South Canterbury Cricket News Section
Use the links below to find older stories by category
Big praise for Waimate win
An unbeaten 111 from Waimate teenager Glen Drake has spurred his side to a last-ball, four-wicket outright win over Roncalli, in the senior two-day cricket competition.
The 16-year-old struck 14 fours and five sixes in the 82-ball innings.
The match appeared to be petering to a draw with 10 overs to go, with Waimate showing no interest in chasing the 10 runs an over required.
CAPTAIN'S KNOCK: A much-needed 32 from Star captain Phil McGregor helped Star to a come-from-behind five-wicket win over Timaru, at Ashbury Park, in senior two-day cricket.
In the other matches; Star turned around a first-innings deficit to beat Timaru by five wickets, also at Ashbury Park, while a stubborn 89 from Temuka’s Kevin Teahen meant Celtic had to be happy with first-innings points, in their drawn match, at Temuka Oval.
Some strange field-settings from Roncalli, including an over where they had nine fielders behind the bat, gave Drake confidence to attack in the final few overs, and he did not look back, striking a boundary off the final ball, for victory.
Earlier in the day, Waimate had gained a 15-run, first-innings lead, after lusty hitting from Nathan Sheppard saw them score 48 from their six remaining first-innings overs.
Roncalli’s second innings was a measured one, but they suffered from a constant lack of wickets.
Another half century from Bruce Carlaw, who made 62, and small contributions from Ben Simpson, 20, Andy Brooks, 20, Jacob Naylor, 19 and Grant Watt, 18, saw them set a target of 173 for Waimate to win.
Waimate shared the wickets around, with Matthew Sew Hoy, Matt Devlin and Murray Prattley snaring two-a-piece.
Waimate lost wickets early, in reply, but with only 34 overs to see out, they were unlikely to be bowled out.
The stroke play of Drake was the difference between the sides.
Needing three runs from the final ball, Drake calmly struck a cover-drive to the boundary between the two boundary fielders.
Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said the win was one of the best he had ever been a part of.
“It was amazing. I just told [Drake] to go out there and play his natural game, and we just got closer and closer.”
After gaining first innings points on the first day, Timaru’s batting deserted them on the second, as they were rolled for just 60 in their second innings.
Star’s Craig Hinton got his second five-wicket-bag of the game, finishing with match figures of 10 for 77.
A 75 run-lead, meant Star needed 136 to win from 48 overs.
Despite the early loss of two wickets, a 74-run partnership between captain Phil McGregor, who made 32, and Danny Campbell, who stroked 49, gave them the momentum the needed to cruise to the target.
McGregor said it was a better team performance on the second day.
“It was a much better performance from the guys.
“We held more catches, because I think we dropped six or seven last week.
“The key [to the run-chase] was partnerships, and fortunately we were able to have a good one with myself and Danny Campbell.”
Teahen and Dylan Lees came to the rescue of Temuka to see them battle through the final day against Celtic.
After being asked to follow-on, after making 150 for 9 from their first turn at bat, Temuka lost early wickets again, until the stubborn fight-back from the pair, eventually saw them escape with a draw.
Teahen’s 89, and Lees’ 63, meant Temuka finished on 239 for 9, at the close of play, to grab a share of the points.
HONOURS BOARD
Glen Drake 111 Kevin Teahen 89 Dylan Lees 63 Alan Reid 77 Bruce Carlaw 62 Craig Hinton 5 for 18
Spinners help SC to retain Biggar Memorial
It was the batsmen who stood up last week, but now the South Canterbury cricket team can thank the bowlers for their second-straight pre-season win.
South Canterbury’s 14-run win, over Mid-Canterbury, at Ashburton yesterday, was thanks to some tight late-over bowling from the spinners.
South Canterbury coach Richard Davidson said Sam Carlaw’s 4-33 from 10 overs turned the match, after Mid-Canterbury were going at more than six runs an over, chasing 189 for victory.
He said the pitch took a lot of turn, and Carlaw was able to exploit it well, with assistance from stand-in captain Craig Davies, who took one for 23 from 10.
“They [Mid-Canterbury] were travelling well and going at six or seven runs an over, but then later on, the brakes came on, and they couldn’t hit it off the square.”
Earlier, a 90-run, fifth-wicket partnership between James Laming and Jeremy Liddy set-up a defendable total. Liddy made a gritty 52, while Laming made 25.
It was a promising debut for Roncalli College captain Jacob Naylor, who made 25 not out, and took a wicket with the ball.
