South Canterbury Cricket News Section
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Yr 5 & 6 and Yr 7 & 8 Junior Representative Cricket Trial Dates
The following dates are trial dates for the Yr 5 & 6 and the Yr 7 & 8 representative teams which will be picked to represent South Canterbury.
Yr 5 and 6 Trial: Tuesday February 9th – 6.30pm – Graeme Blanchard Centre
Yr 7 and 8 Trial: Thursday February 11th – 6.30pm – Graeme Blanchard Centre
All players who are eligible and would like to try out for these teams should be at the Graeme Blanchard Centre prior to 6.30pm on the appropriate evening.
If you are unable to be at your trial, please contact the South Canterbury Cricket office and leave your details. Ph (03) 686 3377
Davies leads push for a gutsy draw with North Otago
South Canterbury won the toss and asked North Otago to bat first on the Centennial Park pitch which only the weekend before had drawn complaints due to poor preparation from the Southland coach after his team was beaten outright.
However, for South Canterbury the pitch didn’t seem to show these demons as North Otago progressed along at a steady rate. Kevin Teahen took the first three wickets to fall continuing his like for North Otago scalps from the pre-season match, but it was skipper Todd Elliotte playing his 100th match who sparked the South Canterbury hopes after taking two wickets in three deliveries to have North Otago 150-5.
Unfortunately North Otago soon took back control as their Otago representative player Sean Eathorne again showed his liking for South Canterbury bowlers with another century (his previous was in the Mark Parker Memorial match) and this time he found support from his No7 as they added 118 runs before South Canterbury’s Craig Hinton made the next breakthrough, and this helped North Otago to post 344.
South Canterbury’s reply began steadily if not spectacularly and day one finished with the score at 86-5. Unfortunately the dawn of day two did not bode well as SC slumped to 117-9 when they were forced to declare because an injured Dan Laming was unable to bat properly and retired hurt.
Batting a second time the South Canterbury batsmen proved to be much more resolute with Davies leading the way and he had good support from Matt Barnes (39) in a 78 run partnership for the second wicket and then later he added 58 runs with fellow centurion (of a different kind) and captain Todd Elliotte who scored 63 as SC firstly chased down the huge deficit to at least make North Otago bat again. They achieved this first target by tea for the loss of only 4 wickets and then had to bat most of the last session to make sure North Otago were not in a position to make a successful run chase, and eventually the match finished in a draw.
South Canterbury after a much more polished performance managed to bat most of the day and had scored 358-8 when stumps were pulled. This should buoy their confidence as they go into their final match at home on February 20th against Otago Country who will be playing their third match in as many weekends and with Country looking for a good result to help them win the Hawke Cup, a strong effort by South Canterbury will be eagerly watched by both North Otago and Southland.
Elliotte said he was pleased with how his team fought in the second innings.
“We looked at the way we played in the first innings and it was just a matter of knowing we had to pull our socks up and say `hey, we’re playing for South Canterbury here’.
“We knew we had to bat for most of the last day and the guys really dug in.”
The South Canterbury captain said losing Laming to a possible side-strain during North Otago’s first innings affected the balance of the team.
“He (Laming) can usually tie up an end pretty well; losing him meant we were left with three fast bowlers and two spinners.
“He’s also a vital part of our batting lineup at No4.”
Elliotte said taking two quick wickets with the ball in the first innings eased any nerves he had about his 100th game.
“The bowling went well, but being dismissed for a duck (0) in the first innings wasn’t great.”
He said he enjoyed being able to contribute to the second innings fightback, by scoring 63.
“We knew we had to bat all day, but when Craig (Davies) and I were out there, we knew we could do it, and the rest of the guys did a really good job lower in the order.”
He said the team would take a lot of confidence from the performance into their next game against Otago Country, knowing they can spoil Otago Country’s chances of progressing further in the Hawke Cup.
Timaru win nail biter over Celtic with ball to spare
The third round of the Senior Twenty20 competition encompassed the extremes of this format with Timaru scraping home against Celtic with one ball and one wicket to spare, while Temuka won their match with Star by nine wickets and Waimate were equally as dominant beating Geraldine by over 50 runs.
