South Canterbury Cricket News Section
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Two captains to the rescue
Dan Laming backed up his 70 in the T20 Final with 77 for Celtic on Saturday
Two captain’s knocks punctuated an absorbing day of senior two-day cricket between Timaru and Roncalli/Celtic at Ashbury Park 4 on Saturday.
Both teams’ first innings looked in early trouble before Timaru captain Josh Smallridge (65) and stand-in Roncalli/Celtic skipper James Ellwood (47) came to the rescue.
Timaru recovered from 72 for four to reach 241 for eight from their 60 overs.
In reply, Roncalli/Celtic were 14 for two but recovered to be 178 for four at stumps with 13 overs remaining until its compulsory declaration.
With both teams needing to push for an outright result, it sets up an interesting concluding day on Saturday. In other matches, Celtic and Temuka are in control of their respective matches.
Celtic amassed 254 for nine declared on the back of three half centuries from their top-order and have Star struggling at 132 for eight in reply at Celtic Sports Grounds.
Temuka skittled Waimate for just 82 in their first innings at Knottingley Park on the back of five for 30 from left-arm quick Nathan McNicol.
The Magpies then declared at 174 for nine from 45 overs.
Waimate are 89 for four in their second innings, still three runs away from making Temuka bat again.
Roncalli/Celtic did well to pick up four early wickets against Timaru.
They also removed the dangerous Prabodha Arthavidu without scoring.
Only opener Ben Fraser, with 32, offered any real resistance, with all his runs coming in boundaries.
Smallridge’s innings was much needed, but when he departed it was left to Nick Galwey (36 not out) and Sam Wilson (41 not out) to steer Timaru to a respectable first innings total.
The pair added an unbroken 65 runs for the ninth wicket.
Will Watts was the pick of the bowlers, with his spinners earning figures of two for 37 from 18 overs.
Both Roncalli openers were out with the score on 14.
Ellwood played a controlled innings to keep his team in the hunt until he perished to a soft shot.
Adam Beck came and went for nine, but Watts kept the innings momentum with his team.
His unbeaten 69, which included 15 fours, was his highest senior score.
He combined well with Michael Lees (27 not out) to add an unbroken 85 runs for the fifth wicket before stumps were called.
Half centuries to Dan Laming (77), Andy Scott (68) and Nick Cahill (52 not out) helped Celtic to a commanding position against Star.
The home team’s 254 came despite four wickets each from Star’s opening bowlers Craig Hinton and Jeremy Lane.
Hinton took four for 68 from 19 overs, while Lane, playing through the pain of a broken finger, took four for 111 from 21 overs.
Only opener Phil McGregor mustered any resistance for the visitors with 47, while Danny Campbell added 27.
The spin of Sam Carlaw proved difficult to play as he finished with three for 18 from 10 overs as Star still trailed by 122 runs with two wickets remaining at stumps.
Waimate’s batsmen wilted early against Temuka.
After winning the toss and batting the hosts reached 39 without loss before losing all 10 wickets for just 43 runs.
Temuka compiled 174 for nine thanks to contributions from McNicol 35, Vaughan Tarrant (33 not out) and Rory Lorimer 31.
Murray Prattley minimised the damage for Waimate by taking four crucial wickets.
Waimate will have to rely on the middle and lower order to set a total after they lost four second innings wickets while wiping off the deficit which they still tail by three runs at stumps.
Waimate undone by panic in Placemakers Twenty20 final
MAN OF THE MOMENT: Dan Laming’s 70 guided Celtic to an unlikely five-run win over Waimate in the senior Twenty20 cricket final at Aorangi Oval.
For the second year in a row, Waimate were left thinking what might have been after they lost the senior Twenty20 cricket final to Celtic by five runs at Aorangi Oval yesterday.
Chasing 147 to win, Waimate was cruising at 118 for four with five overs to go and on their way to erasing the memory of its narrow defeat in the same match last year. However, it lost the last six wickets for 23 runs to hand Celtic its fifth successive T20 competition win.
It was a familiar figure that led the way for the defending champions, with Dan Laming bludgeoning a gritty 70 when his teammates struggled to time the ball on a slow pitch.
He came to the crease at 20 for two in the fifth over and slowly began to lift the run rate.
He hit six fours and three sixes in an innings full of shots dominated by the bottom hand as he had to generate most of the power to get the ball to the boundary.