The win means South Canterbury retain the Ron Biggar Trophy.
South Canterbury’s next match will be another one-day match against Hawke Cup holders North Otago, at Aorangi Park, on Sunday.
Reid and Laming in starring roles
CHARGING IN: Roncalli's Daniel Dorgan delivers another ball to Waimate's Alan Reid, during their senior two-day senior cricket match, at Ashbury Park. Non-striker Nathan Sew Hoy, backs-up for a possible run.
Destructive bowling and gritty half-centuries shaped the opening day of the South Canterbury senior two-day cricket competition.
Waimate have the upper hand against Roncalli College, thanks to the all-round effort of Alan Reid on Saturday.
Reid opened both the bowling and the batting at a bitterly cold Ashbury Park, taking four for 70 from 18 overs with the ball and then scoring 60 not out with the bat, leaving Waimate requiring 34 runs from six overs to get first innings points.
Roncalli captain Jacob Naylor won the toss and chose to bat on what looked like a perfect day to be a seam bowler, with both the overhead and pitch conditions conducive to movement.
Roncalli struggled early, and were going at one run an over for the first 15 overs.
They were also losing wickets, until Naylor and opener Alex Brooks combined for a 46-run, third-wicket stand.
Brooks went for 30 but Naylor carried on, looking fluent, before he missed a straight ball from Reid two short of his half century.
Needing to lift the run rate, it was up to Bruce Carlaw to find the boundary.
In need of a runner due to an injured hamstring, Carlaw carved the Waimate attack to all parts in an innings of 60, which included nine fours and two sixes.
The 175 required looked like a stiff target when Roncalli’s compulsory declaration came at the end of 50 overs.
Waimate stayed focused, and while Reid was dropped at first slip early, he calmly made his 50, while receiving support from Murray Prattley, who found the rope regularly until he was dismissed on the second-last ball of the day for 27 to give Roncalli hope of snaring first innings points next week.
Four of Roncalli’s six bowlers took a wicket, and even Carlaw managed a recovery from his hamstring problem to bowl seven overs, without success.
Timaru found themselves in a strong position for the first time this season, thanks to five for 35 from opening bowler Hayden Leonard.
He ripped through the Star line-up to reduce them to 118 for 8 at stumps, still 94 runs away from gaining first innings points.
Earlier, Timaru had taken advantage of more than half a dozen dropped catches from Star to make 211 for nine from their 50 overs.
Nick O’Connell made 53 for Timaru, while captain Hayden Butler scored 48.
Star’s Craig Hinton finished with 5 for 59, but was frustrated by the numerous catches dropped from his bowling.
Hayden Broker took five wickets for Temuka against Celtic, but not before the Celtic top-order had all made starts in their 262 for nine from 50 overs.
Broker’s five for 46, was over-shadowed by South Canterbury captain Dan Laming’s 70.
Temuka’s reply was a stuttering one as they limped to 111 for 6 at the close of play.
Laming was again the difference taking three for 25, while Jeremy Liddy was miserly, ending with figures of nine overs, eight maidens, two runs, two wickets.
Broker was the only one to show resistance for the home team, as he remained 20 not out.
South Canterbury YR9 Boys have big win
The first series of under age rep matches was played on Sunday with the Under 16 boys travelling to Ashburton to play Mid Canterbury.
South Canterbury batted first and the highlight of the innings was the unbeaten 135 scored by opening batsman Adam Beck. At one stage South Canterbury were 50-3 before Beck was joined by Liam Cosgrove and the pair took the game away from Mid Canterbury with a 188 run partnership before Cosgrove was out for 58. South Canterbury finished up scoring 249-5 from their 50 overs.
The Mid Canterbury openers began solidly in reply before Jack Green made a breakthrough taking 3 wickets for only 6 runs from his 5 over spell. Michael Lees removed the other opener, Conor Scott removed No 5 and then James Hawkey took a hat-trick to finish with 3-10 and along with Beck with 2-3 mopped up the long tail and Mid Canterbury were all out for 93 giving South Canterbury a very convincing 156 run win.
The boys next warm up match is in a fortnight against Otago Country in Alexandra.
South Canterbury beat Christchurch Suburban in warm-up
Craig Davies led the way with an unbeaten 95 as South Canterbury easily beat Christchurch Suburban in an early season warm-up match played at Aorangi Oval.
Cricket Bat Rules & Regulations
The 2010/2011 NZC playing conditions contains a clause that will be of interest to many of our players.
