South Canterbury Cricket News Section
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Twenty20 Tourny Outstanding Success
Batting first they impressed with their running between the wickets from the start and the partnership of 88 between Mark Tutton (32) and Liam Crowley (47) set them up for a large total. Crowley was especially damaging taking 30 runs off one hapless bowler. Both batsmen fell and then Matt Mealings with 45 and Hayden Matthews (28) took the score through to 181, and eventually this allowed King’s Servants to score 189-6, an imposing total in 20 overs.
The second match between the Northern Sloggers and the Southern Playboys was a much lower scoring match, with the bowlers keeping a tight rein on proceedings. Matt Sew Hoy returned the best figures with 3-15, but Dan Laming showed his all round class taking a great caught and bowled with the ball mere inches from the ground, and then later following through and running a player out with a direct hit. Laming took 3-18 while Grant Watt with 2-24 and Alan Reid 1-23 both showed their experience against batsmen on the charge.
Julian Danby got the Sloggers under way with 32 but the middle order let the side down and it wasn’t until Chris Esh with 23 and Dillon Lees not out 32 came together adding 47 for the ninth wicket that they managed to post a competitive target of 131.
The Southern Playboys showed their intentions immediately as Nathan Sew Hoy came down the pitch and hit Kevin Teahen for 6 over long leg from the first delivery of the innings. There was no respite when he was out shortly later, as Dan Laming joined Andy Scott and together they soon dispelled any worries Playboy supporters may have had adding 102 for the next wicket before Scott spooned one back to the bowler in sight of victory. Laming continued with his form of the previous week eventually scoring an unbeaten 82 including 5 sixes and 9 fours as the Playboys won in the sixteenth over.
The Playboys batted first and after some wild swings Sew Hoy did connect and one spectator, although on crutches managed to leave his seat before the ball cannoned into it. Dan Laming couldn’t repeat his earlier performance and this time it was Andy Scott and Luke Taylor (35) who added 80 runs for the third wicket. Scott went on to cap off a fine double top scoring with 65, while Jason Sew Hoy with 18 and an entertaining 21 by Alan Reid saw the Playboys post 172-2.
Struan George with 2-28, Sam Carlaw with 1-28 and Hinton with 1-30 were the successful bowlers.
The dismissals of Tutton and Crowley cheaply had the Playboys on top and the required run rate was soon ballooning out, but McKenzie and Mealings were slowly getting themselves in and suddenly the buzz around the ground was that maybe these guys could upset the favourites.
Mealings scored an unbeaten 48 to cap off a great day after his 45 earlier, but it was ‘Alpal’ McKenzie who again showed that he likes batting at Aorangi as he set about scoring all around the oval. The Servants needed in excess of 9 runs an over with 10 overs to play and this had gone out past 10 when they only had five overs left, but wickets in hand gives the batsmen the courage to play their shots and McKenzie certainly took advantage. He didn’t play always for boundaries but good placement allowed him to regularly pick up twos and at worst a single and the onlookers were on their toes as a win looked likely.
With nine runs required McKenzie was on 94, a score he had been left stranded on for SC during the last Hawke Cup match, and then 2 leg byes didn’t help his cause, nor losing the strike to Mealings who was nearing his own milestone of fifty. Two runs and a single to McKenzie gave him the strike and the scores were tied with one over left and Laming to bowl. Mckenzie was on 97 and his team mates were hoping he could bring up a century, that no wides were bowled to deny him, and if he hit a boundary that the batsmen didn’t cross which would forfeit the boundary.
The man for the occasion, McKenzie lofted Laming over the wide long on boundary for six and his team (and manager) began the celebrations.
The South Canterbury Cricket Board who ran the game with the idea of encouraging cricket in the region will be pleased with the response while sponsors Speights and Xtreme certainly got good value for their money.
Fittingly, McKenzie cleaned up most of the prizes winning the MVP of the Day, Highest score and most sixes awards while getting to share in the $700 his team won for winning the tournament.
The runners up walk away with $300 and team member Matt Sew Hoy won the bowling award, while Andy Scott was the Southern Playboys MVP, Dillon Lees was the Northern Sloggers MVP and Hayden Leonard picked up the Ashbury Park Rangers MVP award.
South Canterbury Cricket is bringing back the cap.
