The South Canterbury U17 team managed to pull off a good win in the last over against Mid Canterbury at Aorangi Oval after being set a target of 211 for victory. It was a difficult chase with more runs required than balls to face during the last 8 overs but some lusty blows by Brad Leonard helped to keep the score ticking over as fading light and a hint of drizzle invaded proceedings.

In the U15 match Glen Drake starred with 82 not out as his team easily scored the runs required.

With tournament season about to start we wish all the players good luck in the U15, U17 and U19 tournaments ahead.

Celtic confirmed top spot in the Daily Freightways semi-finals with one more round yet to be played after easily scoring the 204 runs for victory set by Timaru, while Geraldine captain Matt Barnes disproved his own theory that when he scores runs Geraldine loses after compiling a classy 117 against Star and then was rewarded by a good bowling and fielding effort as he led his team to an 85 run win. Temuka also enjoyed their trip away to take the honours in Waimate and move up the table to second spot.

This means that next week will see some interesting match ups as five teams vie for the three remaining semi final spots. The winner of the Temuka/Geraldine match will definitely make the finals, while the loser could still get in as well, but Star have to beat Timaru to have a chance in their local derby, while if Timaru win then Star, Timaru and Waimate who will need to be at their very best to beat Celtic will all go to count back and probably run rates to decide the fourth semi-finalist.

Barnes the young English professional in his second season in South Canterbury showed his class as he not only battled the bowling attack, but also the elements as the wind gusts changed from a hot nor’wester to a frigid southerly. He dominated all the bowlers, seemingly with all day to play sweep shots to the spinners, drive through the covers or dispatch any short deliveries with classic pull and hook shots and South Canterbury will be looking forward to when he also does this at Hawke Cup level.

Barnes was supported in his initial partnership for the second wicket by Ben Millar (21) and later by George Harper (20) and he never looked in trouble until he masterminded his own downfall by giving a catch to Craig Fraser on the long off boundary. By then Geraldine were already on the way to a competitive total and a cameo of 35 not out by Phil Lill during the last five overs got Geraldine to 226-6 at the end of their 45 overs.

Fraser immediately showed his intentions as he went on the attack, but Tom McKnight soon got rid of him for 9, and then with Tim Butler following soon after, Star was 10-2. This became the story of the day as the often unheralded Geraldine bowlers kept making breakthroughs with Guy Metcalf (3-31) bowling well in the middle and with the ball following Gary Muff who took 3 catches in the outfield or edging through to keeper Matthew Walker who added a stumping to his 3 catches, Star were never in the game and soon slumped to 39-5.

When all seemed lost at 92-8 Mark Evans decided he would prove to his captain that he should be batting higher up the order as he scored a typically belligerent 42 adding nearly 50 runs with Gareth Sutton (12) for the ninth wicket before McKnight had the last say to finish with 3-10 and Star were all out for a slightly more respectable 141.

Timaru batted first at Rockdale Rd and would have been reasonably happy with their effort after Gerald Piddock again got the innings off to a good start before being run out for 38. Grant Brookland also continued his recent good form and had just brought up his fifty when he suffered the ignominy of being run out by Grant Watt. Zane Sanders (33) and Tim Mackle (20) contributed to a solid looking middle order, but Timaru never really pushed on after at one stage being 160-4 and ended up scoring 203-9.

For Celtic Glen Matthews with 3-27 continued his fine season with the ball while James Laming also picked up 3 wickets from his nine overs to keep his allrounder’s mantle intact.

In reply Celtic led by Ryan De Joux never looked troubled after he quickly took the Timaru attack apart on his way to 87. In one scoring sequence he hit seven fours in a row and all up his innings included 15 fours and 2 sixes, and his dominance could clearly be seen in his partnerships. The first wicket of Craig Davies (21) fell at 77 and then when De Joux was second out the score was 120.

