FINDING FORM: Star's Danny Campbell hit 53 not out against Celtic at Mountainview High School on Saturday.

Star and Timaru’s battle to make the final of the South Canterbury senior two-day cricket competition final will be decided on the last day of the regular season on Saturday.

Both teams are chasing valuable competition points to earn the right to face Celtic in the decider in two weeks.

Star, who at present sit second, fell to pieces with the bat yet again in the first innings against Celtic at Mountainview High School.

Dan Laming’s five for 23 helped skittle the home team for just 74 in reply to Celtic’s first innings of 225 all out.

However, a fightback led by unbeaten half-centuries from Danny Campbell (53 not out) and Paul Arkinstall (52 not out) left Star 16 runs behind Celtic’s first innings with eight second innings wickets remaining, after they were forced to follow-on.

Celtic will be severely under-strength for day two of the match, with more than half their first-string line-up likely to be missing due to a wedding or Hawke Cup commitments, which could produce an opening for Star to get an unlikely outright victory.

Celtic’s first innings was set up by a whirlwind knock of 81 from Glenn Matthews.

Celtic were in trouble at 53 for four, thanks largely to the return of South Canterbury representative Craig Hinton, who bent his back with the new ball to unsettle the batsmen.

Matthews’ innings, which included nine sixes, took the advantage away from Star.

However, he threw away a century, when he became one of three surprise wickets for Star captain Phil McGregor.

A rare visitor to the bowling crease, the opening batsman took three for 36 with his left arm spinners, to outshine Hinton’s three for 45.

Star collapsed under the pressure of the medium-pace bowling of Laming, who produced eight maidens in 12 overs on his way to a five-wicket bag.

However, the second innings effort saw Campbell and Arkinstall pepper the short square boundary on one-side of the wicket as they produced an unbeaten stand of 107 for the third wicket. Star will resume at 136 for two.

Timaru did everything they needed too on day one against Waimate at Knottingley Park.

They gained first innings points when they bowled the home team out for 121 in reply to their 179.

All the batsmen made starts for Timaru in the first innings.

Opener Gerald Piddock top scored with 38, and Zane Sanders (27), Sam Porter (24 not out) and captain Hayden Butler (20), also contributed.

Waimate’s best effort came from captain Jason Sew Hoy (46), but it was the left-arm spin of Sanders, who took five for 35, which kept Timaru in control in sticky conditions.

Timaru will resume at 71 for two, a lead of 129 runs.

Roncalli College were in a strong position to gain first innings points against Temuka at Ashbury Park 6.

Tahir Afridi, Roncalli’s opening bowler, grabbed five for 38 to take his season-leading total to 40 wickets in one-day and two-day competitions.

Temuka’s Tom McKnight hit a gutsy 50, but his side were dismissed for 154. Adrian Cunningham (33) made the only other notable contribution.

Afridi received support with the bowling from Henry Race, who snared four for 33.

At stumps, Roncalli were 123 for six.

Afridi had top-scored so far with 24, while Ed Kilbee added 20.

They will have 16 overs to get 32 runs for first innings points when the match resumes.

Scoresheet

Placemakers Twenty20 Shield Final at Aorangi Oval

A sublime 84 from Celtic captain Craig Davies was overshadowed by Timaru losing an over in their run-chase due to a slow over-rate and then an automated sprinkler system coming on during the innings break.

Celtic amassed 189 for five in their 20 overs, on the back of cameo efforts with the bat and hard-running between the wickets.

Timaru could only muster 129 all out in 15.2 overs, not helped by three bizarre run outs which all resulted from poor communication, rather than aggressive running.

Davies hit nine fours in his knock which was supported by a 73-run fourth wicket partnership with Mark Tutton who made 39.

The pair ran hard between the wickets, turning ones into twos and putting away the bad delivery when it arrived.

Timaru struggled with their rhythm at the bowling crease, with boundaries off almost every over of the innings.

CAMEO: Celtic's Glenn Matthews works a delivery to the on-side, but this one didn't make the hockey turf like previously

Glenn Matthews was promoted up the order to No3 and hit two sixes off the bowling of Butler on his way to 25. One went into the Wet Dressed hockey turf, which caused a delay in the game.

Butler had the last laugh, getting him caught at square-leg.

After Tutton was dismissed, Davies pushed to get an unlikely 100.

He took 16 runs from the final Zane Sanders over, but was eventually caught off the bowling of Kris Howes trying to hit a six.