Players who represent the province in four Hawke Cup two-day games will be honoured by having the cap (baggy green) presented in a revival of past times. The idea is to acknowledge a player’s contribution and bring mana (prestige) to the team.
Former New Zealand wicketkeeper John Ward can be seen making a presentation to bowler Kevin Teahen below.
Twenty/20 Tourny Teams Ready to Dazzle Spectators
Umpires and captains display the team colours that will be on display when the inaugural Twenty/20 tournament is played at the Aorangi Bowl on Waitangi Day 2009 with $1000 up for grabs.
The fours teams consist of senior teams combined and an invitation team selected by former chairman Harvey King.
The teams are the Southern Playboys (a combination of Waimate and Celtic), the Ashbury Park Rangers (combining Star and Timaru, normally combative foes) and the Northern Sloggers (combining Temuka and Geraldine). The fourth team are known as the Kings Servants, and includes a selection of promising local players and some who have been SC reps, and others who may be in the future.
Matches start at 10.00am with the winner of each of the first two matches playing in a final starting at 3.00pm.
Rex Bowden – Life Member of the SCCA Passes Away
It is with deep sadness that the SCCA notes the passing of one of our Life Members, Rex Bowden in his 79th year.
Rex was born in Timaru in 1930 and attended Timaru Preparatory School and Timaru Boys High School. There he played in the First XI and for South Canterbury in four matches during the 1947/48 season including one match against Fiji in 1947.
During the winter months he played hockey, representing South Canterbury first as a player and later as Captain.
He attended Dunedin Teachers College and played for the Albion-YMCA Cricket Club before returning to teach at primary school level in Timaru. Here he coached and played for the Old Boys Cricket Club.
Rex served on the South Canterbury Cricket Association for many years and was elected a life-member in 1976. In 1976 he was presented with the Rothmans National Cricket Coaching Scheme Award for Outstanding Service to Coaching.
In 1957 he was elected Secretary of the South Canterbury Cricket Umpires Association holding the position twice from 1957 – 1960 and 1961 – 1964. To the great regret of many, he retired in 1973 – but not from cricket.
Rex then spent the next years researching the Timaru Herald newspaper archives, sometimes spending up to four days a week in the basement of the Timaru Public Library. He recorded every report of cricket from 1864 until 1993; his efforts were completed in 1993 with the publication of his book, GREEN FIELDS OF YESTERYEARS.
It is from his original and ongoing research that many of the published and previously unpublished score sheets that now appear in the most recent publication called Seasons of Cricket. Rex was one of the three authors of this publication.
Harvey King Resigns as Chairman after Decade at the Helm
A decade later, while no large cash surpluses existed, the association has a healthy balance sheet and its future looks bright.
King, a lively bowler in his time, has enjoyed his time in charge immensely, but believes the time is right to move on.
He hands over the reins to lawyer Andrew McRae, who still plays senior cricket for Star as a batsman. “It’s just time to move on and Andrew is a very good cricket man, with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.”
McRae had previously been involved with Old Boys Collegians and Canterbury Cricket, before moving to Timaru.
Fortunately, King will not be lost to cricket. Last year, he was elected to the board of Canterbury Cricket. He intends to stay on.
The former chairman says he has enjoyed his time at the helm of South Canterbury.
“I guess its a job where you have to roll the sleeves up and get stuck in.”
Highlights of his time in charge include the building of the Graeme Blanchard Centre, a facility that allows the cricketers to train all year round, and hosting first-class games at Aorangi Oval, which in the main were run-fests. King hopes they will return despite the off-field facilities not being up to the standards demanded by New Zealand Cricket.
“We are hoping to gain a temporary warrant of fitness to allow domestic one-dayers or Twenty-20 games to return because they were popular, including with the players.”
Always a true competitor, King is also pleased that the junior cricketers, from primary to under 19, are starting to taste success.
The senior side winning the Hawke Cup also rates as a big highlight, he said. “You hope cricketers develop and for us the Hawke Cup is the big one.”
King said the appointment of an executive officer run the daily business was a real bonus. “Graham Broker is doing a great job, and it keeps us ticking over nicely.”
However, he admits the role of chairman in South Canterbury is a broad one. “South Canterbury, and associations like ours the top job doesn’t mean you don’t keep the shoulder to the wheel.”
A passionate man, King still umpires, helps with coaching and keeps his hand in at the grassroots of the game.