Waimate’s opening bowlers Simon Murphy (one for 29) and George Morgan (one for 16) had kept the runs to a premium early, despite Murphy missing out on a wicket from the first ball of the game thanks to a front-foot no ball.
Laming found good support from Sam Carlaw (45 not out).
The pair added 62 for the fourth wicket before Laming was bowled advancing down the wicket to spinner Glen Drake.
Waimate lacked the big score Laming had managed for his team.
They got off to a fast start going at eight runs an over after five overs but both openers Nathan Sew Hoy (4) and Scott Willoughby (28) threw their wickets away with rash shots that were not needed.
It became a theme of the innings.
Drake (31) and Alan Reid (22) added 47 for the fourth wicket with very little risk before both of them perished to poor shots when their team needed them to show composure.
The required run-rate never looked like an issue after the fast start and, with Celtic dropping three catches,Waimate just needed someone to keep a cool head in the closing overs. However, no one did. The runs dried up and two run outs followed as panic set in and Waimate found a way to undo all their good work to be bowled out for 141 with two balls left.
Laming, Carlaw and Phil Johnston each ended with two wickets for Celtic as they pulled off an unlikely victory.
Click here for full Scoreboard
Gallery – a few random shots taken at the Plcaemakers T20 Final
Jimmy McLaren leads Celtic No Stars to finals victory with runs & a double-hatrick
A very happy Jimmy McLaren after taking a double hatrick in the 2A T20 Final.
A double hat-trick from Celtic No Stars captain Jimmy McLaren put the icing on the cake as his team was too strong for Celtic All Stars in the Second Grade A T20 final played on Waitangi Day before the Senior Final.
Batting first his team scored 131 with Jimmy himself getting into the forties, but it was the bowling and fielding of the No Stars that kept the pressure on as the asking rate grew above 10 an over.
Then, in an inspirational spell Jimmy took four wickets in four balls, and just missed out on a fifth in 5 balls as the ball beat long-on’s outstretched hand to save the incling batsman. But in an over where he took 4-3 he had broken any hope of a comeback by the All Stars as they were dismissed well short of their target.
Below are a few photos taken during the match.
COACHES & MANAGERS REQUIRED
Positions as coaches or managers are required for all representative teams from JAB to Senior for the coming year.
Please indicate your interest by email to sccricket@xtra.co.nz
or call Mark or Gilky at the cricket office on 6863377
Applications close February 14
Primary Yr 5 & 6 Rep Trials
The Primary Cricket Yr 5 & 6 Representative trials for the teams for the coming year will be held on Sunday morning February 16th from 10.30am – 1.00pm.
Players need to be nominated prior to this date and you can do this by filling in the nomination form online by clicking here
Players who are unavailable for the trial should still submit their nomination so that selectors know of your availability.
Please make sure your club has sent nominations for players, as without your input it is difficult to know who is available, especially as the club competition only resumes on February 8th.
Nominations should be sent by February 12th
SC’s batting again exposed
CLOSE EYE: South Canterbury batsman Jack Harper on the attack while top scoring with 49 for South Canterbury in its first innings defeat at the hands of Southland in Invercargill.
South Canterbury’s dream of earning back-to-back Hawke Cup challenges looks all but over after a first innings defeat to Southland in Invercargill yesterday.
With first innings points likely to decide who gets the challenge from the southern zone, the South Canterbury batsmen’s inability to make big scores was brutally exposed by the Southland bowling attack, who rolled the visitors for just 181 after they were asked to bat first.
Southland cruised past that target for the loss of just three wickets to put themselves in the driver’s seat with one round of games to go.
Southland made 250 in its first innings and South Canterbury were made to work hard just to save the game, being 79 for six before 89 from captain Jimmy Laming on a pulled hamstring helped them survive for a draw.
All of South Canterbury’s top six batsmen made it to double figures in the first innings but only two made it past 18 and none of them raised their bat for 50.
A four-ball spell where the visitors lost three wickets spelt danger for Robin Beeby’s team as they went from 129 for four to 129 for seven.
Jack Harper batted for almost three hours to make 49, while Glen Drake added 26, but once the middle order was skittled by Jonathan Hodson it was left to Nathan McNicol (32) and Ben Watson (11 not out) to give some semblance of respectability to the total.
Opening bowler Craig Smith who did most of the damage for Southland with six for 67 from 18 overs.
After an early breakthrough from Craig Hinton, Southland’s Sam Ward and Hamish O’Brien added 116 for the second wicket which all but sealed them the valuable first innings points.