Clause 8 on page 10 NZC refers to Law 6: The bat and states:
Law 6 as amended from 01 Oct 2010. Only type A bats may be used at any NZC level including Plunket Shield, 1-day, HRV Cup Twenty20 matches, Action Cricket Cup and Action Cricket Twenty20, Provincial A, Hawke Cup Challenge matches, Under 23 and Under 18. Bats of type B and C and any other bats may be used at other competitions as determined by NZC.
The effect of this regulation will impact on those playing in Hawke Cup Challenge, Under 23 and Under 18 matches; those being under the jurisdiction of NZC.
Other matches, such as Hawke Cup elimination matches are unaffected and ungraded bats or type B & C bats may be used.
It is recommended that players likely to be selected to play in such matches be aquanted with this directive from NZC and purchace a bat which complies.
It would be unfortunate if any player was disqualified from using his favoured bat because of this regulation.
For more information, log-on to http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-6-the-bat,1027,AR.html
South Canterbury Cricket has granted a moritorium in our competitions on the use of ungraded bats until the end of the 2014/2015 season.
See clause 4.13 on page 12 of the South Canterbury Cricket hand-book.
Preston inspirational for Temuka
Ritchie Preston - Temuka Captain who scored 128 to lead Temuka to a win over Timaru
Timaru’s Srinivas KS hit the first century of the senior cricket season, but even he was upstaged by the response from the blazing bat of Temuka captain Richie Preston.
Srinivas KS appeared to have put his side in the dominant position, on Saturday, after he carried his bat, in making 119 not out, as Timaru made 243 for six from their 45 overs.
However, Preston had other ideas, as a pedestrian half century soon turned into a belting century, as he hit 128 to give his team an unlikely three-wicket win.
A steady half century from Alex McKenzie guided Star to their first win of the season, over Waimate, at Mountainview High School.
The four-wicket win was thanks to the No4’s well-timed innings, as he compiled 58 not out to steer his team to victory with an over to spare.
Four wickets from Glenn Matthews was enough to see Roncalli’s good fortune come to a grinding halt, as Celtic continued their winning ways, cruising to a seven-wicket win.
Star always looked in control of their game, but a stubborn eighth-wicket partnership of 74, between Waimate’s Alan Reid, who made 33, and Nathan Sew Hoy, who stroked 42, meant the visitors had a respectable 170 to defend.
The front-line bowlers for Star made Waimate work hard, South Canterbury representative Craig Hinton was at his miserable best, ending with one for 11 from his nine overs, while Paul Arkinstall and McKenzie both took three wickets.
Star battled early on to get their run-rate going.
Despite losing both openers by the time the score was 33, McKenzie combined with Arkinstall in a 49-run partnership for the third wicket, and then a 62-run stand with debutant Danny Campbell, who confidently struck 26.
A late flurry of wickets gave Waimate hope, but their inability to take catches in the latter part of the innings cost them any chance of stealing a win.
The Waimate bowlers toiled well, with Reid managing two for 25 from his nine overs and James Devlin also getting two wickets, and Matthew Sew Hoy conceded just 18 runs, while picking up a wicket, in his nine over spell.
Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said it was the top-order batting which had let his team down.
“We’re just not producing at the top of the order at the moment. We need to learn to keep our heads a bit more.” He said he was pleased with the fielding of the Devlin brothers, Sam and Matt.
Star captain Phil McGregor said it was a better performance all-round from his team.
He hoped McKenzie would be able to build on the good first-up innings and produce runs consistently for the rest of the season.
Temuka Oval was a batsman’s paradise for the home team’s win over Timaru, with 490 runs scored in the day.
Century-maker Srinivas KS got good support from Jeremy Smallridge with 56, in a determined 158-run, sixth-wicket partnership.
Many of the Temuka bowlers took some punishment, with Paul Coles bagging two wickets.
Preston was able to keep on top of a soaring required run-rate, his individual heroics highlighted further by the next best scorer being Kevin Teahen with 27.
Srinivas KS ended a good day, as he had the best bowling figures for Timaru, ending with one for 37 from nine overs.
Roncalli were no match for the pace of the Celtic bowling attack, rolled for just 78 at Ashbury Park.
While Celtic had to bat for 24 overs to surpass the limp total, an unbeaten 40 from Craig Davies saw them home, for the loss of three wickets.
All teams will now shift their attention to two-day cricket, which starts next weekend.