“Cricket gave me some great times, so I was happy to give something back, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support from Lois and the family.”
Dan Laming leads Celtic into One Day Final vs Star
Dan Laming made up for lost chances this season as he put the Temuka bowling attack to the sword on his way to a chanceless 162, bringing up his first fifty off 35 balls, his second off 45 and the third fifty off only a further 25 deliveries. This helped Celtic post 336 off their 45 overs, thus assuring themselves of one of the final spots for the Daily Freightways One Day Trophy.
In Geraldine, Waimate won to keep themselves in with a chance for the other finals berth, or at least a countback if Timaru won their match, but Star, who so often have been the chokers in this and recent seasons when it comes down to the big matches did not let Timaru ruin their parade as they outplayed them on a difficult wicket to win and go through to meet Celtic in a fortnight’s time.
Celtic won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first at the Aorangi Oval. Despite losing 2 wickets early on, the score was already moving along quickly before the 200 run partnership between Laming and Mark Tutton who scored 67 soon had the Temuka fielders fetching the ball from far and wide. None of the bowlers were spared and the numerous spectators were treated to a batting master class as Laming scored 17 boundaries including four sixes. James Laming also joined the fray with an unbeaten 47.
Temuka, already out of the competition set about the chase in a positive manner with Julian Danby starring with 134 off 104 balls. His third club century of the season included partnerships of 63, 42, 48 and 43, but chasing a total of this size at 7 ½ runs an over is an onerous task no matter how good your line up, and to finish on 242 was a very respectable score, even if still 94 runs short. For Celtic James Laming and Mark Tutton both picked up 3 wickets, but none of the bowlers had flattering figures on a day where the bat dominated.
Timaru’s best chance of making the final was for them to beat Star and hope that Waimate beat Geraldine as Timaru would then go through on round robin results where they had won one match and the other had been washed out. With this in mind they asked Star to bat first.
Star began poorly losing McGregor and Arkinstall (previously in form batsmen) without scoring, and then the third wicket at 35. However Chris Anders hadn’t lost any form as he and Alexander McKenzie put on 77 runs before McKenzie lofted an on drive to be out for 38. Anders continued on adding a further 66 runs with Bouch (19), as they ran well between the wickets and picked up the run rate markedly. A target well in excess of 200 looked achievable, but the dismissal of Anders, run out for 79, allowed Timaru to put the brakes on and only 36 further runs were scored in the last 10 overs, with Star finishing at 209-8.
Timaru’s reply began well with Gerald Piddock, Robbie Rankin and Hayden Butler all getting into double figures. The ever present threat of rain and the deteriorating light meant score targets and runs per over were being closely monitored, remembering that 20 overs constitutes a match and a no result would only benefit Star.
At the 20 over stage Timaru were only 2 runs behind the required rate when, as they have regularly done this season, they lost wickets in a bunch going from 99-1 to 101-4. A couple of quiet overs and the loss of wickets suddenly meant they were 20 runs behind the asking rate. Tim Mackle (20) tried to pick it up but clever bowling changes countered that, and as the rain fell more heavily Timaru’s asking rate climbed above eight per over. Not normally a difficult ask, but with the overhead conditions and lack of wickets in hand, Timaru’s chase faded and they were eventually all out for 170.
All Star’s bowlers contributed with Jeremy Lane redeeming himself from a week ago with 2-24 from 9 overs, while McKenzie, Mark Evans and Hamish Dickson each grabbed a pair too.
With both teams needing victory to have any chance at a final Waimate batted first with Matt Devlin opening in his club swansong before departing for Australia. It wasn’t a great send off and Waimate were soon in deep trouble at 58-5 before Alan Reid with 38 and Jason Sew Hoy 34 added some substance allowing Waimate to post a competitive 183. Tom McKnight had a successful day with the ball for Geraldine taking 3 of the first 4 wickets to fall.
Geraldine’s reply was built around Stephen Pagan’s 53, but unfortunately only Regan Tate with 35 got going and tight bowling, especially by Reuben Allan with 2-6 off six overs and good fielding saw Waimate dismiss Geraldine 16 runs short in another nailbiter.
With the One Day finalists decided, we can look forward to the Twenty/20 Tournament all day this Friday at Aorangi Oval and the resumption of the Tweedy Cup next Saturday.