At stumps on the first day Southland were 125 for two and pushed on from there yesterday morning.
Beeby said his team simply was not good enough with the bat and he stressed the importance of an outright against Mid Canterbury in the next match so they could at least put pressure on Southland.
Celtic’s Johnston hits 106
Phil MacGregor’s unbeaten 93 for Star held the team’s innings together
A scintillating maiden century from Phil Johnston allowed Celtic to cruise past Star by six wickets in the final round of the senior 45-over cricket competition on Saturday.
Johnston hit 106 in just his third senior innings to ensure the defending champions eased past its target of 188 with 16 overs to spare.
With Celtic and Timaru having already secured the two spots in next month’s final, teams were playing for little more than extra momentum heading into the resumption of two-day cricket this weekend.
Timaru overcame a slow start in the field to beat Waimate by four wickets at Knottingley Park and Temuka were too strong for Roncalli/Celtic at Temuka Oval.
The home team won by 44 runs thanks to five wickets from leg spinner Nick McGuire.
While Johnston’s knock, which included 13 fours and one six, was superb, the match would have been finished early had it not been for a determined 93 not out by former Star captain Phil McGregor.
His side was languishing at seven for three at one stage after Celtic quick bowler James Blackstock ripped through the top order. The poor start meant McGregor had to play more watchfully than his already rock-solid approach dictated.
Richard Hickson (20) and Sam Richardson (21) gave the opener support to build the foundations for a competitive total, while a quick-fire unbeaten 21 from Adam Fahey allowed Star to amass a respectable 188 for six.
Blackstock, still troubled by a knee injury, got through six overs and finished with three for 27.
With only two front-line bowlers to call upon, Star were ruthlessly exposed by Johnston.
The Celtic opener bullied his team to 80 off the first 10 overs and when his opening partner Brad Gilbert was dismissed for a well-compiled 31, the team was cantering on 127 for one going better than a run a ball.
Although his own departure sparked a mini-collapse, they did eventually make it home despite three late wickets from Henry Race.
Waimate made a strong start with the bat against Timaru before they let it slip. The home team was 103 without loss but then lost all 10 wickets for just 83 runs.
Spinner Zane Sanders started the rot for Waimate, claiming the top four batsmen to finish with figures of four for 49 from nine overs, as Waimate were bundled out for 186 despite 53 from opener Scott Willoughby, 47 from Murray Prattley and 40 from Nathan Sew Hoy.
Contributions from most of the top six meant Timaru was not in any danger during its run chase.
Sam Porter’s 37 laid the platform, while Sanders added 36 and Prabodha Arthavidu made 24.
Timaru reached the target with 49 balls to spare.
A 120-run second wicket partnership between Rory Lorimer (59) and Johnny Geddis (49) helped set up Temuka’s win over Roncalli/Celtic. Temuka made 216 for nine batting first despite excellent seam bowling from Nick O’Brien and Grant Watt, who each took four wickets.
It was the spin of McGuire that buried the visitors’ hopes of an upset victory. He finished with figures of five for 29 as Roncalli/Celtic were all out for 172 in the 36th over.
Southland game is crucial, says coach Beeby
South Canterbury Cricket Senior Men’s Coach Robin Beeby
South Canterbury cricket coach Robin Beeby has described this weekend’s Hawke Cup fixture against Southland as “like a final”.
Chances are he is right.
South Canterbury will travel to Invercargill tied at the top of the ladder with the southerners, and whoever earns first innings points is likely to have a Hawke Cup challenge in March.
Beeby and team manager John Davies have made one change to the starting XI which earned first innings points against North Otago in Oamaru last weekend.
Timaru allrounder Zane Sanders ruled himself out after he believed an ankle injury suffered during the last rugby season could not handle two days of cricket in a row. It means last week’s 12th man, seamer Ben Watson will get a game.
Beeby said the biggest improvement from the North Otago match was the batting, where South Canterbury finally made a respectable first innings total of 276.
“I had a score in mind of around 280 so to get that close was good. By no means was it perfect so there is room for improvement.”
The bowling was lead by Star paceman Craig Hinton who took seven of the 13 North Otago wickets to fall.
Left-arm spinner Sam Carlaw will also be relied upon, as always, after struggling in Oamaru with blisters on his feet.
Beeby said the importance of a positive start could not be underestimated.
“It’s like a final – we have to at least get first innings because we don’t want to have to rely on other teams.”