In contrast Jeremy Liddy appeared to be putting up a new picket fence and his boundary to bring up his fifty was only his second, but again it was a solid knock and in partnership with an unusually patchy looking Dan Laming (35 not out) they added 87 runs to give Celtic their fourth consecutive win in only the 34th over.

Temuka and Waimate fought out a low scoring affair at Knottingley Park but with starring performances for Temuka firstly with the ball by Dillon Lees who took 6 wickets for 28 runs and then an unbeaten 65 by Johnny Geddis, Temuka scored the 125 required for a win and still had 4 wickets in hand. Scoring runs proved hard work making the Geddis innings even more significant since extras was the second best score by both teams, and on the day this innings was probably the only difference between the two teams.

Score Boards

South Canterbury travelled to Oamaru to take on North Otago in their final one day match before the Hawke Cup competition begins, and as well as a further chance for players to press claims for the final rep team, there was also the matter of improving on last season’s showing when South Canterbury were well beaten by 43 runs.

North Otago won the toss and decided to bowl first and with Craig Davies out with only one run on the board, North Otago would have been feeling pleased with their decision. However, Jeremy Liddy and Grant Brookland had different ideas as they put together a 96 run partnership before Brookland was out for 37 and then 3 runs later Liddy after reaching his 50 in the classic double breakthrough.

James Laming was joined by Matt Barnes, but the young English pro could not reproduce his Saturday form and South Canterbury was battling at 118-4 after 37 overs. Laming who seems to relish ‘back-to-the-wall’ opportunities set about building the team’s total, scoring at a good rate but lost partners Sam Carlaw and Matt Mealings quickly before Tom Walsh joined him and displayed his talent as a young all rounder. The pair added 69 runs from the last 7 overs with Laming left unbeaten on 60 off only 70 balls (including 3 sixes), and Walsh was even more severe on the bowling attack as he scored 40 not out off only 23 deliveries which included 5 fours and 2 sixes.

223 runs in the book meant South Canterbury had something to defend, and with skipper Todd Elliotte having the luxury of eight frontline bowlers in the line-up, any bowler having an off day could soon be replaced.

There was no need to worry though as Kevin Teahen quickly proved that line and length is a proven method, and he proceeded to pick up 4 of the top order batsmen cheaply including Duncan Drew, North Otago’s premier batsman and finished his spell with 4-19. At the other end fellow opening bowler Craig Hinton bowled tightly with less luck to take 1-19.

Tom Walsh and Ben Dunbar went unrewarded in their spells, but the spin duo of Todd Elliotte with 3-32 including the two top scorers and Sam Carlaw who was rewarded with two lbw decisions in his brief spell of two overs two wickets for one run were able to wrap up the innings.

North Otago had never got going and was dismissed for 120 with the best partnership only 38 runs, giving South Canterbury victory by 103 runs.

This has certainly given the selectors some options when the Hawke Cup team to play Southland is named on Wednesday, and no doubt there will be disappointment, but those that make the side will know they need to perform as with players yet to return from injury, and depth in most positions, a couple of failures could mean you are on the outer.

Scoreboard

By ‘Scoop’ – Cricket Correspondent

Two outrights and a nine wickets down draw in the Waimate vs Timaru match would have advocates of the new rules happy after the first round of the Tweedy Cup. Celtic who were best placed for victory at the start of the day eventually dismissed Geraldine for 181 still 26 runs short of having to bat again, while a good comeback by Temuka on day two meant Star required 107 runs to win in their second bat, eventually getting home comfortably with six wickets in hand.

Geraldine started the day looking to try and bat the whole 90 overs but at 36-4 it looked like everyone would get out of the cold conditions early and Celtic might not need to supply afternoon tea. A nature stop meant a slight change of batting order as Geraldine captain Matt Barnes demoted himself to number 6, but he soon showed that this was what was needed as he and Guy Metcalf (the Speights Ale House player of the month for October) added 43 runs in partnership.

It was Barnes who was in control though as he showed his class with a wide array of hooks, drives, pulls and leg glances. He added another 42 runs with Harry Miller and brought up his fifty which included 9 boundaries in good time and looked so at ease that Celtic resorted to giving him the single so that they could attack the other batsman.

