This page has news and scores as available from the Year 5 & 6 Cricket tournament being played from Jan 16th – 19th in Rangiora.

Tournament Team

Back: Ants de Joux (Coach), Charlie Martin, Ben Thomson, Hamish Stowell, William Sharp, Harrison Darling, James Arscott Front: William Johnson, Ben Davenport, Gabriel Evans (Capt), Edward Heenan, Ben Stayt, Ted Grigg

Game One: South Canterbury vs Christchurch Metro Astle

Away to a flying start

The South Canterbury year five and six cricket team had a 45-run win against Christchurch Metro Astle in their opening match of the Canterbury Districts tournament.

South Canterbury took advantage of  good batting conditions to post 180-8 from their 40 overs before they restricted the opposition to 135-8 in reply.

Gabriel Evans top-scored for South Canterbury making 50 retired, while William Sharp made 34 and Ted Grigg added 34 not out.

South Canterbury strangled the Christchurch Metro run-rate early, with just 20 runs conceded from the first 10 overs. Ben Thomson was the pick of the bowlers with 2-13.

Coach Ants  de Joux said his team had a solid match with four run outs adding to the cause.

Game Two: South Canterbury vs Christchurch Metro Fleming

SC make it two from two

The South Canterbury year five and six team made it two wins from two at their Canterbury Districts tournament, with a 21 run win over Christchurch Metro Fleming .

A half century from captain Gabriel Evans helped South Canterbury to 187 all out from the final ball of their 40 overs.

They then redtricted Christchurch Metro Fleming to  166-7 in reply.

Evans made 54 and shared in an 80 run second wicket partnership with Edward Heenan (20).

The middle part of the innings was controlled by William Sharp’s 34, as he combined with Ted Grigg (18) as they posted a half century stand for the fifth wicket.

South Canterbury coach Ants de Joux said his team did well to turn twos into threes and rotate the strike with aggressive running on the large ground.

The bowling effort was spear-headed by Lawrence Darling who took 3-26. The bowlers were well supported in the field.

Ben Thomson created a direct hit run out to take the first wicket and then he produced a diving catch in the covers next ball.

Game Three: South Canterbury vs Canterbury Country South

Side score third win

Gabriel Evans produced another excellent all-round display to lead the South Canterbury year 5 and 6 cricket team to a 56 run win over Canterbury Country South.

In their third match of the Canterbury Districts tournament, South Canterbury were in early trouble at 20 – 3 before Evans (52 not out) and Ben Thomson put on 70 for the fourth wicket.

A series of cameos from Ted Grigg (13) and James Arscott (12) helped South Canterbury score 100 runs from their final 20 overs and finish up with 150.

The Canterbury Country South batsmen never looked likely to threaten the target. Despite having wickets in hand, they never lifted their run rate as they finished on 94-4 from their 40 overs. Evans took 1-13 from eight overs.

The win, while convincing, dropped South Canterbury to third overall in the competition, after they failed to bowl their opposition out, missing the chance to pick up extra competition points in the process.

With one match to play against an also undefeated Mid Canterbury side, a big win could put South Canterbury right back in the hunt to win the tournament.

Game Four: South Canterbury vs Mid Canterbury

South Canty unbeaten, but finish runners-up

The South Canterbury year 5 and 6 cricket team went undefeated through the Canterbury Districts tournament but will go home without their main goal of top spot.

They had to settle for runners-up behind Christchurch Metro Cairns despite a 31-run victory over Mid Canterbury in their final match yesterday.

South Canterbury batted first, as they did each match, and posted 143 all out, then restricted Mid Canterbury to 112 all out, in the 40-over match. For the second day in a row, South Canterbury were in early trouble at 20 for three.

Top batsman Gabriel Evans was removed for 0, but still finished with 156 runs from the four matches.

A 60-run partnership between Ed Heenan and Ben Thomson then steadied the innings.

The damage was done with the ball.

Leg-spinner James Arscott grabbed four for 13 from five overs, while Thomson took three for 13.

South Canterbury coach Ants de Joux said it had been the fielding that had set his team apart from their opposition.

