Jared Stringer 76
A resolute 76 from Waimate’s Jared Stringer with some determined support from Simon Murphy thwarted a rudderless Timaru’s chances of an outright victory in the opening round of the senior two-day cricket competition on Saturday.
Stringer and Murphy (32 not out) batted for almost two hours to save the match for the visitors after they looked to be in real trouble at 58 for six, chasing 235.
The pair added 100 runs for the seventh wicket and even gave up the chase with numerous comfortable singles and twos during the last hour.
In other results, Star held on for a draw against Temuka thanks to a second-wicket partnership from Paul Arkinstall (73) and Danny Campbell (43) at Temuka Oval.
Meanwhile, Roncalli Celtic were no match for Celtic at Ashbury Park 6.
The school team were rolled for 75 in their second innings to lose to the defending Tweedy Cup champions by 186 runs.
Timaru held all the trump cards heading into the second day against Waimate, with a lead of 103 runs and 10 second-innings wickets in hand.
However, the slow scoring rate and constant loss of wickets had them eating up valuable time in setting a target when they could have used the extra overs to try to bowl Waimate out later in the day.
Timaru scored 47 runs in their first 30 overs of their second innings and eventually scrambled to 135 all out in 51.3 overs.
Only Tim Mackle’s 37 and Jeremy Smallridge’s breezy 24 had innings of substance, while a strong Waimate bowling attack were miserly.
Former Hawke Cup players Simon Murphy conceded eight runs from 12 overs and also took two wickets, while Jonathon Roguski took three for 20 from 11.3 overs.
With 50 overs to bowl Waimate out, the home team looked well on their way, when quick bowler Hayden Leonard removed the top of the order with three quick strikes.
However, when he suffered from a slight hamstring niggle, the remainder of the bowlers, especially the spinners, struggled for penetration.
Stringer was also dropped by Leonard out on the boundary on 46 which proved a turning point in the match.
The game ended on a sour note, with Stringer being run out off the last ball of the game when he walked down the wicket prematurely to shake hands.
Temuka also ran out of time to bowl Star out.
Star’s first innings ended at 189 for eight in their 60 overs, thanks largely to Campbell’s 61.
Temuka’s 65-run lead was increased by 197 runs in 36 overs thanks to half-centuries from Johnny Geddis and Curtly Slatter.
Star were set an unlikely 262 from 42 overs and were able to bat it out, reaching 148 for 4 on the back of a century stand from Campbell and Arkinstall.
Temuka’s opening bowler, Nathan McNicol, continued his good form with four wickets in the first innings but was forced to toil hard with his fellow bowlers for little reward.
South Canterbury representative bowlers James Blackstock and Sam Carlaw took three wickets each as Roncalli Celtic produced another dire batting effort.
Celtic set them 263 to win from 55 overs thanks to 88 from James Laming and 41 from Tom Pavletich, but Blackstock’s short-pitched bowling and Carlaw’s accuracy to the tail had the Roncalli Celtic innings quickly wrapped up.
Englishman Will Watts (26) and Liam Beck (24 not out) were the only ones to make a respectable contribution.