Sanders finished with two for 38 from four, but the spinner bowled too many short and leg-side deliveries to be a threat.

Fast bowler Abhishek Baadkar bowled without luck to finish with no wicket for 22 from his four overs.

After a 25-minute delay to dry the pitch after the sprinkler incident, Timaru started their chase of 190 in 19 overs.

A fired-up Josh Smallridge wasted little time in reaching double-figures with some lusty hitting off Matthews’ opening over.

When he departed for 16, the run outs started.

Dhananjaya Murari may have top-scored with 27, but his poor communication cost Timaru valuable wickets.

Josh Dick was clearly frustrated coming off the ground after being run-out for zero at the hands of Murari.

He was one of three batsmen to be run-out in the innings.

Timaru had a cameo from Sanders of 25, but they lacked the one big innings or major partnership to threaten the total.

Veteran Celtic medium pacer, Dan Laming, used all of his experience to grab four for 21 from 3.2 overs, while James Blackstock took two for 27 from four overs in support to bowl Timaru out in the 16th over.

Davies said his innings came down to him showing patience at the crease.

He said the pressure his team were able to put on the Timaru boundary-riders was crucial in scoring a big total.

Butler said Celtic out-fielded his team and were too good in their running between the wickets.

Scoreboard

Kris Howes

It was a 40.3-degrees-Celsius day, and while many suffered in Timaru’s hottest day on record, the Timaru Cricket Club was basking in their best day of senior cricket for the 2010-11 season.

With the South Canterbury senior Twenty20 cricket competition being played over Waitangi Weekend last year, Timaru had a clean slate and they took advantage of it, making the final against Celtic.

They could not buy a win in either the one-day or two-day competitions but in the final against the defending champions, they gave plenty of cheek, before conceding 20 runs from the penultimate over, which saw Celtic get home in the final over, chasing 146.

Fast-forward 12 months and the teams will meet again tonight in the Twenty20 final at Aorangi Oval.

Celtic will be deserved favourites, having lost just once this season in all competitions and on track to complete a three-peat of senior titles.

The loss, however, was in the round-robin of the Twenty20 competition – to Timaru.

Timaru captain Hayden Butler chose to spin the form guide in his favour.

“How are we going to beat Celtic?” he asked. “How are Celtic going to beat us?

“We’ve beaten them once already this season and the pressure is all on them.

“Everyone probably expects us to lose.

“If you look at it, Celtic should be red-hot [favourites] but we’re going to win and people just have to deal with that.”

Celtic captain Craig Davies said beating Timaru would have more to do with his team focusing on what they had to do to set, or defend, a total.

Butler said his team had learned from a tough season in 2010-11.

“Last year was always a rebuilding year and the best thing is that we have kept going. We’re finalists here and are near the top of the two-day competition.

“We are a young team and there is a good vibe in the sheds.”

The experienced Kris Howes will return for Timaru, in place of the unavailable Jordy Morrow.

Howes’ tall, medium pace, and lusty hitting could be a major factor, after he guided the team to a Twenty20 semifinal victory with 70 in a one-off appearance last season.

Butler said consistency tonight would go a long way to victory.

The improvement of all-rounder Zane Sanders was an example of how Timaru had shown their consistency.

Sanders has taken 30 wickets at senior level in all competitions this season, and sits third behind Roncalli College’s Tahir Afridi and Celtic’s Sam Carlaw on the bowling table, while offering some middle-order fight with the bat.

Butler said he was not concerned about Celtic rolling his team for 48 in the second innings of a two-day game last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Davies said there was a relaxed feeling in the camp.

He said 160 was probably a par score but with the right conditions, anything was possible.

“If you look at the T20 scores over the season, you’d probably say 90 was par, but 160 with short boundaries and a fast outfield should be achievable.”

He said the big hitters in Timaru’s middle order, such as Howes and possibly Tim Mackle, should he play, had the ability to turn a game.

He said the rotation policy with the Celtic batsmen seemed to have paid off.

Celtic will be without opening bowler Grant Watt, who will need six weeks to recover from a broken thumb after dropping a catch against Timaru last week.

Glenn Matthews and Dan Laming were likely to take up the fast bowling load, according to Davies.

The first ball will be bowled at 5.30pm.

Star were meant to have an easier win, after their bowlers had left them requiring just 74 runs in the second innings against Roncalli College on day two.