Drennan leads Geraldine to victory
One century and eight half centuries were scored in senior cricket on Saturday, but it was Hamish Drennan who was the toast of Geraldine at Aorangi Oval after he removed the first four Timaru batsmen and then compiled an important 39 with the bat to keep Geraldine’s final hopes alive with one round to play. All this despite his team mates’ best efforts to undo his good work by dropping Kris Howes early (he went on to make 91), being penalized for slow over rates, and having an opening batsman unable to come in until No 5 due to being off the field for too long.In the other matches Celtic held their position on top after making amends for their first round loss to Waimate, opener Craig Davies finally getting things to go his way this season with a century, while Star stayed with them in top spot after winning against Temuka in a match where more than 500 runs were scored on a lightning outfield at Mountainview High School.
As happened in most matches after winning the toss, Timaru batted first in the heat, hoping to set an imposing target and drain the enthusiasm of the opposition and then get the chance to bowl later in the day with a breeze or some cloud cover. After the bad start to be 49-4, Captain Hayden Leonard and Kris Howes set about posting a good total. Geraldine is not the first team to regret dropping Howes and the pair added more than fifty runs before Leonard was out for 16. Unfortunately, Leonard’s 16 runs turned out to be Timaru’s second best score and Howes had little other support as they eventually succumbed for 206.
Drennan led the Geraldine bowlers with his 4-32 but Tom McKnight bowled tightly to only concede 18 from his overs and Phil Chapman tidied up the tail with consecutive caught and bowled dismissals, one of which was a very good catch.
Geraldine started poorly and tight bowling by Howes and Leonard had players making bad decisions as they tried to pick up the almost stagnant run rate. It wasn’t until Stephen Pagan joined Guy Metcalf at 43-3 that things changed, adding 60 runs together. Metcalf went on to make 51 before losing his stumps and at 125-5 Geraldine still had a bit of work to do to beat Timaru for the second time this season.
Up stepped Drennan and in partnership with Reagan Tate they added a further 59 runs before Drennan was out, but the damage had been done as Chris Esh and Tate (34 not out) were able to chase down the remaining runs with 3 overs to spare.
I am unsure if the Star vs Temuka game was transferred to MVHS as a reward for their batsmen or a punishment for their bowlers, but a very strong Star lineup turned up to play, while Temuka were without stalwarts Kevin Teahen and Hayden Broker.
Phil McGregor relished the batting conditions on his way to 74 as his new year form continues (following scores of 50 and 49*), and he added 127 runs for the first wicket with new South Canterbury Cricket Chairman Andrew McRae who scored 44.
A double breakthrough and it was Paul Arkinstall and Chris Anders who got the chance to improve their averages adding 102 for the third wicket before Arkinstall was out for 62. Anders went on to score 57 not out as Star set Temuka 283 runs for victory.
Interpreting the Temuka body language, especially after a sloppy fielding display and having used nine bowlers in an effort to stem the flow of runs, one would have thought this game was all over bar formalities, but the shade of the tent soon revitalized Temuka and they came out fighting.
The first partnership was 55, the third 75 and all the batsmen got starts with Michael Geddis scoring 45, Julian Danby getting off his run of ‘goldies’ to score 43, after earlier keeping wicket and bowling a spell, while Ritchie Preston was in great touch making 59. Johnston added 40 to keep the chase alive but as the run rate climbed, wickets fell and despite 30 not out by Tom Walsh, Temuka fell 29 runs short after scoring a meritorious 253.
Davies (100) and Ryan de Joux (79) set the match up for Celtic in a huge opening partnership before Alan Reid was able to put some breaks on taking 4-28. The rest of the Celtic batsmen tried to score quickly without much luck, but still posted a challenging 272.
Waimate started positively and were 68-2 off 15 overs, but in the end was all out in the 33rd over for 150, more than 100 runs short despite Jason Sew Hoy with 51 again trying to pull them out of the fire. James Laming toiled hard and was rewarded with 4-16 off his nine overs but no doubt had mixed feelings of delight and exasperation as Sam Carlaw came on and took 4-4 off 2.2 overs to finish the match.
The final round of the One Day competition next weekend still has 5 teams able to make the final and will lead to some interesting scenarios, especially if more than one team ends up on the same points, when finalists are decided on the results in the round-robin matches, or if still tied then on net run rates.
