after a week of heavy rain in Hawke's Bay.
Sent in by Rutherford on a sweltering afternoon, Bayley Wiggins dominated the early scoring, but Hay was the man to bat through and anchor his team for a good score in the conditions of 180/4.
He shared an 89-run stand with Dane Cleaver (45 off 32) for the second wicket and notched his fifty off 42 balls - just the third T20 half century of his patchwork career, and second this summer.
The Volts lost their top four for single figures in reply and the pressure went on early.
Rance picked up both openers to put himself on a hat-trick in the third over, and then number four Nick Kelly, added Anaru Kitchen in the 11th then came back to nail his first five-fa at the death with the final Volts wicket at the end of just the 17th over: 5-19 off 4.5 overs.
Tom Bruce had also meanwhile put himself on an unconverted hat-trick with Michael Rippon and Jake Gibson departing in the 14th.
All this and the more recent BLACKCAPS trio of Adam Milne, Blair Tickner and Doug Bracewell chiming in with support made for a tough day out for the Volts who, rather like the Central Hinds before them, fell victim to trying to force their shots on a slower wicket.
