Timaru had a confidence-boosting day, while Temuka wallowed in their hopelessness and Roncalli College adapted best to a rain-shortened game, in the second round of the South Canterbury senior one-day cricket competition.
Celtic humiliated Temuka by 10 wickets on Saturday at Rockdale Rd.
A late batting fightback earned Timaru a 51-run win against Star at Mountainview High School and Roncalli strangled Waimate’s run chase to win by 60 runs at Knottingly Park.
Timaru’s tail wagged with victory, thanks largely to a 69-run ninth wicket partnership between Josh Smallridge and Brad Leonard, which got them to a total of 177, after they were reeling at 101-8.
Veteran Kris Howes’ medium pace bowling then took 4-24, to help Timaru skittle Star for 126.
Star were travelling nicely with the ball.
Paul Arkinstall managed 3-30 from nine overs, while Tom Debney and Hamish Dickson took two wickets to keep a strangle-hold on the Timaru top order.
Star captain Phil McGregor said dropped catches were beginning to hurt and it was frustrating to let slip two winning opportunities in as many weeks.
Timaru captain Hayden Butler said the win meant a lot to his team and he was glad his choice to bat first worked out.
“You saw what that last wicket meant to us; the guys are stoked.
“The pitch got harder to bat on as the day went on. It became tough to score.”
Temuka probably should not have turned up for their game against Celtic.
They were bowled out for just 53, thanks to poor shot selection, and an inability to handle the medium-paced bowling of Jeremy Liddy, which teased and tormented Temuka throughout their 28-over innings.
Liddy finished with 4-24, and then scored 14 not out in an unbroken partnership with Craig Davies to secure the win with more than 35 overs remaining.
Two of Temuka’s batsmen made it to double figures and five made ducks.
Extras top-scored with 18, while Dan Laming and Sam Carlaw grabbed two wickets in support of Carlaw.
Roncalli’s game against Waimate at Knottingly Park was reduced to 22 overs, after rain halted play after nine overs.
Ed Kilbee top-scored for Roncalli with 45, and he shared in a 72-run second wicket partnership with captain Tom Pavletich , who made 27.
The Waimate bowlers struggled to contain the run rate, as the school team posted 130-5.
Waimate’s best performers with the ball were Glen Drake, who took 2-36 from five overs and Ben Matheson who had figures of 2-19 from three overs.
In reply, Waimate could not get a partnership going and struggled to increase the scoring rate.
Ben Watson’s medium-fast bowling had both Waimate openers, Nathan Sew Hoy and Nathan Sheppard, out with just 11 runs on the board. Watson finished with 2-1 from his five overs, which included four maidens.
None of Roncalli’s six bowlers went for more than four runs an over, as Waimate finished on 70-7, with captain Jason Sew Hoy top-scoring on 14. He said after the rain delay, his bowlers struggled to grip an already wet ball, and in fading light, none of the batsmen was willing to occupy the crease.