He said batting first was a deliberate tactic to try to stay in control of each match.

“Kids don’t chase well.

“You can always reassess when you bat first.

“You can always have a go in the last 10 or 15 overs, which is what we have done most days.”

De Joux said while it was disappointing not to win the tournament, he felt his team could not have done any more to try to finish in the top spot.

The team finish their season having won 13 of their 14 games.

THIS is the $100 pair of sunglasses that will change the way television sport is delivered into our lounge rooms.

From Wednesday night at the SCG, umpires will wear the glasses for the Fox Sports coverage of the Big Bash League.

Read the full story here or watch the video below

UMPCAM

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

This page has news and scores as available from the SIP Cricket tournament being played from Jan 9th – 13th in Invercargill.

Game One – SC vs Otago Country

Otley’s bowling aids first round victory.

The South Canterbury primary school cricket team made a winning start to their South Island tournament in Invercargill yesterday.

South Canterbury managed a first-innings 14-run win over Otago Country, taking the final wicket they needed in the last over of play.

Opening bowler Mark Otley produced the defining spell of bowling in the match, taking five for 21 from 10 overs to lift South Canterbury to an unlikely first innings victory.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat, South Canterbury struggled to form partnerships and get big scores.

They eventually ended their innings on 151 for nine from 52 overs.

Scores of 27 from William Harvey and Shaun Rooney, and a timely 16 from Adam Hamel, at No9, made up the bulk of the scoring.

South Canterbury had to restrict Otago Country to less than three runs an over, and take wickets to have any chance of victory. Otley’s right-arm fast bowling did the trick.

South Canterbury coach Mike Otley said he was able to generate extra bounce, which the batsmen struggled to combat.

Despite the best effort’s of Otago Country opener Jack Turner, who made 58 with the bat to go with three for 19 with the ball, South Canterbury were not to be denied.

When Turner was dismissed near the end of the day’s play, in the 49th over, South Canterbury took their chance.

Mike Otley said his side “fielded the best they ever had done”, taking three terrific catches and supporting their bowlers to defend the small total.

“I’d say 151 was a rather average score, but everyone did their bit and it is great to get a win like this.”

He said it reversed the heavy defeat his side suffered at the hands of Otago Country six weeks ago,

South Canterbury will play Christchurch Red today.

Game Two – SC vs  Chch Metro Red

Big loss for primary school team

The South Canterbury primary school cricket team suffered a 98-run first-innings loss to Christchurch Red at their South Island tournament in Invercargill yesterday.

The bowlers stood up for South Canterbury as they made good use of winning the toss on a green-looking pitch, to dismiss Christchurch Red for 162 in 48 overs.

However, the top-order batsmen failed to capitalise on the strong position, as South Canterbury slumped to 28 for six in the 14th over.

South Canterbury coach Mike Otley decided to play for a draw, which made batting time – and not getting out – more important than runs.

With the run-chase effectively over, the middle and lower-order tried to hang on for a first-innings draw.

The last four partnerships survived 26 overs, but South Canterbury were eventually bowled out for 64, nine overs before the close of play.

The last man dismissed, James Copland, lasted 44 balls on zero before perishing, while Adam Hamel was left not out on zero from 41 balls.

Shaun Rooney managed five from 38 balls, and Rupert Tudehope lasted 63 balls for 11 runs.

Christchurch Red’s opening bowler, Ben Thompson, was the architect of the initial batting collapse.

He convincingly took the first three wickets to fall, on his way to five for 15 from 10 overs.

Earlier, the leg-spin of Copland had proved valuable as he took two for 22 from eight overs from South Canterbury.

Tudehope and Rooney also took two wickets to go with their determined batting.

Otley said there was no way to sugar-coat such a loss.

“It’s simple; our top-order just didn’t front-up today.”

South Canterbury will face home team Invercargill Metro today.

Full Scoreboard

Game Three – SC vs Invercargill Metro

Brosnahan South Canterbury’s ace

South Canterbury managed their second nail-biting victory at the South Island primary school cricket tournament, with a one-run first innings victory over Invercargill Metro in Invercargill yesterday.