Chasing the small total proved a challenge, with Star surviving some nervous moments to reach the target seven wickets down.

Celtic were always in control of their game against Timaru at Ashbury Park 4, but a spectacular second innings collapse saw Timaru skittled for just 48 in pursuit of 267 for victory.

Waimate claimed first innings points against Temuka at Temuka Oval, but 108 from Nick Horsley ensured the home team would earn a draw.

Star’s win was earned through the gritty batting of captain Phil McGregor. His 36 runs were essentially the difference in the teams.

Roncalli’s Tahir Afridi bowled right through from one end and picked up four second innings scalps to finish with 12 for the match.

However, a front-foot no-ball from the left-arm seamer may have been the turning point.

McGregor appeared to be trapped in front, leg before wicket by Afridi, midway through his innings, however the appeal was snuffed out when the umpire signalled a no-ball.

Alexander McKenzie made 15 in support of McGregor, but when he and his captain perished with five runs still left, the nerves set in once more.

Afridi ended with four for 28, to finish with figures of 12 for 64 for the match.

McGregor said his team’s struggles could be attributed to both the pitch and their mind-sets with the bat.

“We weren’t playing the right shots to the right deliveries.

“The plan was to see Afridi off and put pressure on the other guys at the other end.

“Depending on the other matches, the win should give us a bit of a buffer [for a finals spot].”

After starting the day at 79 for three in pursuit of Celtic’s first innings of 251 for six declared, Timaru could not find a big score amongst their batsmen.

Despite contributions from Dhananjaya Murari (37), Josh Dick (31) and Zane Sanders (25), Timaru were dismissed for 165, a deficit of 86.

Celtic lost opening bowler Grant Watt to a badly broken thumb when he tried to take an outfield catch early in the day’s play.

He was taken to hospital and did not return.

Celtic set about creating a match-winning lead.

Going at more than six runs an over, they built a handy 230-run lead by tea thanks to James Laming (36) and Craig Davies (34).

They batted on for a brief period after tea, to push the lead past 260.

Glenn Matthews (24 not out) hit Josh Dick for three consecutive sixes to allow the declaration.

Matthews then terrorised Timaru with the ball. Three wickets in his four-over spell was the main reason Timaru slumped to five wickets down for nine runs.

Dick showed his potential in making 30 when everyone else failed for the home team. They could only manage 48 all out in 16 overs.

The two teams meet again in Friday’s Twenty20 final at Aorangi Oval.

Davies said Matthews was getting back to his best form, even if he had lost his express pace.

“He always has good line and length and I think half the time, the batsmen talk themselves out of it.

“He’s not demonish quick anymore. Maybe he was the first season he was here but he has slowed down a bit.”

Timaru captain Hayden Butler said they conceded too many runs and there was no application from his batsmen.

He said he was disappointed with how his spinners performed in favourable conditions.

“Basically Celtic out-fielded us – dropping 10 catches in the first innings is never going to help.”

Temuka’s batsmen fired against an under-strength Waimate bowling attack.

Horsley received vital support from Dillon Lees (51) in the second innings, as they made 223 for six, in reply to Waimate’s 161 all out.

Waimate’s cause was not helped by front-line bowler Alan Reid splitting the webbing in his hand, which meant he took no further part in the match after just five overs on Saturday.

The match ended with Waimate 116 for five in their second innings.

Scoresheets

Umpires Graham Begg & Geoff Talbott head to wicket to begin Placemakers T20 match.

Celtic warmed up for their Twenty- 20 club cricket final against Timaru next week with a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Temuka in the last round-robin match at Aorangi Oval last night.

A superb spell of bowling from Celtic’s Willie Scott, who managed three for seven from four overs, including a maiden, stifled the early momentum of the Temuka batsmen and swung the match in the defending champions’ favour.

Temuka were dismissed in the 19th over for 94, a target which was easily chased down by Celtic with eight overs to spare.

Temuka’s choice to bat first seemed a good one early, as they travelled at eight-runs-an-over for the first five overs.

New recruit and former Northern Districts batsman Nick Horsley showed he was a cut above the rest of his team with the bat in making a breezy 26, illustrating his power off both the front and back foot.

Temuka bat first on a sunny evening

However, when he departed after spooning a catch to mid-on, the Temuka innings lost momentum.

Some lusty hitting from Tom McKnight (18) got the Magpies closer to three figures.

Scott was supported by Glenn Matthews and Mark Tutton, who each took two wickets, to force Temuka into submission.

