0 runs in 119 balls

It is not often you score zero runs, your team loses and you emerge as the star of a cricket game.

That, however, is just what Otago Country captain Fraser Wilson managed in his Hawke Cup showdown with Southland on Sunday, reports stuff.co.nz

In an attempt to cling onto a draw against Southland in Alexandra he batted 119 balls and over two hours without scoring a run.

He strode to the crease with his team at 99-7 and with 30-plus overs to bat to grab a draw.

Cruelly Otago Country lost two wickets with one over remaining as Wilson watched from the other end.

Despite this, the stubborn knock has thrust the Queenstown-based geologist's name into international headlines as many have marvelled over his stubbornness at the crease.

What is more remarkable is Wilson says he could only see out of one eye during the epic 119-ball stay.

"I had a bung eye all weekend. I was putting a contact lens in and I dropped it on the concrete and it picked up some dirt, so I had an infected eye.

"I was playing with one eye the whole game. I had to open my stance up to pull my right eye around because I could only see out of my right eye."

Wilson's innings evoked memories of former Black Cap pacer Geoff Allott's 77-ball duck against South Africa in Auckland in 1999.

Batting at No 11, Allott batted 101 minutes before he was dismissed for a duck. It's still the longest innings for fewest runs scored in test cricket history.

Wilson - who is better known to his team mates as Ralph - has previously scored a Hawke Cup century and he won the Hawke Cup with Otago Country in 2011.

But it is the knock of zero not out which has penned his name into Hawke Cup folklore.

Wilson said the tactics were pretty simple when he arrived at the crease and had his sights on a draw for his team.

"I was just trying to hit the ball no more than five metres in front of me," he said.

"Actually in those scenarios you are better off not scoring any runs. Because I reckon it switches you on more to just to do what you need to do.

"A couple of the guys got a couple of fours away and then they would do something stupid.

"If you completely shut it down and your only job is to hit it one metre in front of you, it can be quite an easy game."

Fittingly Sunday's battling knock mirrors the unassuming 35-year-old's 15 season Hawke Cup career.

He has been known to roll the sleeves and gone about his business despite often hobbling around with ankle and back injuries.

It also extends to off the field.

He captain's the team and like many amateur sports teams he doubles as the organisational mastermind as the team manager.