Together with ring-in Tim Saywell they added another 30 runs, as players and spectators alike were treated to some unorthodox but effective shot making from Saywell, before Dan Laming again made the breakthrough on his way to 4 wickets.

With only No’s 10 and 11 to partner him Barnes began to increase his shot making in quest of a century, but the last two batsmen were dismissed lbw before he could, leaving him unbeaten with a superb 88 when the Geraldine innings finished.

Waimate who were eight down overnight and still 40 runs short of a first innings lead put up a good rearguard with young Finlay Keen making 21 not out but they ended up 13 runs short on 143 when the compulsory declaration was made after 50 overs.

Timaru made a good fist of their second bat with opener Gerald Piddock leading the way with 40 and handy contributions by Grant Brookland (33) and Hitesh Angrish (35 not out) to be able to declare at 177-7 leaving Waimate 190 to win from 43 overs.

Waimate were never in the hunt with only two batsmen making double figures and in the end Alan Reid who faced 51 balls for his 6 runs and had to face the last over with the whole Timaru team crowding around the bat as they strived to get the last wicket and outright victory, held on to see Waimate finish at 69-9 and save a draw. For Timaru the class of Angrish showed as he took 5-19 in a great display of off-spin bowling and Timaru will hope he is available a lot more this season.

Star were on top after day one with Temuka four wickets down already in their second innings and still 32 runs behind, but a week is a long time and the remaining Temuka batsmen settled in to make it as hard as possibly for Star as led by Kevin Teahen with 46 and supported by Johnny Geddis (25) and Hayden Broker unbeaten on 23 they put up a much better effort to score 177 and leave Star some work to do chasing 107.

Captain Phil McGregor finally found some form as he scored 46 before being run out, but with Hamish Dickson scoring 38 not out, it was a matter of time before they won, achieving this in the 36th over.

Scoreboards

Roncalli College physical education teacher Amber Boyce has had a meteoric rise into New Zealand Cricket’s Emerging White Ferns after only a year in the game.

Boyce, a middle-order batter, came to prominence in the women’s provincial one-day final last year when she got the Canterbury Magicians home in a whirlwind last wicket stand, scoring 30 off 15 balls.

What was extraordinary was the fact it was the 25-year-old’s first year back in the sport since she attended Marlborough Girls’ College.

She started to get interested in cricket again by helping students at Roncalli.

Boyce was then invited to play senior club cricket in Christchurch for Suburban by Mountainview High School PE teacher and retired White Fern Rowan Milburn.

Hooked by the challenge, she has stepped aside from golf after representing Aorangi last year and playing off a two handicap, to concentrate on hockey and cricket.

“I like the challenge and with cricket, I want to see how far I can go.”

In winter Boyce was in the champion St Andrews’ senior hockey side and scored the match-winning goal in the final.

She has been Hockey South Canterbury’s player of the year for the past two seasons.

She went on to represent the Otago representative side, the Southern Storm, in the national hockey league.

Last term, Boyce travelled around New Zealand depending where the game was – to Dunedin for hockey practice and Christchurch for cricket practice with the Magicians – clocking up more than 1000 kilometres a week.

“I guess I’m two hours from anywhere I need to be.”

She is happy to call Timaru home despite the hectic travel schedule.

Boyce said she had always loved sport, helped by her hand-eye co-ordination.

“I represented Tasman in golf at 15, then Otago and Aorangi and maybe when I’m a bit older, I will go back to it. For now, the focus is cricket and I’m really looking forward to playing in Australia,” Boyce said. She will go to Brisbane for 10 days to play against the Australian under-21 side in four Twenty20 games and two one-day internationals.

South Canterbury’s dominance in the annual Ron Biggar Memorial match played against Mid Canterbury continued as they chalked up their fourth consecutive win in convincing fashion in their first match at the Aorangi Oval for the season.