South Canterbury & Canterbury Magicians batsman Amber Boyce stars as Magicians win third title in a row
Canterbury lower order batsman Amber Boyce from Timaru smashed 30 off 15 to give the Magician’s their third title in a row. Batting at number nine Boyce was the hero after getting her team across the line, a might achievement against the international pair of Sophie Devine and Lucy Doolan who had the unenviable task of bowling the final over.
SC Just Miss Out in Hawke Cup Battle of Heavyweights
Despite a brilliant unbeaten innings of 94 by 17 year old Alexander McKenzie, South Canterbury fell 28 runs short of a first innings win against Canterbury Country in their final Hawke Cup elimination match of the season, and will probably finish second as Canterbury Country although equal on points have a superior run rate even if their next match is washed out.
It was a battle of concentration as both teams played for first innings points on a batsmen’s paradise at Aorangi Oval. South Canterbury had a seven point lead going into the match and a first innings win would guarantee them a win in the Canterbury Districts section of the Hawke Cup.
Canterbury Country, with a match in hand needed first innings points to go ahead on run rate, or at least a draw so that an outright victory in their final game would give them the title.
South Canterbury started well by winning the toss and asking the opposition to bat first which was all part of the plan to get Country to make the play. This led to a long day in the field as 113 overs were bowled, with the bulk of the work falling to Dan Laming (4-112), Todd Elliotte (2-65), Alexander McKenzie (2-90) and Craig Hinton (1-90).
Country began quickly adding 106 runs for the first wicket in quick time, but the loss of Liam Bartholomeusz for 75 meant a slow down in the scoring rate which was surprising considering the number of wickets in hand. This pattern continued and it was only on rare occasions that the Canterbury Country batsmen looked to dominate and appeared to be happy to move along at a pedestrian rate of 3 runs an over, despite the fast outfield and easy batting pitch. Chris Bartholomeusz 69, Peter Carey 45 and then a fine century to stalwart Robbie Frew with 101 not out got them through to 389-9 when the declaration came and South Canterbury were required to face 3 overs before play ended for the day.
An ideal start for Country saw Craig Davies given out for the first lbw decision of the day and this brought about a change of batting order with Grant Brookland joined by Matt Mealings in a night watchmen’s role and at stumps South Canterbury were 6 for 1.
Only two overs into the new day and Brookland was run out and South Canterbury were struggling at 10-2 when Dam Laming strode to the wicket to join his club mate and try and turn the match back in South Canterbury’s favour.
Captain Todd Elliotte said that “the team had talked about the more experienced and senior players in the side having to step up”, and Laming was following instructions as he gradually began to dominate the bowling. Mealings’ innings also flourished as he spent time in the middle and without any pressure other than to bat all day he was 47 not out and had helped Laming on 75 not out take the side to lunch at 128-2 with an unbeaten century partnership.
As so often happens after a break, whether for drinks, food or the weather a wicket falls, and South Canterbury followed all the clichés losing Mealings and Danby at 140 and then Laming one run later.
This time it was Liam Crowley and James Laming who rebuilt the innings adding 54 runs before Laming was out, and again SC lost two more quick wickets to be facing a huge deficit at 203 for 8.
McKenzie in his second game for SC joined Captain Todd Elliotte at the crease with plenty of overs still to bat in order to save the day. Although Elliotte was batting with a dislocated finger in his right hand and unable to use much bottom hand when playing shots, his experience told as the pair added 73 runs and played each ball on its merits.
As rain clouds threatened, and the light deteriorated, the first task appeared to be to get to tea and then assess the situation. As it turned out, the rain became heavy enough that the umpires called for the covers at tea and the long waiting process began, bearing in mind the game could not resume if it was still even light drizzle.
In the end, an hour’s play was lost, but with play allowed to continue until 8.00pm no overs were lost. The pair continued until Elliotte’s dismissal for 38 had many spectators thinking the match won’t take long to finish now, but Craig Hinton had other ideas as he joined McKenzie in the middle.
Canterbury Country went on all out attack to Hinton, crowding him with fielders and feeding No 10 McKenzie a single to get him off strike, but Hinton was equal to the task as he hit two good sixes and defended stoutly.