Celtic were at their belligerent best during their extra-keen run chase.

Openers Craig Davies (44) and Jacob Naylor (32) punished any loose bowling and were assisted by two no-ball free hits.

Both eventually had their stumps disturbed, but by then the job was done, and in double-quick time.

Les Humphris and Tom McKnight grabbed the consolation wickets for Temuka.

The final between Celtic and Timaru will be played at Aorangi Oval next Friday at 5.30pm.

Scoresheet

Craig Davies turns down a run for Celtic

Temuka have a mid-wicket conference after Tom McKnight makes a breakthrough

Celtic's Jacob Naylor drives at the ball while Timaru keeper Tim Mackle & first slip Gerald Piddock watch in anticipation.

Star’s Jeremy Lane and Roncalli College’s Tahir Afridi prospered in seamer-friendly conditions in the first day of the fourth round of the South Canterbury senior two-day cricket competition on Saturday.

In just his second week back from injury, Lane took 10 wickets in the day, while Afridi replied with eight in one innings, as their teams squared-off at Ashbury Park 6.

Celtic’s batsmen were forced to toil hard during the early stages of their match against Timaru at Ashbury Park 4, before half centuries from Mark Tutton and Craig Davies put them in a favourable position at stumps.

Temuka got immediate value out of former Northern Districts player Nick Horsley, as he made 58 on debut, while Matthew Sew Hoy continued the trend of front-line seam bowling success as he took five for 21 for Waimate.

The toss was crucial in all three games with the inning captain electing to field after Friday’s rain.

Celtic and Timaru lost 75 minutes play due to damp run-ups, while Roncalli and Star started 15 minutes late and Waimate and Temuka were forced off the field early after tea at Temuka Oval.

Neither the Roncalli nor Star batsmen got comfortable in the conditions.

Roncalli were rolled for 54, with Lane (six for 22) and Alex McKenzie (four for 26) doing all of the bowling as wickets tumbled regularly.

Nine of the Roncalli wickets to fall were bowled, as the batsmen described the pitch as “spongy” and “soft” with a thumb print going deep into the pitch.

Despite the poor total, one of Roncalli’s English imports, Afridi, utilised the conditions just as well as McKenzie and Lane.

The movement he gained earned him eight for 36, as Star were dismissed for 84, but with first innings points secured.

Roncalli’s second batting effort started better.

Ed Kilbee made 29 to open the innings but again, the middle-order failed to make many runs, as they were bundled out for the second time for just 103.

Lane took four for 34 and the spin of Todd Elliotte captured four for 35.

Star will chase 74 to win this Saturday.

Timaru won a good toss against Celtic and for the first two hours of play, they put Celtic under pressure. The spin of Zane Sanders was difficult to score off, as he got plenty of purchase from the wicket.

Mark Tutton (67) provided the early impetus, however, at 82 for four at tea, Timaru were in the match.

Celtic had shuffled senior batsmen Dan Laming and Craig Davies down the order, and the move paid dividends as the run-rate picked up and the score mounted after tea.

Davies made 77 batting at No6 as he shared in a 120-run fifth wicket partnership with Tutton, which took the score from 82 to 202.

They declared at the compulsory 60-over mark on 251 for 6.

Hayden Butler and Sanders each took two wickets for Timaru.

Timaru batted steadily towards stumps, but Celtic grabbed three key wickets to ensure they had the better of the day, with Timaru 79 for three after 31 overs, at stumps.

Horsley survived Temuka’s early carnage to post a solid half-century after opening the innings against Waimate.

Matthew Sew Hoy took three wickets in four balls to leave the home team eight for three at one stage before Horsley found some middle-order allies in Hayden Broker (18) and Adrian Cunningham (24 not out) to get through to 133 all out.

Sew Hoy’s five-wicket bag, combined with Ben Millar’s three for 23, kept Temuka battling.

Nathan McNicol did his best to make the total look defendable, as he took three quick Waimate wickets to leave the visitors at 54 for four when stumps were called early, due to rain.

Scoreboards

With each of the six senior teams playing twice on Saturday, Celtic were the only team to win both games, while Timaru’s win over Star in their first match ensured theirs would be a repeat of last year’s final, on January 27.

Celtic cruised past Roncalli College’s score of 98 with six wickets and 16 balls to spare in their opening match at Ashbury Park 6, in a match reduced to 18 overs due to overnight rain.

