South Canterbury gave Christchurch Metro a scare but an 80-run partnership for the sixth wicket got the visitors home at the end-of-season fixture for the Stokes/Blanchard Trophy at Aorangi Oval on Sunday.
With a number of South Canterbury’s Celtic players missing after Saturday’s one-day final, the new-look side got off to a difficult start against good bowling.
Adam Beck hit a tidy 56 but no-one else looked likely and when he departed, South Canterbury were in all-sorts at 95-9.
Kevin Kerse and Alex McDuff shared a 39-run final wicket partnership to get South Canterbury up to 134 all out.
South Canterbury’s opening pair of James Blackstock and McDuff kept it tight, and Kerse backed up his batting, taking three wickets in an impressive 10-over spell.
At 58-5 Christchurch Metro were in genuine trouble but South Canterbury could not break through again as the visitors eased to a five-wicket win in the 43rd over.
Scorecard to come …