Right-arm fast bowler Sam Brosnahan proved to be South Canterbury’s ace, as they tried to defend 137 all out. He was held back in the bowling by coach Mike Otley for one last attack on the Invercargill Metro tailenders, and the plan worked.

With six runs needed, Brosnahan was hit for a boundary, but then replied with a delivery which sent the bails flying to give South Canterbury an unlikely win.

He finished with three for 12 from four overs.

The result saw South Canterbury climb to fourth on the competition table out of 14 teams. The win, combined with their 14-run victory over Otago Country on the first day, made them two wins from three games at the tournament, with two matches still to be played.

Earlier with the bat, opener Sean Wills made 24, while William Harvey top-scored with 41.

However, a last wicket partnership between Bailey Dryden (13) and William Blackstock (8), which yield-ed 25 runs proved to be crucial for South Canterbury.

Burns Mills was the stand-out in the field for the visitors, as he took two catches at silly mid-on and one at slip to do his bit to restrict Invercargill Metro to 136.

South Canterbury now have West Coast in their sights today.

Otley said the tournament was being defined by tight bowling, which demanded a full and straight length to be attacking.

Game Four – SC vs West Coast

Youngsters cash in get-out-of-jail-free card

South Canterbury continued their run of nerve-racking victories in the South Island primary schools cricket tournament, with a four-run first-innings win over West Coast in Invercargill yesterday.

South Canterbury performed a great escape to keep up their winning momentum, as they defended a lacklustre total of 118 all out.

West Coast were cruising at 103 for four, before a combination of seam bowling from Mark Otley and Sam Brosnahan, coupled with the spin of Sean Wills, forced West Coast into a spectacular collapse.

“I think we used our get-out-of-jail-free card,” coach Mike Otley said.

This followed their 14-run win over Otago Country on Monday and one-run win on Wednesday over Invercargill Metro.

Wills opened the batting for South Canterbury and top-scored with 23.

“Our target at the start of the day was 150, so 118 was pretty light,” Otley said.

He said the batting had been hampered by poor shot selection, but the comeback had been great.

“When a team is [close to the target] and only four [wickets] down, you feel like you’re dead in the water.

“I don’t think we did much differently but all of a sudden we started to get wickets.”

Wills finished with figures of three for nine from his seven overs, while Mark Otley took three for 31 off 10 overs and Brosnahan two for 13 off seven overs.

South Canterbury lie fourth.

Full Scoreboard

 Game Five

Rain washed away any chance of play on the final day of the South Island Primary School’s cricket tournament in Invercargill on Friday 13th January.

South Canterbury finished fourth in the tournament, one point behind three teams who were first equal at the top of the table. South Canterbury coach Mike Otley said he was rapt with the outcome given the team had lost four of their five warm-up games.

Sean Wills, Shaun Rooney, Mark Otley, Sam Brosnahan, William Harvey and Bailey Dryden made Southern Districts squads to face Canterbury opposition on January 23, 24 and 25.

Timaru and Celtic booked finals spots in the South Canterbury senior Twenty20 cricket competition, after six senior matches in one day made the finals race a lot clearer.

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

Specsavers are looking for a volunteer club cricket umpire who is passionate about cricket and is inspiring and encouraging; a mentor to budding cricket stars.

Nominate your favourite local cricket umpire and they could win a one-on-one training session with a high profile New Zealand umpire, a family pass to an international cricket game in NZ, $1,000 spending money, plus other fabulous prizes.

Nominate someone and you’ll also go into the draw to win a range of fabulous spot prizes.

Perhaps you have a coach of your school team that umpires your games?

Nominees must have umpired local club cricket games for either children or adults and be completely voluntary and receive no income from their involvement in cricket.

Click here for full entry details.

Wizards vs Volts Dec 2011

The South Canterbury Cricket Association (in conjunction with the CCA) again put on a successful top level cricket match at our home venue of Aorangi Oval.