Celtic batted first at home on ‘The Rock’ against Timaru and were quickly looking to run singles at every opportunity, but this soon led to the demise of an almost ‘gazelle-like’ Ryan De Joux when a direct hit from Jordy Morrow spoiled his day. Andy Scott batted well for his 34 but like many of the batsmen who followed, found it hard to get his timing right. Double figure contributions from James Laming, Bruce Carlaw and Jeremy Anderson kept the score ticking over, but Celtic would have been disappointed to only score 117 after being 99-6 at one stage with Grant Watt (11) the only real contributor from a long tail.
For Timaru Robbie Rankin was the most successful bowler leading the way by taking 3 wickets for only 4 runs at a crucial time which certainly slowed any momentum Celtic had been building. Hayden Butler also took three wickets and Morrow two.
However, it wasn’t just the bowling performance that kept Timaru in contention, it was their fielding which was certainly better than has been witnessed most of the season as the players took all their catches as well as backing up and supporting the throwers, and they would have been hoping to carry this enthusiasm into their batting as they faced a weakened Celtic bowling attack with six players away on rep duty.
Timaru started slowly, although a chase of under six an over is not considered tough, but Willie Scott soon had removed both openers with the score only 16 and already it seemed like being a close run thing. When the evergreen Grant Watt bowled Kris Howes for 7 the advantage was probably swinging Celtic’s way, but Timaru’s new recruit via President’s Grade and Australia Peter Grady had different ideas as he settled in. Grady picked the ball to punish and kept Timaru in the game before trying to go aerial into the wind and was well caught on the long off boundary for 44.
By this stage Grady had put Timaru in a position where they just needed to play normal cricket and push the singles to obtain victory, but as often happens, comments made in mid wicket talks are disregarded when back facing the bowler as more batsmen holed out into the wind. James Laming then took a brilliant caught and bowled to dismiss a comfortable looking Zane Sanders for 12 and the momentum began to shift yet again as Timaru teetered at 98-7.
Celtic now ran into a problem with who was to be the fifth bowler, and this job ended up being shared by Tim Leonard and Andy Scott with Scott taking on the job of bowling the vital last over. Leonard bowled a good 19th over dismissing Morrow and when the last over began Timaru still needed 4 runs but only had two wickets in hand. The rule books came out as a tied match was considered and whether a bowl off would be needed and the players became even more nervous when Scott had Rankin trapped lbw early in the over. The pressure grew further as 3 runs were still required with 3 balls remaining but then off the second last ball Josh Smallridge drove down to long off for an easy two runs and victory with a ball to spare and Timaru became the only team to have beaten Celtic in any form of cricket this season.
At Mountainview, Star will be wondering about their future home ground after only scoring 113 from their 20 overs against a Temuka side without Kevin Teahen. Chris Anders with 31 was the only Star batsman to show much form while Les Humphris was back to his best taking 3-12 with the ball and he had good support from Dillon Lees and Rory Lorimer with two wickets apiece.
Temuka decided to stick with the in-form bowlers and Lees and Humphris opened the batting too, and Humphris capped off a great day to finish unbeaten on 52 when Temuka passed the Star total in the 17th over for the loss of only the one wicket (Lees for 16). He had a steady partner in Richard Opie who finished not out 31 as Temuka got themselves back into the competition with two rounds to play.
Waimate travelled to Geraldine and were looking to change the outcomes after two narrow losses in the previous rounds and despite losing the toss were asked to bat first. Nathan Sew Hoy with 31 got things going, and Glenn Drake with 17 also contributed, but it was captain Jason Sew Hoy with 52 batting at No 5 who really helped Waimate push the score along. Alan Reid and Craig Booth kept the score ticking over and Matt Devlin hit 18 not out at the end to allow Waimate to score an imposing 154-8.
Geraldine’s reply was in trouble when they lost George Harper for 7 but Michael King (16) and Gary Muff who top-scored with 20 put together a 42 run partnership, but this was to be the last partnership of any significance as the introduction of Drake to the bowling crease spun Geraldine into turmoil as he took 5-22 in his four over spell, a rare feat in Twenty20 cricket. At 91-9 it was almost over and 14 year old senior debutant Jacob Wilson took his first senior wicket and Geraldine were dismissed for 99.
With the final two rounds to be played next weekend before the finals, the competition is still wide open with Celtic, Timaru and Geraldine on 8 points and Waimate, Temuka and Star on 4 points. There are numerous scenarios and it is likely that the final positions will not be known until after the final game and players will be keeping a close eye on possible outcomes throughout the day.