All the time McKenzie was making milestones as he brought up his fifty off 65 balls and dispatched the ball to all parts including some huge drives for 6 at both ends. South Canterbury’s hopes revived as everyone in attendance stayed glued to proceedings, but eventually after adding a further 86 runs for the final wicket, and with McKenzie poised for a century on 94 off only 96 balls, Hinton was bowled for 24 and a very dejected player left the field with South Canterbury all out for 362, only 28 runs short of what would have been an amazing result.
For Canterbury Country Ben Bellamy with 3-79 and Chris Bartholomeusz 3-91 were the most successful bowlers, and although they took away the spoils, the maturity shown by McKenzie with ball and bat was the bright light in an enthralling match.
Hayden Butler Century takes Timaru into four way tie
A century to Hayden Butler helped Timaru’s season resurgence as they travelled to and defeated Waimate, while Star made more of their opportunities when they beat Celtic at CSG1 despite both teams missing players due to representative duty and now re-join Waimate, Timaru and Celtic in a four way tie at the top of the table with two rounds left in the Daily Freightways One Day competition.
It seemed that everything went Timaru’s way after Waimate won the toss and asked them to bat first at Knottingley Park. After losing two wickets for 26 Waimate then dropped Hayden Butler twice before he scored, crucial mistakes in the context of the game as he went on to make his first senior century by scoring 107. He had good help adding 76 in partnership with Zane Sanders and 72 with Hayden Leonard as Timaru scored 207-7 from their overs.
When rain fell between innings, Timaru’s good fortunes continued as they got to bowl on a freshened pitch and soon made the most of it to have Waimate reeling at 33-5 before Craig Booth and Jason Sew Hoy began the fightback with a 50 run partnership.
However, when Booth was run out, Sew Hoy could not complete the fairytale of previous weeks and although Matt Devlin certainly tried with a cameo innings of 47 not out, Waimate were too far behind the required run rate to threaten Timaru’s score and finished 174-9 off their 45 overs.
The Celtic and Star teams both wanted to win, but for different reasons as a win would have put Celtic out in front on their own, while a win to Star would help them to get rid of the “chokers” tag they have been building on this season and get them back to the top of the table for the run home with games against Temuka and Timaru to come.
Star inserted Celtic and was rewarded by regular wickets as Celtic battled to 68-4. Andy Craig who top scored with 35 and Nigel Caple (24) then put together a decent partnership adding 56 runs for the fifth wicket.
Unfortunately for Celtic the rest of the batsmen then capitulated and were all out for the addition of only 20 runs as Phil Henshaw confused them with the ball that never arrives taking 4 wickets and showing his fellow bowlers how the slower ball works, taking two of the four caught and bowled dismissals Star created.
Young off spinner Blair Brown ended up with 3 wickets on debut, but may be advised to let his bowling do most of the talking in the future and thus always get the last laugh, while Chris Hyde again bowled well to pick up 2 wickets.
In reply, other than from the threat of thunder and rain, Star were never in any danger of losing despite the loss of two cheap wickets. Phil McGregor and Paul Arkinstall took the score into the nineties before a brilliant diving overhead catch by Andy Scott (almost Duminy-like) removed Arkinstall for 36. But the damage was done and McGregor almost scored his second fifty in a row but was thwarted when Nathan Tubb hit a boundary to give Star victory and leave his captain unbeaten on 49. Willie Scott was the only successful bowler for Celtic, and possibly under-bowled but in the end Celtic didn’t put up a defendable score and will be relishing the return of their rep players for the rest of the season.
In Temuka the weather intervened causing the match to be abandoned in the local derby with Geraldine before NZ Hockey player Hayden Shaw could wreak any havoc with the ball.
Temuka batted first and got off to a great start with the Geddis brothers adding 59 in 11 overs, and at 100 for 2 looked like posting a really good total, but then Ben Millar, who has started to become a ‘golden arm’ when called on to break partnerships, took 3-20 and with Chris Esh only conceding 10 runs from his nine overs, Geraldine were able to turn the game back in their favour.
Adrian Cunningham with 31 not out continued his new found form and alongside Vaughan Tarrant who has returned helped the Temuka side put 178-8 on the board. Unfortunately the thunder and rain which skirted games throughout the province was at its worst in Temuka and the game was abandoned after only 3 overs of the Geraldine chase.
Narrow defeat for South Canterbury Yr 5 & 6
South Canterbury’s Year 5 and 6 cricket team had a close loss to Christchurch Metro at the Canterbury Districts primary tournament in Rangiora yesterday.