Mid Canterbury won the toss and batted but quickly came unstuck with a run out in the first over. Kris Howes continued his fine weekend with the ball as he removed Lyall Jemmett and Robert Madden soon after, both regarded as the senior batsmen in the Mid Canterbury team and they were on he back foot at 14-3.

Des Kruger then settled in to build a good innings, but he kept losing partners as Kevin Teahen and Tom Walsh (on debut) both grabbed one wicket apiece. Eventually Kruger found some support from Stoddart after the innings had been perilously poised at 53-6 and together they added 67 runs to add some respectability. However, the loss of Kruger for a solid 55 brought about a further collapse as Todd Elliotte picked up 3 wickets, and Glenn Matthews picked up his third run out of the day to dismiss Mid Canterbury for 133 in the 42nd over.

Craig Davies opened and continued where he left off after Saturday’s century and was quickly in to stride. Although he lost fellow opener Jeremy Liddy early on, club mate Matt Mealings with 21 helped him add 66 for the second wicket. Davies continued on, and although the Mid Canterbury bowling tightened up and good field placing kept scoring to a minimum, he showed maturity and patience as he waited for any bad balls on offer.

James Laming stayed around a while but could only manage 5 runs and then Liam Crowley joined Davies who brought up his half century from only 63 deliveries and that included 6 fours. He would go on to make 61 before being caught at a deep wide long on position, but by then the score was 111 and the damage had been done by South Canterbury.

Crowley was also patient while waiting for the bad ball and his score of 21 included 5 boundaries, while Glenn Matthews had a brief flurry sweeping Jemmett for consecutive fours before chancing his arm again to be out stumped for the second week in a row. Sam Carlaw strode to the crease, scored a boundary and then watched as Crowley played a straight drive for four to give the win to South Canterbury in the 38th over.

The match was a good chance for South Canterbury to play on a decent batting track and spend some valuable time in the middle, and the enthusiasm was apparent to see with a very good fielding display.

Already there have been a number of different players who have had a chance to show their skills in front of the selectors, and places in the Hawke Cup team will not be a given with plenty of challenges for the various spots. Next weekend is the final hit out with a match against North Otago, and then the first round will see South Canterbury travel to Invercargill to take on Southland.

Scoreboard

The first round of the Tweedy Cup two day cricket competition with a new rules format got under way this weekend. Although compulsory declarations must be made by both teams after 50 overs in the first innings, and bonus points only apply in the second, this did not happen in any match as Timaru and Temuka were both dismissed inside the 50 overs and Celtic were able to declare at 295-5 from only 45 overs after Craig Davies scored the first senior century of the season with a run-a-ball 132 not out.

Geraldine won the toss but soon learnt the lesson about letting Celtic bat first, as Ryan De Joux scored 40 quickly before being dismissed with the score at 55. Davies survived a sharp caught and bowled chance before taking control as his innings mimicked that of Brendan McCullum earlier the same day, both scoring 14 fours, while Davies scored one more six and one more run to win the “big hitting” kudos.

Geraldine’s attack was further dented by Glenn Matthews who has equal rights to the man-of-the-match award at present after scoring 69 with the bat and then destroying Geraldine with 6-21 from his 13 overs of left-arm pace bowling and thus helping enforce the follow on.

For Geraldine there were not a lot of highlights, although Phil Lill’s perseverance paid off as he top-scored with 32 including one over where he scored 14, but it was as though the game was played on two different pitches, after Celtic turned a flat deck when batting into a minefield when bowling. Credit must go to the bowlers and especially Matthews who this week certainly made the batsmen play at more deliveries and justifiably got the rewards. He swung the ball consistently and mixed with a couple of very quick bouncers had the batsmen very watchful and already has an early breakthough in the second innings as Geraldine will resume next week 4-1.

In Temuka, it was the bowlers turn to shine too as the home team collapsed from 73-3 to be all out for 98. The main Star weapon was the spin of Todd Elliotte as he beat batsmen through the air, off the pitch or forced them into silly shots on his way to 5-10 from his 10 overs. John Geddis with 42 batted with aggression, but after his partnership with Captain Ritchie Preston was broken, the rest of the Temuka team succumbed quickly.