Honours Board:
G Drake 5-22
L Humphris 52*
J Sew Hoy 52
Elliotte nears 100 games for South Canty
Only three other players have became centurions for South Canterbury Cricket, with Barrie Andrews leading the list with 127 games. John Varcoe played 109, while former test player John Ward was the first to break the magic mark and he went on to play 127 games.
Off-spinner Elliotte has already etched his name into the record books when eclipsing Phil d’Auvergne as South Canterbury cricket’s highest wicket-taker in 2007. The 35-year-old has since lifted his tally to 286, but is unlikely to break the magical 300 mark as he is set to retire from representative cricket at the end of the season, to concentrate on his young family.
Elliotte joined the South Canterbury team as a fresh-faced 17-year-old out of Timaru Boys’ High School along with Mark Parker and former Black Caps opener Craig Cumming.
Since then, apart from a year teaching English in Korea and a brief stint in Christchurch, Elliotte has been a stalwart of the South Canterbury side, captaining them for almost the past decade.
The off-spinner’s best effort was grabbing 11 wickets against Mid Canterbury, and over his 18 seasons of playing for South Canterbury has several 10 wicket bags.
The accurate off spinner has however never managed to grab a hat-trick.
Elliotte has loved his time playing representative cricket but said family needed to come first. He has, however, set up a wicket in his backyard for his three-year-old son Harry, with nine-month-old Max a keen spectator.
Elliotte has not only been successful with the ball, he has also proved handy with the bat, with a top score of 123 against Canterbury Country.
His highlight was the 2000 season which culminated in South Canterbury hoisting the Hawke Cup.
Elliotte said he had always enjoyed cricket because of the people he played with. “The best move was when I pulled the pin in Christchurch, I’ve just loved playing for South Canterbury.
“There have been some tremendous games and I just loved being part of them.”
South Canterbury coach Richard Davidson said it was a tremendous milestone for the skipper. “Todd really deserves it, he is highly respected by his peers and his opponents and he stuck with South Canterbury rather move away, which is a credit to him.
“Batsmen knew they were in for a battle when they faced him.”
The talented allrounder will not be lost to cricket completely choosing to continue playing for his club, Star.
“I owe it to them because of the support they have shown to me.”
South Canterbury will need to beat North Otago outright in Oamaru to have any chance of challenging for the Hawke Cup.
Celtic win outright while Temuka move into 2nd place
Although most cricket was cancelled this weekend, Celtic will be pleased with the Temuka attitude after both captains agreed that cricket was the priority. The outfield was mowed again to help speed up the drying process and the match got under way about 3.30 with Temuka in deep trouble at 35-5 in their second innings.
It only took Celtic about an hour to dismiss Temuka for a second time, with Glenn Matthews picking up the one more wicket he needed to claim a five wicket bag while Sam Carlaw added two more to take his haul to three.
For Temuka Kevin Teahen who was not out 7 overnight took his score through to 18 and captain Ritchie Preston remained unbeaten on 24 when the Temuka innings finished at 83 to give Celtic outright victory by an innings and 90 runs.
The Waimate versus Star match was abandoned due to dangerous bowler runups about 4.00 and the match between Geraldine and Timaru also had no play.
Celtic on 36 points is now 99% assured of a place in the final of the Tweedy Cup, but Temuka’s sportsmanship in playing has seen them also profit. The 0.83 batting bonus points they earned in their second innings has helped them to leapfrog Star and Waimate into second place as the battle continues to find the other finalist with two rounds left to play.
The next three weekends see the last three rounds and finals of the Twenty20 competition, while the senior representative players have Hawke Cup matches away against North Otago next weekend and at home against Otago Country the following weekend.
Honours Board: G Matthews 5-40
Davies 11th century sets new Celtic club record
Davies 134 helped Celtic into position to win outright early into the second day next week, and only the weather or a remarkable batting effort by the Temuka tail order will stop them.
Temuka won the toss and elected to bat, but Dan Laming with 5-41 quickly knocked over the top order. After at one stage being 32-7, Michael Geddis with 30 and Kevin Teahen (17) helped Temuka to some respectability at 82 all out. Glenn Matthews and Sam Carlaw joined in on the act to finish with 2 wickets each as well.