Willie Wright (31 not out) and Jacob Naylor (22 not out) combined to get the champions home in plenty of time, after the Roncalli bowlers gave some early cheek on a pitch that offered the bowlers some assistance.

Earlier, Celtic spinners Ants de Joux and Sam Carlaw each took three wickets.

Former South Canterbury player Andrew Buckingham returned to senior action for the schoolboys making 23, while Barry Ward completed two stumpings with the gloves.

Star were unable to defend 136 against Timaru, but learnt their lesson to defend the same total against Temuka later in the day.

A belligerent 58 from Nathan Tubb looked to have provided the perfect platform for Star, however, playing on an artificial pitch at Ashbury Park 3, meant runs always flowed from the bat.

Tubb’s half-century was cancelled out in the run-chase by Logan Taylor (53) and Dhananjaya Murari (66 not out). The pair combined to knock off the runs with 23 balls to spare and eight wickets in hand.

Temuka won a crucial toss in their first-up match against Waimate at Aorangi Oval. With the wet weather and overcast skies, Temuka bowled effectively and restricted Waimate to 97 for four from their 20 overs. Hayden Matthews top-scored with 22, while Nathan Sew Hoy added 20.

In contrast, Temuka openers Richie Preston and Rory Lorimer wasted little time in chasing-down the target – Preston (40 not out) and Lorimer (48 not out) to get the total in the ninth over for a comfortable 10-wicket win.

A captain’s knock from Star’s Phil McGregor (47) gave Star the best start to their second match with Temuka.

Matt Heywood added 36 to guide the middle-order to 136 for nine from 20 overs.

Nathan McNicol, Dylan Lees and Che Latta each managed two wickets for the Magpies.

Star fielded well during Temuka’s chase, taking their catches and producing run-saving efforts on the ground.

The big wicket of Preston (30) added pressure on an erratic middle-order.

Les Humphris added 26, while Kevin Teahen struck 15 not out, but a clutch penultimate over from young seam bowler Tyson Hamilton, when Temuka needed 19 runs from 12 balls, effectively saw his team home.

Hamilton took a wicket and conceded just six runs, to give opening bowler Jeremy Lane plenty of runs to play with in the final over.

Temuka were bowled out 11 runs short.

Timaru moved from the artificial pitch to Roncalli’s Ashbury Park 6 and capitulated for 60.

Josh Dick (20) was the only Timaru batsman to make double-figures, while Liam Beck took three for 12 from his four overs.

Ryan de Joux led the way for Roncalli with 33 not out, while Harry Millar added 10 not out. This meant Roncalli could make their target with 11 overs to spare and nine wickets in hand.

Waimate’s batsmen came good in their final match with Celtic.

Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy was happy with 147 for seven batting first, especially with Celtic missing usual captain Craig Davies and Dan and James Laming.

Waimate’s total was formed around contributions from Jason Sew Hoy (38), Nathan Sew Hoy (36) and Connor Farrell (31).

Jason Sew Hoy said they lacked a score of more than 50 in both their matches.

Naylor again proved crucial with the bat for Celtic.

Given a rare chance to show his talent, he hit 69 not out and shared in an 86-run second wicket partnership with Mark Tutton (34) which swung the match in their favour.

They scored the winning runs in the 18th over, having lost just three wickets.

There are two Friday night matches still to be played before the final.

Weekend Scoresheets

BODY BLOW: Star captain Phil McGregor has his defences beaten during his team's two-wicket loss to Timaru in the South Canterbury two-day cricket competition match at Mountainview High School on Saturday. Josh Smallridge watches with feigned concern from silly mid-on.

A stirring spell of bowling after tea from Timaru’s Sam Porter announced his side as genuine Tweedy Cup final contenders after they defeated Star by two wickets on Saturday.

Porter’s four wickets were the catalyst for the victory and earned Timaru back-to-back wins in the two-day cricket competition after their win over Temuka a fortnight ago.

Star looked like they had shown enough defiance after overcoming an 84-run first innings deficit to have a slender lead at 108 for three with 50 overs remaining in the day.

However, Porter’s figures of four for 31 helped Star’s eventual collapse for 165 and while the batsmen made hard work of the 82-run target, they got there after some late wobbles.

In other results Roncalli College needed just over an hour to earn a 10-wicket win over Waimate at Knottingly Park, while the return of Celtic’s representative players had the desired effect as they turned around a first innings deficit to beat Temuka by 173 runs at Celtic Sports Grounds.