Beeby said the improvement of teenage wicketkeeper Adam Beck was a highlight so far this year. “He has a lot of talent and his keeping will get better the more he works with Barry Ward.”
His first half century for South Canterbury helped set-up the first innings win.
South Canterbury team: Jimmy Laming (c), Richie Preston, Gerrit Roux, Jack Harper, Glen Drake, James Ellwood, Sam Carlaw, Adam Beck (wk), Nathan McNicol, Craig Hinton, Ben Watson
Southland team: Jason Domigan (c), Mark Beer, Bibwas Bibhas, Hamish Cooke, Shaun Fitzgibbon Jonathan Hodson, Hamish O’Brien, Mike Grattan, Craig Smith, Sam Ward, Rheubyn Prattley, Jared McKenzie (one to be left out).
Timaru cricketer Victoria Abbott beats odds
DETERMINED WOMAN: Victoria Abbott’s 66 helped the Otago Sparks to a three-wicket one-day final victory over Auckland on Saturday.
Newly relocated Timaru cricketer Victoria Abbott had to overcome a crisis of confidence and bad bouts of cramp to have her best day with the bat at the domestic level in Otago Sparks’ one-day final win on Saturday.
The 25-year-old who has had to train by herself since moving to Timaru in October made her highest first-class score, 66, in Otago’s three-wicket win over Auckland.
It was only Otago’s second title in 50 years.
Abbott came in at No 5 at a crucial point in pursuit of Auckland’s 245 all out.
The Southerners were 56-3 as Abbott joined her captain, Suzie Bates.
“I thought the game was pretty much over to be honest,” Abbott said as she recalled her thoughts as she walked to the crease.
“I had only faced eight balls in the entire season and that was quite a big thing that was playing on my mind, but it all came together in the last game and thankfully it was the game that mattered.”
She said she had a great partner in Bates to resurrect the run-chase with.
“We run well together between the wickets. We tend to feed off each other because she’s a big hitter and, equally, I take the pressure off her.
“I had been suffering cramp throughout the whole innings – I went off for the last two overs when we were bowling, so I didn’t think I would last that long.
“At one stage I said to Suzie, ‘I think I’m going to have to retire and started to walk off’ but then she said ‘are you actually going to get any better? Perhaps you should just go for it.”
“Having the cramp actually made me focus and not worry about the fact I had only faced eight balls previously. It came down to watching the next ball that was coming.”
Abbott had been part of the New Zealand Emerging Players squad last season and has been involved in the White Ferns wider training squad this season.
“I have found it hard going what with living in Timaru and previously Nelson, I’ve had to do all my training by myself so it can be difficult at times.”
Abbott did not look for a club team this season while in the midst of moving to a new area and finding a job just as the season started, but believed regular cricket next season would give her the chance to attain her ultimate goal of the White Ferns. She said she was willing to play second grade men’s cricket in South Canterbury to help her game.
“I was playing a second grade competition in Nelson, so I’d like to do something like that here. I’ve been hiring out the Blanchard Centre here and in an hour and a half I’ll bowl six overs straight and then use the bowling machine.”
Finding a South Canterbury-based club would be a priority next season.
Primary Yr 7 & 8 Rep Trials
The Primary Cricket Yr 7 & 8 Representative trials for the teams for the coming year will be held on Monday evening February 17th from 5.30pm – 7.30pm.
Players need to be nominated prior to this date and you can do this by filling in the nomination form online by clicking here
Please make sure your club has sent nominations for players, as without your input it is difficult to know who is available, especially as the club competition only resumes on February 8th.
Nominations should be sent by February 12th
Draw Changes for 2014
Due to some teams pulling out, changes to fourth grade to encompass the girls competition teams, and with Second grade A revamped for the remainder of the season, several draws that were previously published have now been altered.
Where possible ground draws have remained unchanged, but there are some changes so could clubs and players please specifically check the following draws;
- Senior One Day Final – has now been changed to March 9th at Aorangi
- Second Grade A – now a 6 team one day competition with no byes, and a semi-final and final.
- Fourth Grade & Women’s Grade – now combined into a 6 team competition with a full round robin and then boys and girls finals. Please note game start times have changed in this grade according to opposition.
There had been some discussion around splitting 2nd Grade into 3 sections. This will not happen this season so the Second Grade B draw continues as originally set down.
South Canterbury Yr 7&8 Girls Finish Tournament with Win
Over a ‘long’ weekend the South Canterbury Primary Girls Rep team travelled to Christchurch to play a five match tournament at Christchurch Boys High School. The tournament included a team from Corwall in Auckland who would go on to win.