In reply Star were soon in trouble as Kevin Teahen picked up a wicket in his second over, but then Star settled in with regular partnerships with Chris Anders leading the way with 49 and Elliotte 26 completing a fine double. Kevin Teahen Michael Geddis and Willie Stone all picked up 3 wickets each but not before Star had secured the first innings points and a sizeable lead eventually making 169.

Temuka then had to bat a further 17 overs before stumps and after a solid start lost four quick wickets to be 39-4 still 32 runs in arrears, and facing a mammoth task to save the game

Timaru travelled to Waimate and batted first with openers Gerald Piddock (19) and a rejuvenated Chris Leonard (24) who was no longer the oldest senior cricketer on the field adding 41 for the first wicket in what was the best partnership to eventuate. The availability of Kris Howes probably dampened Waimate’s day as he top scored in the middle order with 33, and Hayden Leonard again thwarted the attack on his way to 21 not out as Timaru posted a competitive 157.

Alan Reid put in the hard yards as he bowled unchanged from one end for Waimate and was rewarded with 5-76, while Craig Booth took 3-11 and is wishing he had been brought into the attack earlier.

In reply Waimate were soon in trouble at 38-4 before Craig Booth (24) and skipper Jason Sew Hoy (35) added 54 runs to get things back on track at 92-5, but another mini collapse to be 116-8 at stumps has Timaru in the strongest position going into day two to not only gain first innings points, but also to try and push for the outright.

Most of the Timaru bowlers had success, but again it was Howes with 5-21 who was the standout, and Timaru will be hoping he is available a lot more this season.

Score Boards

Temuka have entered a team in second grade and the draw to apply from 14 November has been updated which you can see here.

Teams that have had a bye prior to that date will be awarded 3 additional Competition points.

South Canterburycould have a new `Fairlie Flyer’ after the performance of 16-year-old schoolboy cricketer Ben Dunbar.

Dunbar who learnt his cricket in Fairlie and now plays for the TBHS 1st XI was the toast of South Canterbury as he took 6 wickets for only 11 runs in a devastating debut against Christchurch Suburban at Denton Park in Christchurch during the weekend, helping South Canterbury regain the Stokes/Blanchard Cup in the process.

Suburban won the toss and elected to bat on what turned out to be a very poor wicket with slow low bounce and some turn. Add this to a lush outfield and runs for batsmen were always going to be at a premium.

Matt Fielding who starred in their victory last season was again top scorer for Suburban, but this time only managed 19, and with the score at 51-3 his team looked like scoring perhaps 140 which would have certainly been competitive considering the conditions, but the introduction of the left arm pace of Dunbar soon altered the whole complexion of the match as his first breakthrough came from only his second delivery. Bowling in tandem with skipper Todd Elliotte the last 7 Suburban batsmen were removed in just 8.2 overs for the addition of only 20 runs as Suburban were dismissed for 72 in the 23rd over.

Earlier Glen Matthews (2-23) and Craig Hinton (1-26) had bowled 7 overs apiece, but Hinton’s main contribution in the field was snaffling 3 catches.

In reply South Canterbury kept Suburban in the game as opener Craig Davies and first drop Jeremy Liddy were back in the pavilion with only 9 on the board. Phil McGregor (10) found some support from James Laming as they added 25 for the third wicket before Laming was run out for 16 and then when McGregor was dismissed 6 runs later, South Canterbury were looking wobbly at 42-4.

How wobbly they would become soon became evident as four batsmen were dismissed in succession without scoring and Manager/Coach Richard Davidson wore out a pair of shoes marching back and forth around the boundary.

With the score perilously poised at 55-8 and an embarrassing defeat in the offing, Matt Mealings was joined by Craig Hinton and together they managed to acquire the further 20 runs required as Mealings again enjoyed the Suburban bowling attack (he top-scored with 63 in the same match last season) to finish 22 not out while Hinton struck a couple of boundaries to finish the match off and also remain not out.