It took a while for Davies to find a solid partner as Celtic passed the Temuka total four wickets down, but then James Laming came in and quickly got the recent hoodoo’s off his back (ducks) as he and Davies added 134 runs for the fifth wicket before Davies was out. Celtic batted on until their 44th over before declaring at 255-7 after Laming was out for a fine 65 and a welcome return to form.
Temuka opening bowler Dillon Lees will have a bittersweet taste in his mouth after his best senior performance with the ball taking 6-73, especially good figures against a powerful Celtic batting line-up, but his team’s batting performance may temper any celebrations.
Temuka had 18 overs left to face in the day’s play and began wanting to erase the memory of their first innings but it was not to be as this time left arm quick Glenn Matthews tore through the top order with 4-22 and when stumps was called Temuka were again in deep trouble at 39-5.
Star, playing at Mountain View High School, the site of their new home grounds next season, lost the toss to Waimate and were asked to bat first on what appeared to be a good wicket with some seam movement early on and a lightning outfield.
They began well adding 42 for the first wicket when young opener Simon Ward was out for 10, but fellow opener and captain Phil McGregor relished the opportunity to bat in his proper position and on his home ground where he works and plays adding 55 with Alexander McKenzie for the fourth wicket before uncharacteristically holing out to long on for a comparatively quick 65.
McKenzie was just getting into his stride when a calling mix up led to the inevitable run out four short of his half century. The Star batsmen continued to push for more runs before the compulsory declaration and were eventually dismissed in the fiftieth over for 184. Waimate’s fielding kept them in the game with two run outs and eight catches and Matt Devlin came away with the best bowling figures taking 4-39.
Unfortunately for Waimate the chase for first innings points did not begin well as Jeremy Lane celebrated his 21st birthday milestone by quickly removing three of the top four batsmen and no doubt will be looking for more wickets next week to add to his 3-29.
Waimate eventually recovered from 6-3 after captain Jason Sew Hoy with 48 (and cramp) got them back into the match. At stumps Waimate were 110-7 with Craig Booth not out 19 and they will probably go on full attack for the remaining ten overs of their innings next week. If successful they may earn 1st innings points, but it is more likely to be Star and they will then need to work out a suitable declaration in order to look for an outright result to keep them near the top of the table.
In Geraldine the match is evenly poised after Timaru won the toss and were dismissed for 143 with captain Grant Brookland continuing his good season with 47, although he probably feels aggrieved that the outfield had not been mown and that some shots did not earn their full worth, else he (and Ben Millar for Geraldine) may have had fifty to his name. Phil Lill’s off-spin with 4-38 and Guy Metcalf with 3-26 were the chief destroyers with the ball.
Geraldine tried a new opening pair with the Millar brothers, but it didn’t work for Harry who didn’t score, but Ben went on to make 43, easily the top score in this match so far for his team. Guy Metcalf capped off a good all round performance with 27, but with 5 overs to play in their first innings, Geraldine need 15 more runs and Timaru 3 more wickets to gain first innings points. Geraldine has two former openers at the wicket with Gary Muff 21 not out and Tom McKnight 3 not out and with a week to mow the grass anything could happen in this evenly poised encounter.
Honours Board:
C Davies 134
D Lees 6-73
J Laming 65
P McGregor 65
D Laming 5-41
South Canterbury Primary wrap up with a draw
South Canterbury wrapped up the week with a draw at the South Island Primary Schools Tournament.
It was an actio-packed day at Alexandra when Buller won the toss to put SC in to bat on an artificial turf after changeable weather hampered playing conditions.
After Thursday’s disappointment, SC batted well, with newly promoted opener Henry Morley-Hall giving a stunning performance of 50 not out.
Patrick Simpson starred with an impressive 47 while Liam Cosgrove and Jack Woodley were a useful combination with 17 and 18 respectively.
It enabled SC to declare at 156 -4 from 43 overs.
Buller replied and finished with 150-7. It was a tight finish as they required eight runs off the last over but South Canterbury denied Buller the satisfaction.
Taking wickets for SC, James Hawkey swept up 3-19 while Alastair Harvey held Buller with 1-11 off seven overs. Leg spinner Conor Scott took 1-25 and Nick O’Brien 1-31.