With temperatures in the mid twenties, blue sky, and 2000 + in attendance, the Twenty20 match between the Otago Volts and Canterbury Wizards lived up to all expectations, and the SCCA are sure the families and spectators who came along found they were thoroughly entertained with Black Caps players like Brendan & Nathan McCullum, Dean Brownlie and Rob Nicol as well as International players like Yasir Arafat and Dimitri Mascarenhas also playing.

Match Story
Canterbury Wizards’ overseas player, Yasir Arafat, earned his pay-cheque, by holding his nerve and bowling a tight final over to give his team a hard-fought six-run win over the Otago Volts in domestic Twenty20 cricket action at Timaru’s Aorangi Oval yesterday.

The Volts needed 11 runs to win from the final over, but the Pakistani allrounder restricted them to just five.

Earlier, the boundary rope saw plenty of action as Canterbury scored 198 for 7 from their 20 overs thanks to 14 sixes and a bounty of cameo efforts from their top and middle-order batsmen.

A match high of 77 from Neil Broom looked to be enough to see the Volts record their second victory of the competition, but bowling figures of four for 43 from Canterbury’s young pace bowler Matt Henry and the skillful death bowling from Arafat saw the Wizards restrict them to 192 for eight and avoid back-to-back defeats in the opening two rounds.

Rob Nicol top-scored for Canterbury with 44, he also took two wickets with his spinners and two catches in the field.

Andrew Ellis and Brendon Diamanti put on 49 runs in three overs for the sixth wicket for Canterbury after their innings looked to have stalled in the middle overs.

Off-spinner Nick Beard was the pick of the Otago bowlers, as he finished with one for 21 from four overs, when the majority of his fellow bowlers came in for some harsh punishment. Canterbury hit 14 sixes in their innings while Otago hit seven.

Otago looked set for the win after Broom and Jimmy Neesham (17) put on 70 for the fifth wicket while keeping up with the required run-rate of 10 an over.

However, when both departed off consecutive deliveries from the bowling of Henry in the 18th over, Canterbury seized the momentum to win the match.

Below is a gallery of random photos taken during the day. Special thanks to Hayden Leonard from HLPhotoz for allowing us to use some great close-up action shots of the stars in action.

123►

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

This week (Dec 19th – 22nd 2011) the South Canterbury YR 9 Boys Representative team is playing their annual tournament in Christchurch. Scores and match reports will be updated as they become available.

Tournament Team

Top Left: Shane Gilkison (Coach), Matt McKenzie, Josh Mehrtens, Caleb Grace, George Morgan, Alistair Harvey (C), William Carter. Front: Steve Phillips, Same Lane, Wyatt McAughtrie, Connor Bradley, Lawrence Darling, Chris Hogan.

Game One

South Canterbury vs Buller

The first match of the week got under way with an emphatic win to South Canterbury as they set out to defend the trophy won by last season’s team.

Batting first South Canterbury scored 180 from 48.4 overs. Two South Canterbury batsmen scored half centuries with Alastair Harvey making 52 and Sam Lane 51.

In reply Buller were dismissed for 40 with William Carter returning the amazing figures of 5 wickets for no runs off his three overs.

Scoresheet  sc-v-buller 

Game Two

South Canterbury vs Metro Black

South Canterbury continued their winning way with victory over the strong Metro Black side from Christchurch.

Batting first the second wicket partnership of 45 between Caleb Grace (14) and Alastair Harvey (43) set a platform and with Matt McKenzie (19), Sam Lane (19) and George Morgan (11) all making double figures South Canterbury eventually made 150 when all out in the 45th over.

In reply while one Metro batsman made fifty, the bowlers steadily chipped away at his partners with McKenzie continuing his good match taking 3-24 from his 10 overs, Josh Mehrtens took 3-37 and Grace 2-16 as South Canterbury kept to their task to dismiss Metro Black for 143, still 8 runs short of victory.