Our girls who at the previous tournament received the “Fair Play and Sportsmanship” award were looking to improve on previous results, and coached by Amy Beeby went on to do so.
Day One:
Game 1
South Canterbury scored 69 with Ash Mortimer top-scoring with 26 but lost to Metro Blue.
Game 2
SC Yr 7&8 Girls scored 126-3 off 20 overs with Kate Harvey retiring on but failed to hang on as Nelson passed their total in the 19th over of their T20 match 4 wkts down.
Day 2:
South Canterbury played Cornwall who were much to strong and then had the unfortunate draw of having to play them again in the afternoon when 1 played 6 (we were 6 at this stage) and again lost to the eventual winners.
Day 3:
In a playoff for 5th vs 6th South Canterbury struck Nelson who they had just missed out to in the T20 rounds.
This match was a 30 overs aside game and a couple of days at cricket soon showed the girls improvement as South Canterbury Primary Girls won their final match at tournament scoring 178 (Ash Mortimer 50no) & dismissed Nelson for 170 reversing the T20 result and giving the girls their first ever win at this tournament.
A very promising result, and to cap off coming home with a win under their belt, the girls were again awarded the “Fair Play and Sportsmanship” award, a sign that they played their matches in a good spirit and other teams enjoyed playing them too.
Well done girls, you have set a higher standard for teams to follow in the future.
Hinton steers SC to equal top
Craig Hinton 5-32
South Canterbury earned a crucial first innings victory over North Otago before the rain intervened yesterday in the Hawke Cup cricket match in Oamaru.
South Canterbury’s most experienced bowler, Craig Hinton starred with the ball as he took five for 32 in North Otago’s first innings response to the visitors’ 276 all out after being asked to bat first.
South Canterbury resumed yesterday by having the hosts on the ropes at 152 for seven and with the knowledge that heavy rain was forecast to curtail the game in a matter of hours.
It took just eight balls for South Canterbury to take the remaining three wickets for first innings’ points and while captain Jimmy Laming did enforce the follow-on, only 13.4 overs of the second innings was possible before the rain arrived and the match was called off just after 2pm.
North Otago were 41 for three at the time, still 78 runs from making South Canterbury bat again.
Hinton finished with figures of seven for 47 for the match.
Earlier, South Canterbury had amassed an imposing first innings total thanks to timely contributions from the top and lower order.
Laming struck 73 which included 62 runs in boundaries.
He said post-match that the best defence was attack on the pitch. He and the returning Richie Preston (37) added 76 for the opening wicket.
Jack Harper continued to show promise batting at No 4.
He made a brisk 39 before he became one of four victims of North Otago’s South African-born import Francois Mostert.
The middle-order largely failed to capitalise on the foundation set and North Otago found themselves back in the game at 197 for seven.
However, a maiden half century from 17-year-old wicketkeeper Adam Beck gave South Canterbury its momentum back.
He was the main contributor in the fightback with 54 as the last three wickets added 82 valuable runs. By contrast North Otago’s last three wickets added zero.
The medium pace of Mostert grabbed four for 68 while captain Ben Cant took two wickets for the home team.
With Southland also earning a first innings win over Mid Canterbury yesterday, both they and South Canterbury are tied at the top of the southern zone table ahead of the two teams meeting this weekend in Invercargill.
Nail-biting victory puts Celtic in one-day final
CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTION: Nick Galwey took three wickets to help Timaru to a 51-run win over Roncalli/Celtic.
Celtic and Timaru will do battle in the senior one-day cricket final after contrasting wins in the latest round on Saturday.
An unbeaten 18-run 10th wicket stand between Paddy Farr and James Blackstock helped Celtic chase down Temuka’s 239 with three balls to spare at Celtic Sports Grounds.
Timaru mustered a 51-run win over Roncalli/Celtic at Ashbury Park 6 thanks to many contributions from the top-order, with opener Dan Murari leading the way with 53.
A 95-run fifth wicket stand between Simon Murphy and Jarred Stringer helped Waimate to a 83-run win over Star at Knottingley Park.
Temuka looked to have set a winning total after Curtly Slatter made a well compiled 88 and Johnny Geddis continued his consistent form with 56.
The pair added 100 for the second wicket.
While the middle and lower-order largely failed with only Vaughan Tarrant (20) and Adrian Cunningham (10) making double figures, 239 appeared a daunting total for the defending champions who were missing several players through representative duty.