The game ended in a draw as SC needed to bowl Buller out to secure a win.
South Canterbury were placed 6th from 14 teams at the tournament.
SC will next play in the Southern Districts U14 tournament at the end of January. Selected to play are: Patrick Simpson, Brett Walker, Henry Morley-Hall, Liam Cosgrove, Jack Woodley, Conor Scott, Matt McKenzie, Michael Lees, Chris Hogan, Nick O’Brien and Alastair Harvey.
SC Primary stumbles against Dunedin Metro
South Canterbury has suffered its first defeat at the South Island Primary Schools cricket tournament, as they go into the final day of competition today.
Winning the toss yesterday, SC put Dunedin Metro in to bat in the match in Alexandra. Rain saw the match start time delayed by two hours.
Dunedin Metro was all out for 136 with the last five wickets falling for six runs.
Team coach-manager John Threlkeld said there was some very good bowling and fielding from South Canterbury, with Nic O’Brien taking 3-21, Chris Hogan 2-1 off four overs and Michael Lees 2-10 off five overs.
While it appeared an achievable target, the damp wicket was not easy to bat on, Mr Threlkeld said.
SC was looking good at 95-4 but then went on to be all out for 105 with Patrick Simpson making 48 and Brett Walker 23.
While SC is now unlikely to win the tournament, it is possible they could still finish in the top four or five places.
In their final game of the tournament today, SC will play Buller at Dunstan High School in Alexandra.
South Canterbury lead in Primary A tournament
A draw against Canterbury Country was enough to push South Canterbury in to the top spot at the South Island Primary Schools Cricket tournament.
In the third game of the tournament, Canterbury Country batted first, declaring at 195 for 4.
South Canterbury coach-manager John Threlkeld said it looked like it was going to be a big job for his team when they were three for nine runs.
Jack Woodley batted for two hours to achieve his seven runs.
Liam Cosgrove managed three runs over 75 minutes, while Patrick Simpson got his three in 58 minutes. Matt McKenzie notched up five in 49 minutes while Conor Scott defended for 53 minutes without scoring.
Eleventh man Chris Hogan was not out, for the team to finish on 62 for 9.
The draw meant South Canterbury was leading the competition by one point from Canterbury Country last night.
South Canterbury will play Dunedin Metro at Molyneux Park in Alexandra today. The tournament ends tomorrow.
Successful Twenty20 Night Match in Timaru
A great crowd, entertaining match and a fun occasion for all when the Canterbury Wizards played the Central Stags at Aorangi Oval in Timaru on January 13th. Below you can see some photos taken during the match and more will be added as they become available.
Thanks to Hayden Leonard for the first couple of great shots. The umpires could have called on him for verification of the Peter Fulton run out.
SC pupils put cricket lessons to good use
South Canterbury made it two out of two with a second win at the South Island Primary Schools Cricket tournament yesterday.
Playing Southland Country in Wanaka, South Canterbury won the toss and decided to put Southland Country in to bat. Southland Country were dismissed for 44 off 29 overs, with South Canterbury bowlers Nicholas Lees taking three for 11, Nic O’Brien two for eight, Conor Scott two for nine and Liam Cosgrove two for 12.
South Canterbury declared at 116 for five with opener Brett Walker being 56 not out.
James Hawkey added 20 to South Canterbury’s score.
In its second innings Southland Country were all out for 97, with Alastair Harvey taking two for 19, Scott three for 28 and Chris Hogan, Cosgrove, O’Brien, Lees and Walker taking a wicket each.
South Canterbury needed 26 runs to score an outright win, and managed that for three wickets.
Team manager-coach John Threlkeld said the result was a very good team effort with the boys having fielded and caught well.
They can expect a harder game today when they face Canterbury Country.
Today’s game is due to be played at Molyneux Park in Alexandra.
The tournament runs until Friday.
Wizards desperate for win
Big names and big scores are on the cards when the Canterbury Wizards take on the Central Districts Stags in a domestic Twenty20 cricket match at Aorangi Oval tonight.
Following the 781 runs that were scored at the ground in a record breaking one-day game between Canterbury and Otago, another run-feast is likely, especially with big hitters Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Shannan Stewart playing.