Honours Board
Ritchie Preston 128
Srinivas KS 119*
Alex McKenzie 58*
Jeremy Smallridge 56
JAB C Grade Draw Changes
The JAB C Grade has a new team entered which means there has been a change to the draw originally loaded.
You can check the new draw here >> JAB C Grade Draw
Teacher’s hatrick seals Roncalli’s 2nd win.
While Jacob Naylor’s 75 with the bat helped Roncalli to a good total it was teacher Bruce Carlaw’s hatrick to finish the match that shone as he picked up a five wicket bag against Timaru on Roncalli’s new home ground at Ashbury Park. Celtic’s batting was too strong for Waimate as they posted 253-6 from their 45 overs while in Temuka it was a battle of attrition in a low scoring affair with the home team eventually coming out on top.
Timaru won the toss and asked the school team to bat first. The Roncalli openers got their team off to a solid start but it was Naylor’s innings which included 8 fours and a six that was the standout performance. While most of his team mates got to double figures, it was generally in a support role as they ran well between the wickets and always looked for any extra runs on offer.
Naylor looked comfortable most of the time at the crease, making good decisions and showing a maturity beyond his years and only lost his wicket when trying to push the score along near the end of the innings. Combined with one of the most erratic bowling performances in seasons from Timaru who contributed 49 wides to the extras, Roncalli eventually posted a very competitive 221-8 total.
In reply Timaru were soon in trouble with both openers back in the pavilion and only 4 on the scoreboard, but Grant Brookland (31) and Captain Hayden Butler (45) rectified the situation with a good partnership of 74. Another 30 runs was added for the fourth wicket but after that was broken wickets fell steadily.
Bruce Carlaw was brought into the attack as fifth bowler and despite being disappointed with his batting earlier and his bowling taking some stick to begin with, he had the last laugh as he cleaned out the last 5 Timaru batsmen and finished his spell and the match with a hatrick and the figures of 5-30 as Timaru succumbed for 156.
In Temuka it was another ‘veteran’ who led the way to victory for the home side with Dave Fisher taking 3-20 after top scoring as well with 29. A low scoring affair saw only four Temuka batsmen make double figures and they were all out for 127. Craig Hinton was the outstanding bowler with 4-12 from 8 overs as he started his new season on fire, and was well backed up by Gareth Sutton with 3-18.
In reply Star began steadily with captain Phil McGregor anchoring the innings with 42 and at 96-5 Star would have been feeling confident before Fisher put Temuka back on top. Tight spells from Rory Lorimer and Kevin Teahen kept the pressure on and eventually Star were dismissed eight runs short for 119 despite Todd Elliotte returning to the crease after initially retiring hurt but he was unable to get them across the line ending up 10 not out with no partners.
In the third match Celtic continued their dominance from last season, this time easily accounting for Waimate who had been convincing winners in round one. Waimate won the toss and asked Celtic to bat first and would have been reasonably happy at restricting them to about 3 runs an over early on at Rockdale Rd. A good catch down the leg side removed Craig Davies who was starting to look good for 20 and an aggressive approach from Andy Scott ended with a catch in the deep for 32, but it was Dan Laming who continues to erase memories of last season as he scored his second sixty in as many outings.
The Celtic score continued to mount and while 220 looked likely, a devastating innings of clean power hitting by Glenn Matthews of 67 not out including 5 sixes and 6 fours allowed Celtic to score 253-6. He also destroyed some bowling figures as Alan Reid conceded 20 runs from his final over.
With Matthews now warmed up and bowling quickly as well, Waimate were batting more in survival mode than scoring mode and before long it became clear that they were probably not going to worry the Celtic total. With one end of the pitch producing very inconsistent bounce, runs became more difficult, but despite this Jason Sew Hoy batted a long time for his 43 runs and a couple of the other batsmen had long stays at the crease before eventually being all out for 118.
Matthews ended with an impressive 3-16 and Dan Laming picked up 2-26 and now the Celtic side will be looking forward to their top of the table clash at Ashbury Park next weekend against Roncalli, while the other two matches will also be keenly contested.
Honours Board:
Bruce Carlaw 5-30 (incl. hatrick)
Jacob Naylor 75
Glenn Matthews 67*
Dan Laming 61
Job Vacancy
A vacancy will shortly exist for a part time Executive Officer. Hours depend on the workload but are expected to average between 20-25 per week over a 12 month period.
Administration and computer skills are necessary as is a knowledge of the game of cricket.
