Women rep cricketers win one, lose one

The Marlborough and Nelson women’s cricket rep sides shared the honours across two T20 matches played in Nelson on Sunday.

The sides were playing for the newly-minted Hiwa-i-te-Rangi Trophy, with the Nelson Nyxons having claimed first blood with a four-wicket victory in the first game at Horton Park in early November.

However, it was the Marlborough side who struck first at Saxton Oval on Sunday, winning the opening T20 match by eight wickets.

After electing to bowl, the visiting side held a potent Nelson batting line-up to 91-6 at the conclusion of their 20 overs. Stella Cornelius claimed 3-24 from her four-over spell, Olivia Roseingrave picked up 1-5 from her allocation while Eva Davey grabbed 1-14 from four.

Marlborough controlled the run chase superbly, reaching 92-2 in the 19th over.

Roseingrave, 17 from 35, and Carly Englefield, 30 not out from 44, defied the Nelson attack in the early stages while Eden Pettigrew remained undefeated on 20 from 18 when the target was reached.

The second match was also low-scoring, Marlborough unable to make the best of a strong start with the bat.

This time Nelson amassed 113-6 from their 20 overs, CD rep Kate Gaging scoring 57 from 55 balls. Cornelius, 2-12 from three, bowled well, along with Roseingrave and Davey who both picked up a wicket.

Englefield, 17 from 16, and Pania Dallarossa kicked off Marlborough’s reply with an opening stand of 34, but after they departed wickets fell regularly, and in clumps. Gaging, 3-18 from four, was the chief destroyer as the visitors came up well short, scoring just 88-9 when the match concluded.

The final match on the series, a 40-over affair, takes place in Nelson on Sunday February 16 after which the destination of the trophy will be decided.

The Marlborough women’s side: Eden Pettigrew, Carly Englefield, Eva Davey, Olivia Roseingrave, Stella Cornelius, Charlotte Brooke-Taylor, Fenella Cooney, Jody Klempel, Tyler O’Donnell, Filippa Palm, Vicky Underwood, Pania Dallarossa.

Town v Country

Ascendancy in the on-going senior cricket Town v Country series continues to fluctuate.

Last week Country claimed a solid victory, this weekend Town were back on top.

At Horton Park on Saturday, Town defended a low total superbly, winning by nine runs.

Electing to bat first, Town scraped their way to a mediocre total of 144 before being dismissed in the 32nd over.

They began promisingly, openers Aiden Conroy and Sam Young combining for a 31-run partnership. Young went on to top-score with 44 from 58 balls but had little help as wickets fell regularly. Late in the innings Zariab Kakaria hit 25 from 27 balls, combining in a valuable partnership of 30 with Baxter Croad to help Town put together a small total, but one they could bowl at.

Eden Pettigrew led the way with the ball, taking 4-49 from nine overs, while James Bell snared 3-10 from 5.2 and Sukh Aulakh bagged 2-39 from 10.

In reply, Country quickly slumped to 3-21 before Piers Landon-Lane, 30 from 38, and Aulakh, 36 from 78, combined for a 42-run partnership.

When Landon-Lane went, James Bell, 26 from 35, joined Aulakh and the pair batted sensibly to take the score through to 117-5 after 31 overs, their side seemingly in control of proceedings, needing just 28 runs from 19 overs with five wickets in hand.

However, the re-introduction of Andrew McCaa to the bowling crease turned the match on its head.

Within five overs he had claimed the remaining five Country wickets for the addition of 18 runs. He finished with 5-22 from eight, leaving the Country side to rue a match they dominated for most of the afternoon.

Griffin Carter took 2-25 from his 10 overs, while Kakaria picked up 2-6 from five early overs.