South Canterbury batted first and were all out for 109. Top scorers were Alistair Harvey 23, Matt Mackenzie 21 and Ben de Joux 11.
In reply Christchurch Metro made 119 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
South Canterbury’s best bowling efforts came from Harvey who took 2 for 12 and Chris Hogan who took 3 for 20.
Coach/manager Ants de Joux said the team had played well and the game came down to a close finish.
Yr 5 and 6 Team Has Win
SOUTH CANTERBURY’S year 5 and 6 cricket team had a convincing win against Buller at the Canterbury District’s primary tournament in Rangiora yesterday.
They scored 235-9 and in reply Buller were all out for 91.
Coach-manager Ants de Joux said the win was a team effort, especially when batting.
Christopher Hogan scored 55 runs, Ben de Joux 22, Alistair Harvey 19, Matt McKenzie 19, Caleb Grace was 46 not out and William Blackstock scored 10 not out.
De Joux said the team worked well in the field.
Hogan bowled 4 wickets at a cost of 13 runs. Youngman took 2 wickets for 8 runs and McKenzie took 2 for 29.
It was the team’s first win from three games at the tournament and they are in fourth place.
Today they play Metropolitan Christchurch who are placed fifth.
De Joux was pleased with the team’s efforts. “They batted very well and the bowling and fielding were of a high standard
SC fielded and bowled well despite loss to Canterbury Country
THE South Canterbury year 5 and 6 primary boys’ cricket team had a close loss to Canterbury Country South on day two of the South Island primary tournament in Rangiora yesterday.
South Canterbury batted first and were all out for 118. Top scorers were Ben de Joux, 31, Alistair Harvey 24, Willy Harvey 20, and Burns Mills, 9 not out.
De Joux and A Harvey had a third wicket partnership of 66.
In reply, the Canterbury Country team scored 126 for eight wickets.
Bowling well for South Canterbury were Harvey taking 2 for 21, Conor Bradley 2 for 30, and Matt Mackenzie 2 for 16.
Coach-manager Ants de Joux said the team again didn’t get enough runs with the bat but fielded and bowled very well.
Today they take on Buller, who have also lost both their games.
Hawke Cup: South Canterbury Win on 1st Innings
South Canterbury travelled to Ashburton for their latest round in the Hawke Cup to take on Mid Canterbury. With inclement weather forecast, winning the toss and asking them to bat first looked like the best way of maximizing points.
Early breakthroughs by opening bowlers Craig Hinton and Kevin Teahen meant the decision look to be paying dividends as Mid Canterbury were soon 13-3 and further slumped to 39-4 before Lyall Jemmett with 49 and the lower order all with double figures managed to get Mid Canterbury through to a respectable 161.
For South Canterbury Hinton was again the best of the bowlers taking 4-35, while Dan Laming and Teahen picked up 2 each, and Todd Elliotte and Alexander McKenzie (on debut) took one a piece.
Grant Brookland was promoted to cover the opening spot alongside Craig Davies, but the poor quality pitch soon had SC in trouble too, especially after Dan Thomas took a hat-trick to remove the first three SC batsmen and have Brookland, Danby and Dan Laming all back in the pavilion for with the total only 11. Liam Crowley followed shortly later and at 20-4 South Canterbury was up against it.
Davies was eventually out for 35, James Laming for 17, and Todd Elliotte for 20 but at 99-8 first innings points looked a long way off, and yet another Hawke Cup campaign appeared to be falling off the rails.
Someone forgot to tell Luke Taylor who knuckled down to score an unbeaten 43 runs batting at number nine, and with Teahen adding 22, SC managed to gain the all important first innings points, eventually being all out for 171. Thomas was the pick of the Mid Canterbury bowlers with 4-50 which included the hat-trick.
Mid Canterbury’s second innings was positive in intent as they set about establishing a lead and possibly setting South Canterbury a chase later in the day, but because of the poor wicket which was still seaming all over the place (Robert Madden who is probably the best Mid Canterbury batsman was out bowled in both innings shouldering arms), deciding what was a tempting target was not an easy task.
In the end they didn’t make a decision and instead South Canterbury dismissed them a second time for 167 runs with Teahen and Elliotte sharing the spoils with 3 wickets each.