Former South Canterbury opening bowler Glenn Matthews took three for 41 by bowling well down on his pace of old, while Tom Pavletich and Nigel Caple also grabbed three wickets each.
An experienced batsman with youth on his side lead the chase.
Jacob Naylor compiled 65 before being bowled around his legs by talented Temuka leg spinner Nick McGuire.
Handy contributions at the top of the order from Andy Scott (42) and Phil Johnson (31) helped lay the platform.
The Celtic tail wagged just long enough to get them across the line.
McGuire took four for 34 to set up a tense finish, while Phil Lill also took two wickets.
Murari’s innings at the top of the order anchored Timaru’s win over Roncalli/Celtic His half century and handy contributions from Brad Leonard (33) and Prabodha Arthavidu (35) who suffered from a back injury during his innings, helped get then to 217 batting first.
The total could have been larger had it not been for three run outs which stifled the momentum late in the innings.
Liam Beck and Grant Watt took two wickets each.
The Roncalli/Celtic run chase never gained the momentum it needed.
Ben de Joux batted bravely to make 42 before being the last man out.
Anthony Walker made 25 opening the innings but the major contribution that was needed never came.
The home team was all out for 166.
Nick Galwey and Sam Porter took three wickets each.
Simon Murphy (70 not out) and Jarred Stringer (52) rescued Waimate from a struggling 71 for four against Star.
Their 95-run stand helped the home team to 202 for seven from its 45 overs.
Alex McDuff took three for 45 but Star were exposed with their lack of a genuine fourth and fifth bowling option. Reuben Allen then ripped through the Star batting order.
Opener Henry Race was the only resistance to the visitors’ collapse with a determined 42.
Allen finished with six for 25 as Star were all out for 119 after 31 overs.
Watson skittles Timaru for six & Waimos get home last ball in the dark
Ben Watson 6-13
A devastating spell of 6-13 from Celtic opening bowler Ben Watson helped them make it through to the South Canterbury Twenty20 cricket final, last night.
His spell helped Celtic defend 117-7 against Timaru, who could muster just 65 in reply at Ashbury Park 4.
Celtic will play Waimate in the final at Aorangi Oval on Waitangi Day.
Waimate won by four wickets over Temuka after Simon Murphy secured a boundary off the last ball of the game thanks to a misfield.
Temuka posted 163-6 on the back of Johnny Geddis’ 58.
However, half centuries to Nathan Sew Hoy (52) and Glen Drake (58) got Waimate in position with Murphy through some inventive shot selection, and the help of a wide and 4 byes able to get the 13-runs they needed for victory off the last over when a leg glance was unable to be prevented from crossing the boundary at fine leg.
Timaru will rue the golden opportunity that their batsmen wasted by falling 52 runs short.
Timaru spinner Zane Sanders was able to remove South Canterbury captain James Laming for one in just the third over after Celtic chose to bat first.
The pitch seemed slow which made it hard to time strokes.
Fellow opener Jacob Naylor worked hard trying to get quick singles with quick running between the wickets.
An expansive cover drive from the dangerous Glenn Matthews was all he could muster before he was bowled by Brad Leonard with the score on 23 in the sixth over.
After going at four runs an over for the first seven, Naylor opened up by hitting a six and a four off consecutive balls.
However when he departed for 34, Celtic were forced to try to rebuild yet again.
Gerrit Roux added 23 but with the spinners taking the pace off the ball, scoring was tough.
A couple of late boundaries from Ben Watson (18 not out) got Celtic to a competitive 117-7.
Brad Leonard bowled three overs and conceded six runs while picking up the wicket of Matthews. Nick Galwey and Josh Dick also took two wickets.
It was a watchful start from Timaru’s opening pair Prabodha Arthavidu and Sam Porter.
They lost their first wicket when Glenn Matthews took a great reflex catch to dismiss Porter from Watson’s bowling.
It was double delight for Watson when Arthavidu edged one through to wicket-keeper Naylor for just eight.
Zane Sanders departed two balls for later, Watson had three and Timaru were wobbling at 28 for three.
It got worse for Timaru as the usually solid Tim Mackle had his off stump ripped out of the ground by Watson.
Watson had his five wicket bag when he bowled Brad Leonard two balls later and Josh Smallridge was caught on Watson’s final ball of his spell.
Timaru were reduced to 37-6 after eight overs, down and almost out at 49-8 before limping to 65 inside 16 overs.