Due to the ground and pitch conditions, it is hard to gauge whether the players gained much from a cricketing form perspective, but young Ben Dunbar should have gained confidence for the season ahead after his spell, while learning about the ‘mental’ side of the game as he witnessed how a team in trouble can resort to verbal spats as player camaraderie between the teams deteriorated after Suburban’s initial poor showing.

Next weekend South Canterbury will be playing on a much better pitch at Aorangi Oval against close rivals Mid Canterbury for the Ron Biggar Memorial followed a week later by a match with North Otago in their final hit out before the Hawke Cup begins.

Score sheet

Guy Metcalf continued his fine start to the season with an impressive 87 not out with the bat alongside his two catches and two wickets in the field to help Geraldine pick up their first win of the season. His batting was full of powerful drives and pulls interspersed with deft late cuts to keep the score ticking over as they chased down the 219 set by Timaru. All the bowlers were dispatched equally if they strayed and his partnership of 134 with Ben Millar (58) batting at No 6 took the match away from Timaru.

Timaru won the toss and decided to bat first on a low slow pitch. The spinners found there was quite a bit of turn available, but the slow nature of the wicket meant batsmen were well advised to get onto the front foot, and the bowlers soon found that anything short generally sat up waiting to be hit (and was).

Gerald Piddock and fellow opener Chris “out of retirement” Leonard added 38 runs quickly to get the innings under way, before a double breakthrough by Andrew Coombes and Timaru slumped to 41-3. Grant Brookland set about consolidating the innings before again falling short of his half century when caught for 47. He was helped by new Aorangi Oval groundsman Greg Hull (18) and a very slow 19 from Zane Sanders. Tim Mackle missed a full ball to be out lbw and Timaru was again teetering in the 140s before Hayden Leonard and Avon Proctor helped Timaru through to 218 with Proctor scoring a cultured 41 and Leonard 29.

For Geraldine all the bowlers had success with Ben Millar feeling the most aggrieved as he had a hat-trick of catches put down at ‘cow corner’ alone when the long handle came out. He was not the only bowler to rue mistakes as the fielding display by both senior teams left a lot to be desired.

Young Geraldine openers Matthew Walker and Garry Muff added 25 in reasonable time with Muff making 18, while Phil Lill struggled to get the ball off the square in a slow 10. Captain Matt Barnes came and went quickly and later reminded us that when he doesn’t make runs, Geraldine wins. At 53-4 Geraldine still had a lot to do when Millar joined Metcalf and the pair set about building what turned out to be the match winning partnership.

Both batsmen had lives, and the dropped chance off Millar at mid wicket early in his innings may have been crucial to the outcome as he took a long time to find his timing and placement, while Metcalf had already scored a half century when he gave a chance.

Eventually with victory in sight Millar was out which allowed his younger brother the chance to redeem himself for earlier mistakes which he did as he raced to 22.

At Knottingley Park a depleted Waimate team batted first against Star, but with only Sam Devlin (34), Murray Prattley (20) and Extras (12) making double figures the score of 101 was always going to be difficult to defend. Medium pacers Mark Evans (3-16) and Hamish Dickson (2-24) were the most successful of the Star bowlers, although wicketkeeper Matt Moodie may argue he has the best strike rate with one wicket from one over.

In reply Waimate started well with both Star openers out lbw quickly but then Todd Elliotte with 32 supported by Chris Anders (10) saw Star consolidate, and Tim Butler (14 not out) and Hamish Dickson with 28 not out saw Star home with 9 overs to spare and 6 wickets in hand.

The third senior match saw Celtic win by 165 runs in Temuka after scoring a massive 320-9 from their 45 overs led by Jeremy Liddy who will be annoyed to be dismissed 2 runs short of his century on 98. In reply Temuka captain Ritchie Preston scored another half century, but Temuka were never really in the hunt.

Score Sheets