Timaru decided to bat their last eight overs before their compulsory declaration to get a bigger lead on the first innings.

Timaru started day two at 216 for seven in reply to Star’s 179.

Some brisk hitting from captain Jordy Morrow (67) and former captain Hayden Butler (17 not out) got them through to 263 for nine.

Star’s Paul Arkansas deservedly picked up six for 75 in the innings, taking two wickets early on day two as he continued to shoulder most of the bowling load in the absence of Craig Hinton and Jeremy Lane.

Star’s second innings crawled along at just over two runs an over, as captain Phil McGregor seemed happy to try to bat the day out.

The effort was typified by opener Mark East who spent three hours at the crease and he survived 47 overs for 25 runs.

His wicket in the second over after tea started the collapse.

Former representative player Alex McKenzie (53) struck his second half century of the match, but he eventually ran out of partners.

A last-stand of 19 between Todd Debney 15 not out and Tyson Hamilton got Star the runs to take the total to a nervous size for Timaru.

Chasing 82 from 29 overs, Timaru seemed unsure how to approach it and wickets tumbled to foolish shots. Opener Josh Smallridge made 27, while Josh Dick and Zane Sanders added 21 and 17 respectively.

Timaru’s lower order were guilty of trying to finish the match with one hit.

Star’s Grant Managh took two wickets for no runs from two overs amongst the confusion, while Hamilton added two wickets for six as the Timaru batsmen rushed to get their pads on.

The winning runs came from four leg-byes after some nervous moments for Timaru.

McGregor said he felt his team was still in with a chance of making the top two but things needed to change.

“We need consistent player numbers and availability … we need more guys to get to trainings and our top five need to score a bulk of our runs.”

Morrow said there was a good feeling in his team for the first time in a long time.

“We’ve got a good bunch of guys here at the moment and the results are showing that we have good balance throughout the team.”

A resolute 45 from Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy only delayed the inevitable against Roncalli College.

Daniel Dorgan’s 10 wickets on the first day had done irreparable damage for the schoolboys.

Waimate avoided the innings defeat in making Roncalli chase 38 to win which they did in 10 overs.

Roncalli left-arm seamer Tahir Afridi took six for 29 in the second innings.

Celtic were back to full strength after missing day one with Hawke Cup duty and they easily beat Temuka with a solid all-round display.

After losing the first innings by two runs to the visitors, Celtic regulars Jacob Naylor (56) and Willie Wright (66) put on 115 for the first wicket of the second innings.

A quick-fire 54 from Dan Laming in the middle order allowed Celtic to declare after 51 overs at 258 for five.

Temuka’s opening bowler Tom McKnight was the best of the bowlers with two for 74 from 19 overs.

Veteran Grant Watt lead the wicket-takers to set up the winner.

Watt took four for 33, while recalled representative bowler Glenn Matthews took three for 10 from eight overs as Temuka were bundled-out for 83.

Dylan Lees’ effort of 30 was the only double-figure score for Temuka.

Celtic captain Craig Davies said the pitch aided their mission with the ball.

Weekend Scoreboards

DESTROYER: Roncalli's Daniel Dorgan who took 7-19 and already has 10 wickets in the match against Waimate.

Daniel Dorgan was the toast of Roncalli returning from last week’s U18 tournament to take 7-19 and already has 10 wickets for the match as Roncalli routed Waimate for 44 and enforced the follow on at Knottingley Park where the home team still need four more runs to make Roncalli bat again.

At the Celtic Sports Ground while Temuka have managed first innings points they have not been able to force any advantage from the absent Celtic rep players, six of whom will all return next week, while at Mountainview High School a solid 79 by Alex McKenzie to get Star through to 179, was quickly negated as Timaru captain Jordan Morrow hit his second unbeaten half century in as many days to take first innings points and put his team 27 runs in front already and give themselves a week to start planning strategy for day two.

A decidedly younger looking Star team as the club looks to build for the future took the park against an ever strengthening Timaru side that won the toss and decided to bowl.

Indian import Abhishek Baadkar was given a heavy workload and relished it as he took 5-42 from his 20 overs and had support from Zane Sanders with 2-37 while for Star Danny Campbell (30) was the next best after McKenzie.

Dhananjaya Murari brought up his second fifty of the season as a solid batting line-up for Timaru all contributed to the cause, and another good partnership of 66 between Sanders and Morrow made sure of first innings points.