Interested persons may obtain further information by contacting the office telephone 6863377 to obtain a job description.
JAB Cricket Draws Online
The draws for JAB A, B and C grades are now online. Please note these draws are only up until Christmas.
Click here to see the >> JAB Draws
If you notice any problems or conflicts please contact the office on 686 3377 or by email to SCCA Office
Lawyer at ease with cricket’s appeal
During the week she looks to uphold the law of the land, as a solicitor, and on the weekend she upholds the laws of cricket.
The 32-year-old officiated in a senior cricket game in South Canterbury last Saturday, when she stood in the game between Timaru and Waimate, at Ashbury Park.
She is the first female to umpire at the senior level since Amanda Wilson in the 1980s.
Cotton said she had been playing for more than 20 years, adding umpiring to the mix a decade ago.
The former Central Districts under-21 representative said she saw umpiring as a way to stay involved in sport.
“With work, and my career, I’m quite busy, so I don’t have time to commit to a team sport.
“I really enjoy sport and I just wanted to continue my involvement.”
The former all-rounder, who spent a season playing cricket in Kent, said she enjoyed being in control out in the middle, and she was looking forward to doing it regularly.
As for her first game, she said both teams treated her well and she expected it would continue.
“It went reasonably well for the first game of senior men’s cricket.
“They were all very polite and well behaved. Cricket is a gentleman’s game.”
Cotton said it was good to have an experienced umpire like Graham Begg at the other end in her first game.
She was not sure how far she wanted to take her umpiring, but said the opportunity existed to go further up the ranks.
“Ask me at the end of the season.”
She said she still had some training and examinations to do, but there was not much different about umpiring at the senior level.
“It was probably a bit quicker in the speed they play.”
With umpires in short supply in South Canterbury, she will no doubt be a regular addition to Saturday cricket.
Roncalli victorious over Temuka
Roncalli College made the perfect start to their debut season in the South Canterbury senior cricket competition, while Celtic sent out an early warning.
The one-day competition got the season underway, with the bowlers having the better of most of the games, and not just with ball-in-hand.
It was a day to bat first, as Roncalli secured an 83-run victory over Temuka, while Celtic humbled a depleted Star-side by 171 runs, and some last partnership heroics saw Waimate beat Timaru by 91 runs.
Roncalli’s win was sparked by some economical bowling, and four wickets by pace-bowler Matt Dorgan
With no bowler going for more than four runs an over, Roncalli were able strangle Temuka, who were chasing 198 for victory.
Dorgan ripped through the Temuka top-order, taking his first three wickets and helping reduce the home team to 29 for 4, which proved too much for the lower-order to fight-back from, with extras being their highest scorer with 21.
Roncalli’s total was set-up around 49 not-out from number five Nick Cahill, 30 from captain Jacob Naylor and 28 from opener Ben Simpson.
Dylan Lees picked up two wickets for Temuka, while Hayden Broker was the pick of the bowlers taking 1 for 19 from his seven overs, before suffering a calf injury.
Temuka captain Richie Preston said his side was confident they could chase the runs, but they never got any momentum in to the chase.
He said Willie Stone “looked the goods”, but like his teammates, he was unable to make a decent impression on the scoreboard.
Roncalli opening batsman Ants de Joux said the bowling and fielding effort were outstanding from his young side.
“We didn’t bowl anything short, and just bowled one side of the wicket.”
He said Matt Dorgan’s simple approach to his bowling-spell worked well.
“He just focused on bowling outside off-stump and they (Temuka) kept playing rash shots.”
Celtic were dominant in crushing Star, who were having their first game at their new home ground of Mountainview High School.
Every Celtic batsman made double figures, with Dan Laming making 63, hitting seven fours and two sixes.
Wicket-keeper Andy Scott offered good support, making 48.
Phil Arkinstall was the pick of the bowlers for Star, taking 3 for 31 from his nine overs.
Chasing 280 for the win, Star capitulated, losing wickets at regular intervals.
With the pace of Glenn Matthews, who took 2 for 24, and the persistence of Dan Laming, who finished a good all-round game with 2 for 29, Star could only muster 109 all out.
Number eight Mark Evans hit a late cameo of 37, to give Star some credibility, while Arkinstall made 25 at number three.
Star captain Phil McGregor said they were unable to slow Celtic’s run-rate, which was near five runs and over for most of the innings, while the batting was not good enough.
Celtic captain Craig Davies said the hard work of Dan Laming and Scott, in the middle overs, allowed them to lift the run-rate in the final overs.