The game will be missing one of the competition’s big drawcards, with former Black Cap Craig McMillan still recovering from a calf strain which has kept him on the sidelines for several games this season.
Timaru’s Hamish Bennett is likely to miss out on selection to play on his home ground for the Wizards, having been on the outer of the limited-overs squad.
Bennett said it was disappointing not to be playing regularly in limited-overs games, but he was trying to take the positives from it.
“When you have guys like Chris (Martin) and I think Shane Bond is coming back in February, it can be hard to get a spot, but I’m just trying to learn from those guys when they are around.”
McMillan said the injury was healing and he was targeting a return against CD in Nelson on Friday.
“Absolutely, it’s tough (to be on the sidelines) especially when the team’s struggling,” he said. “I do enjoy watching the guys play, but it’s frustrating when you can’t add to things on the field.
“One of the reasons I came back was because I still felt I had something to offer the team.”
The 33-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2007, said he was disappointed to miss both games in Timaru this season, especially on such a batsman-friendly pitch.
Aorangi Oval groundsman Greg Hull said Timaru’s recent 0 wet weather had made pitch preparations “very difficult”.
“It has been hard, we haven’t had a fine since Friday.”
He said since the pitch had been under the covers for a long period, it had started to sweat.
Hull said he hoped the sunny weather yesterday would remove most of the moisture in and around the pitch and he was confident it would perform the same way it did on New Year’s Eve.
“There will still be a bit of grass on it, but hopefully we can brown that off. There was grass on it for the last game, but the ball didn’t move around much.”
The Wizards return to Timaru in desperate need of a win as they languish at the bottom of the Twenty20 table, having won only their opening game against the Auckland Aces
The Stags on the other hand are at the top of the ladder, having won three of their four games, suffering their first loss against the Aces in the previous round.
McMillan said confidence in the red and black camp was still high. “A few of the guys are looking forward to getting back there, they know what to expect and hopefully we can find form.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we are going to have to win our next six games which is a tough ask, but it can bring out the best in you.”
McMillan said Central Districts’ long batting line-up was something they had to be wary of.
“They bat long in to their order and with guys like (Jacob) Oram, (Ross) Taylor and (Graeme) Napier, they can take the game away from you.”
South Canterbury teenager Jamie Trezise will be the Wizards’ 13th man for tonight’s match.
The game starts at 5pm.
Trezise joins Canty Wizards
Jamie Trezise has been chosen to be the Canterbury Wizards’ 13th man for their domestic Twenty20 match against Central Districts at Aorangi Oval tomorrow night.
The 13-year-old said he was “amazed” to be chosen.
“Out of all the people they could have picked, they chose me.”
The talented wicket-keeper and batsman said he was looking forward to meeting Black Caps fast-bowler Chris Martin the most.
“He’s a pretty good bowler.”
Trezise has played cricket for two years, and plays A grade for Celtic in the local competition.
He said he was looking forward to seeing the game after missing the one-dayer between Canterbury and Otago held at the ground on New Year’s Eve.
He was keen to see the unpredictable nature of cricket’s shortest form up close, he said.
His favourite player is Black Caps wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.
South Canterbury Cricket Association administration officer Graeme Broker said it was an excellent opportunity for Trezise and one he deserved.
“It’s a great chance for a young cricketer to experience what domestic cricket is like, and we are thankful to have been given the opportunity to nominate someone.”
Broker said Trezise would sit with the Canterbury Wizards squad, help out with 12th man duties, such as the drinks break, and get to keep the Canterbury Wizards playing shirt he will be given to wear. Trezise is planning to play for a Timaru Boys’ High School when he starts at the school this year, which will see him play two games of cricket on Saturdays during summer.
Davies century installs Celtic as favourite’s for final
However, the second semi final was a much tighter affair in the local derby between Geraldine and Temuka. Played on a good pitch at the Geraldine Oval, Temuka won the toss and decided to field first and therefore know the target they were chasing. In the end this was a winning tactic, but not without some speed bumps along the way.
Geraldine’s innings started steadily with opener George Harper (24) and first drop Matt Barnes (28) getting starts, but they struggled to build partnerships as the fourth wicket fell with only 54 on the board. Barnes and Phil Lill added 37 for the fifth wicket, but at this stage the only person celebrating was Michael Geddis, the Temuka medium pacer who had four wickets and was in search of a ‘bag’.