South Canterbury decided to try for the outright by scoring the 158 required to win off 23 overs, but once the run chase got under way, SC quickly managed to turn the game in Mid Canterbury’s favour as wickets fell at an alarming rate. Davies with 20 was top scorer as the change in momentum had South Canterbury seemingly unable to rest the slide and at 49-7 looked like undoing all the good work in the first innings and losing outright.
As SC got deeper in trouble to be 51-8 and then 58-9 players were no doubt reflecting on how they had let it all go so horribly wrong, and losing a chance of turning next weekend’s match against Canterbury Country into a final, or even better of leading the competition on points, but bowlers Hinton and Teahen weren’t going to let all their own hard work go to waste as they both held on to be 0 not out and save face as South Canterbury walked away with a first innings win and not an outright loss.
This leaves South Canterbury 7 points clear of Canterbury Country going into next weekend’s match, although Country have one more match to play, so a good showing could give SC a chance of winning their section for the first time in 8 seasons.
Senior: Waimate win despite loss of overs
In the feature club game at Aorangi Oval in the latest round of the Daily Freightways One Day Competition, Waimate managed to chase down the target set by Star with two balls to spare and retain their position at the top of the table despite losing two overs because of a slow over rate. In Geraldine, Celtic also won to remain equal first while a sometimes heated match between Timaru and Temuka saw Timaru win to move into second equal place.
Waimate won the toss and asked Star to bat and after an early breakthrough, the Star batsmen with the backbone provided by Captain Phil McGregor with a patient 50 began to build solid partnerships. Paul Arkinstall scored 48 before holing out trying to loft the ball into the wind as they added 66 runs for the second wicket. Chris Anders helped add another 61 in the next partnership, before the innings faltered somewhat. At 180-8 the score was looking a bit light on the Aorangi pitch, but Julian Blanchard then played a cameo innings of 25 including two huge sixes to help set Waimate a target of 210 for victory.
In reply Waimate was soon in trouble at 20-3 with Chris Hyde making the most of his chances in senior ranks as he bowled through to take 2-26.
However, Craig Booth with 30 and Hayden Matthews put their heads down as they got things back on track adding 65 runs. Rafferty Fox gained a quick but largely unproductive promotion after Jason Sewhoy went missing in the toilet, and with the score on 100 Waimate still needed a further 110 runs off 90 balls.
Matthews and Sewhoy added 45 in good time before Matthews was out for 46 trying to feed Sewhoy the strike. Matt Devlin joined Sewhoy and continued in the same role as Star set the field far and wide to try and restrict Waimate to less than the 9 an over required.
In the end it wasn’t the fielders who needed to worry, rather the neighbouring houses as Sewhoy launched his assault. Blanchard took a great catch only to realize he was over the boundary and that was the closest to a chance Sewhoy gave on his way to 72 not out off only 50 balls to see Waimate to victory.
Weakened Timaru and Temuka teams also fought out an interesting tussle at Ashbury Park where all the Temuka batsmen scored runs as they also set Timaru 210 to win. Leading the way was Adrian Cunningham, but just as he neared his 50 and the team mates were discussing what vintage ‘red’ he would get out this time, it seemed as though he was thinking the same as he appeared to change mode and then had the misfortune to be out lbw for 49. It probably hurt more that it was to part-time bowler Robbie Rankin who also picked up the other top scorer Richard Opie for 40.
In reply, and no doubt buoyed on by his bowling, Rankin and Gerald Piddock added 55 for the first wicket before a mini collapse had Timaru struggling at 68-4. Temuka’s nemesis and former player Tim Mackle then resurrected the chase on his way to 59 as he continued a fine season with the bat, and then Kane Whiteley added an unbeaten 34 as tailenders Chris Leonard and Avon Proctor hung around to see Timaru get home nine wickets down with 3 overs to spare.
Unfortunately (perhaps because of the cold southerly?), this match was not played in the best of spirit, and what should have been an intriguing and absorbing match for spectators and players alike turned into a farcical and often verbal indictment of the fine old game of cricket.
Despite a century to English professional Matt Barnes, Geraldine were unable to capitalize on a strong batting effort as Celtic chased down the 206 runs needed for victory at the Geraldine Domain.
This means that with three rounds still to play, final positions are still very much up in the air with five teams still within a win of each other, and with players still on representative duty next weekend; no results can be easily predicted.