“They just keep things ticking along in middle and allowed us to have a hit later on.”
He said he was pleased with the efforts of Matthews and young spinner Sam Carlaw.
A 67-run last wicket stand between Matt Devlin, who made a brisk 43, and Matthew Sew Hoy, who managed 14, propelled Waimate from 95 for 9 to 162 all out, against Timaru, on a rain-affected pitch at Ashbury Park.
The stand ruined the hard work of Timaru off-spinner Srinivas Sonnappa, who took four for 38 and Zane Sanders who snared 4 for 31.
A shower of rain in between innings made the total look better for Waimate, and Timaru struggled from the outset, as the ball continued to swing.
The Waimate bowlers tore through the Timaru batting line-up, as the hosts were bundled out for just 72.
Craig Booth managed 4 for 13, while James Devlin took three wickets and Alan Reid nabbed two.
Nick O’Connell, on senior debut, was the only Timaru batsman to make a decent score with 27.
Timaru captain Hayden Butler said the bowling should have been enough to win them the game.
“A lot of credit to (the last pair), they showed a lot of heart and deserved it.”
Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said he was delighted with the economy of his bowlers, and was always confident of getting the win, once they got the total.
Honours Board
Batting: Dan Laming 63
Bowling: Craig Booth 4 for 13, Srinivas Sonnappa 4 for 38, Zane Sanders 4 for 38, Matt Dorgan 4 for 33.
Strong Celtic still the team to beat
After an off-season with plenty of developments, the tried and true squad of Celtic will still be the one to catch when the South Canterbury cricket season gets underway today.
While teams looked to pick up new players from the defunct Geraldine senior lineup, a new team emerged at Roncalli College and other teams scrambled to entice players to spend their 2010-2011 season in their colours, Celtic have largely stuck with the same squad which gave them a clean-sweep of the South Canterbury cricket trophies last season.
Captain Craig Davies said that having a stellar season last year would not add any pressure to his team which stacked full of South Canterbury representatives again this season.
He said the club had strength in the lower grades, and it should help them get through the weeks when most of the team is on representative duty.
Davies will also have many eyes on him after his fantastic last season, where he scored 1190 runs, including two centuries for the representative side.
He said the statistics would hopefully take care of themselves.
“You have to be confident, but I try not to put to much pressure on myself and hopefully everything will work out.”
Their opponents today, Star, will be looking to produce consistent form through putting a consistent line-up on the field.
Captain Phil McGregor said with five university students, the club had decided to offer petrol vouchers in an effort to get a regular team.
He said the emphasis will go on their top six batsmen to score runs.
“In this kind of competition you need guys scoring 500 to 700 runs in a season and we just haven’t had that.”
He said he would like to see batsman George Harper get among the runs, while the inclusion of retired South Canterbury captain Todd Elliotte and the probable inclusion of representative pace-bowler Craig Hinton, should see the team being serious challengers for all three titles.
Newcomers Roncalli College will generate the most interest, however, they have been hampered with adult players Craig Hinton and Simon Woofindin indecisive about joining.
Teacher in charge Dave Mills said all the boys had the talent to impress, but need a guiding adult or two to help them out.
“We will rely pretty heavily on [captain] Jacob [Naylor] to score runs for us.”
Andrew Brooks and Matt Dorgan should offer good line and length bowling.
Waimate will be looking to upset the more fancied teams, and have one of the brightest young prospects in Glen Drake.
Drake, who won the best under 16 players award last season, is likely to bat in the first four.
Captain Jason Sew Hoy said they would be striving for constancy in the batting, and believed the shorter forms of the game would be best for them.
Timaru have stuck with a similar squad to last year, with South Canterbury representative Jordon Morrow being the key to their efforts.
Captain Hayden Butler said the batting should be stronger than last year and they were a better all-round squad, who would look to use their willingness to hit the ball hard to make an impact in the limited overs cricket.
Temuka were the real surprise two-day finalists last year, but captain Richie Preston said they would be looking to do it again this year.
He said their bowling would still rely heavily on Kevin Teahen, but with the inclusion of Hayden Broker from retirement and David Fisher to the top-order, they should have more runs on the board this season.
All 2010/11 afternoon grade draws now online
All the draws for Senior Reserve, Second Grade, Presidents Grade, Fourth Grade and Womens Grade are now online. I you find any discrepencies in the draws, please contact Graeme in the office on 686 3377.
Go here to check out the draws