Temuka won the toss and had no hesitation in asking Celtic to bat, not only because of how the wicket looked after rain during the week, but also to try and take advantage of a weakened Celtic side.

Neil and Ants De Joux got Celtic through to 22, before the first breakthrough by Tom McKnight and then Dillon Lees, still smarting over his axing from the rep side after one successful outing, got in on the act taking the next two wickets to have Celtic 29-3.

However a 64 run partnership between Celtic captain James Laming (30) and Willie Wright (32) restored the balance somewhat, only for the rest of the batting to fall quite meekly as batsmen kept going back and getting trapped lbw.

Nathan McNicol (3-21), on a high after making the Canterbury U18 tournament team, took three middle order wickets and Robbie Histen had flattering figures of 2-6 as Celtic succumbed for 126.

In reply, Temuka while not going back and getting their pads in the way, did make the same mistake of going back as the first six batsmen were all dismissed bowled with the experienced Grant Watt enjoying himself as he exploited the conditions on his way to a five wicket bag.

At the other end James Blackstock with 3-13 also bowled well and if it hadn’t been for Temuka stalwart Hayden Broker with a patient but solid 30 to shore up the innings when 61-7 Temuka could have been well behind.

As it was when the 9th wicket fell at 106, numbers 10 and 11, both former senior openers managed to bat through to get Temuka ahead before the declaration came with McNicol, ending 21 not out.

The merits of this policy in terms of the match leave much to discussion, as it took up about 20 overs getting these last 20 runs, overs that may well have been better spent bowling at Celtic again before their reps return, but no doubt this will play out next week.

In Waimate, Dorgan’s dominance with the ball was well supported by Tahir Afridi who has two three wicket hauls as well, while with the bat Harry Millar made a quick 42 not out while earlier Tom Pavletich, relieved of captaincy duties had his best knock of the season scoring 39 while most of his team got into double figures.

It was “one of those days” according to Waimate, and their second innings has been a big improvement with Glen Drake (also in the Canterbury U18 tournament team) making 45, and they will be hoping captain Jason Sew Hoy can turn the game into a competition next week and build substantially on his 28 not out.

Scoresheets

Jordy Morrow led Timaru by example with 57* & 2-19

Jordan Morrow, Timaru’s captain for the night led from the front, first by bowling a tight spell to take 2-19 from his 4 overs and then carrying his bat to an unbeaten 57 taking Timaru to the top of the table after two full rounds of Friday night Twenty20.

Temuka won the toss and decided to bat first on the artificial pitch at Ashbury Park, venue for this week’s match. Openers Dillon Lees and Les Humphris started solidly taking the score to 25 before Humphris was the first of Morrow’s victims.

Jack Woodley, still in his first year at High School came in next to make his senior debut and did not appear intimidated as he made 17 and contributed to partnerships with Lees and then South Canterbury captain Ritchie Preston.

Temuka were well placed at 93-4 in the 15th over with wickets in hand to make the final charge and Tristan Johnston took 17 runs of the 16th over to give further hope, especially when clearing the boundary with three sixes on his way to 37, but when Morrow had him caught the run rate faltered, and eventually Temuka could only post 134-7.

Alongside Morrow veterans Hayden Leonard with 2-11 and Kris Howes 2-28 were the other successful bowlers for Timaru.

With a long outfield to deal with, boundaries hadn’t come easily and some players were guilty of not looking for more single and twos, and trying too hard for the big shot.

Dhananjaya Murari took advantage of the fielding restrictions right from the outset taking 14 runs from Tom McKnight’s first over, but McKnight had the last laugh dismissing him caught in the same over. When Lees knocked over Baadkar’s middle stump next over Temuka looked to be right in the hunt, but then the partnership of the match ensued as Morrow and Zane Sanders added 108 runs for the third wicket.

Both batsmen looked for singles at every opportunity, and good running often helped these turn into twos. They still put bad balls away to the boundary, but even the quiet overs produced four or five runs to keep the scoreboard on track. They were aided by some bowlers not bowling on one side of the wicket making it hard to set the field for the Temuka captain or to build pressure.

When Sanders was out for 34 Timaru had moved to 122 and with four overs still left, 13 runs needed and wickets in hand it became only a matter of time, as Morrow brought up his fifty and a couple of belligerent boundaries by Howes sealed Temuka’s fate.

 Scoreboard