Scoresheet from match

Game Three (Wednesday Twenty20)

South Canterbury vs Canterbury Country

South Canterbury batted first in today’s T20 match, and a revamped batting order to suit the shorter game soon had the scoreboard ticking over with Sam Lane (19) and George Morgan (9) adding 33 for the opening partnership. Wickets fell steadily with the team at one stage 73-6 before Chris Hogan (13), William Carter (20*) and Wyatt McAughtrie (16*) all batting with better than 100% strike rates gave a surge to the tail to eventually get South Canterbury through to 125.

Canterbury Country began strongly and appeared to be cruising at 77-2 after 10 overs before good spells from the change bowlers suddenly evened the match back up as Caleb Grace took 3-18, Morgan 2-9 and Chris Hogan 2-22.

Coach Shane Gilkison would have been biting his nails as Hogan bowled a great last over breaking the 19 run eighth wicket partnership when there was a run out off his third ball.

This left Country needing 4 runs from 3 balls with 2 wickets in hand for victory – now they were the favourites!  Hogan responded emphatically by bowling the Country batsmen next ball and suddenly they had two new batsmen at the crease and still needed 4 runs to win, while South Canterbury needed to restrict the runs or take a wicket.

The fifth ball was hit for two runs leaving the last ball of the over needing to be a two or more for Country to win, or a dot ball or wicket ball for South Canterbury to win. Alas, Country scored a single leaving the match as a tie – the second best result from our perspective, and a good fightback.

Scoreboard from match

Game Four (Wednesday Twenty20)

South Canterbury vs West Coast /Canterbury Country / Christchurch

After the tied match in the morning, South Canterbury were soon back in winning form as they beat the Combined side by 71 runs in this afternoon’s T20 match.

South Canterbury batted first and William Carter continued his fine tournament contributing the top score of 33. He was well supported by Chris Hogan (29), Matt McKenzie (22), while Lawrence Darling finally got going with 10 and Steve Phillips also had his best  knock scoring 29 batting at No 7 to help South Canterbury to 142 from their 20 overs.

This was much too much for the combined team who were all out in the 17th over for 71. Five bowlers picked up wickets with Chris Hogan returning the best figures of 3-12.

Full Scoreboard from Match

Game Five – Final – (Thursday)

South Canterbury played Metro White in the tournament final in a fifty over match as they set about defending the title won by last year’s South Canterbury YR 9 side.

Batting first it was always hard going with five of the first six batsmen getting starts, but only Matt McKenzie with 37 carried on. Eventually South Canterbury were dismissed in the 47th over for 124 and looked to have the odds stacked against them.

Chris Hogan picked up Metro’s first wicket in the second over when the total was 15 but then Metro’s two best batsmen added a further 61 runs before William Carter picked up the first of his 3 wickets to have Metro still well placed at 76-2 after 20 overs.

However, this breakthrough led to more as the Metro wickets started to tumble and they were suddenly 88-5, but still with their eventual top scorer at the crease.

When Caleb Grace had him caught by Lawrence Darling off his bowling at 103-6, Metro began to look decidedly shaky with wickets falling at 107-7 and then 110-8 and at 116-9 South Canterbury had turned the game back in their own favour.  Unfortunately, like earlier in the week during the Twenty20 matches, the last wicket proved costly as the final pair added 8 more runs to have the scores tied at 124 each.

Up stepped Matt McKenzie who wasn’t going to let his runs from earlier go to waste, bowling the No 11 with his second ball in the 38th over to tie the match and defend the trophy.

Well done boys!!

Amazingly, some cricketers can play a whole career without being involved in a tied match, and the South Canterbury boys have had two in a week.

South Canterbury vs Metro White YR 9 Tournament Final Scoreboard

South Canterbury finished the year with a resounding win over Dunedin Metro.

Asked to bat first South Canterbury scored 142 for 5 from there 35 overs with William Sharp 48, Ted Grigg 27no and James Arscott 20no the best of the batsmen.

Dunedin then lost early wickets thanks too good bowling from Charlie Martin, Hamish Stowell and Harrison Darling who were well backed up by an excellent fielding display. Dunedin finished their innings on 91 for 8 after their 35 overs.

South Canterbury now head to their districts tournament in January with plenty of confidence.