At 94-6 it looked like being all over quickly, but the young members of the Geraldine team had other ideas as U17 rep players Matthew Walker and Harry Millar came together in a good partnership. Walker drove the ball strongly on the way to his team’s top score of 37 and Millar was beginning to score freely when he was well caught on the mid wicket boundary by a diving Nathan McNicol for 28. Add a cameo to the finish by Phil ‘Marto’ Chapman with two exquisite cover drives and Geraldine was able to post a competitive total of 186.
In reply Temuka were soon in trouble at 27-3 with Captain Ritchie Preston among those back in the pavilion, but then the in-form Johnny Geddis settled in and with Rory Lorimer finding form again they put Temuka back into the match with an 88 run partnership. Geddis made 50 while the big hitting Lorimer (a NZ Armed Forces rep) made 72 and Temuka were looking untroubled at 155-5 with only 32 more runs required.
Again it was a member of the young brigade who changed the match tempo as Geraldine’s Michael King grabbed 3 wickets in the Temuka middle order, and the loss of two more wickets had both teams (and captains) on edge before Dillon Lees and Kevin Teahen saw Temuka safely through to victory with 2 wickets and 7 overs to spare.
Spectators and players shook their heads in disbelief after Star won the toss and asked Celtic to bat first on their home track at Rockdale Rd, but obviously they hoped for something in the pitch and the opportunity to put Celtic under some early pressure. Unfortunately, missed chances and poor catching did not help the cause, and the always aggressive start that Ryan De Joux gives Celtic soon had his team well in front of the game. De Joux was out in the 14th over for 57 and by now Celtic had 92 on the board and scoring at more than six an over.
The departure of De Joux, followed soon after by Liddy only seemed to strengthen the resolve of Craig Davies as he marched toward his century. He gave a chance in the nineties, but no one would begrudge him a fine century, and he was the sixth wicket to fall with the score now 226. Matt Mealings kept the runs coming with an unbeaten 56, but Celtic would have almost been disappointed after their start to only score 278-9 from their 45 overs and for Star their was little to celebrate other than Todd Elliotte’s three wickets and Chris Ander’s three stumpings.
Any disappointment for Celtic quickly dissipated as Star’s batting lineup crumbled to be 22-4 before Elliotte (24) and Phil McGregor (11) added some respectability with a 35 run partnership. This revival was short-lived, and although Anders (20) and Mark Evans (17) also added 35 runs for the seventh wicket the only team enjoying the cold conditions was Celtic as Sam Carlaw wrapped up proceedings taking the last four wickets for only 20 runs, and Star were all out for 127, a poor effort in reflection and definitely something for their new players to build on.
The final between Celtic and Temuka does not take place until February 28th, but it will be interesting especially if the Temuka team can bring all their guns to town during their 125th Jubilee season.
Honours Board:
C Davies 110
R Lorimer 72
R De Joux 57
M Mealings 56*
J Geddis 50
South Canterbury Primary A beat West Coast
South Canterbury got off to a good start at the South Island Primary Schools Cricket tournament in Alexandra yesterday, with a win over West Coast.
While the 14 teams from around the South Island are meant to be playing in Alexandra, heavy rain over the weekend means the only play in the town is on artificial wickets.
Teams travelled as far as Wanaka and Ranfurly yesterday to play on suitable grounds, a situation which is likely to continue for a couple of days, said South Canterbury team manager-coach John Threlkeld. In spite of the very cold conditions yesterday, West Coast and South Canterbury did manage to get in a full day’s play.
West Coast won the toss, putting South Canterbury in to bat. South Canterbury were all out for 153. Top scorer for South Canterbury was Alastair Harvey on 48.
South Canterbury looked to be in a bit of trouble at lunch on 109 for 7, but a good innings by Conor Scott put 20 runs on the board.
West Coast were all out for 39 with South Canterbury player Nic O’Brien taking 3 for 9, Liam Cosgrove 3 for 10 and Brett Walker 1 for 1 off four overs.
South Canterbury enforced the follow-on, with West Coast achieving 54 runs for six wickets before running out of time. Scott took 3 for 14, O’Brien 2 for 4 and Harvey 1 for 11.
South Canterbury took out a first innings win.
South Canterbury are due to play Southland Country in Wanaka today.