Cricketing honours even after women's reps do battle
Carly Englefield drives through the off side during her match-winning innings in the second T20 clash against Nelson at Horton Park yesterday. Photos Peter Jones.
The battle for the Hiwa-I-te-Rangi Trophy, the symbol of senior women’s representative cricket superiority in the top of the south, is tied up after Marlborough and Nelson scored a win apiece at Horton Park on Sunday.
The three-match series will conclude in Nelson in January, with the destination of the trophy decided in the final T20 clash.
On Sunday, the Nelson Nyxons struck first, beating the Chris Cairns-coached home combination by seven wickets in the opening round.
Marlborough batted first and struggled their way to 108-5 in 20 overs, 14 runs to Carly Englefield their top score, with Summa Pratt taking 3-16.
Nelson ran down their target in the 19th over, Anna Gaging (20) and Madison Greenaway (25) the main contributors. Eden Pettigrew, Fenella Cooney and Eva Davey claimed a wicket apiece as Nelson finished on 109-3.
Game two was a complete reversal.
This time Nelson batted first and registered a score of 114-4, a total Marlborough chased down with one ball remaining, to the delight of the excited home supporters. Anchoring their innings was a well-timed unbeaten 31 from Englefield, while Charlotte Brooke-Taylor batted confidently to add an invaluable 29 as the home side finished on 119-4.
Earlier, Olivia Roseingrave, Cooney, Vespa Duncan and Izzy Vickery bagged wickets to restrict Nelson to a total within Marlborough’s reach.
It was a busy weekend at cricket HQ, with the senior T20 competition beginning on Friday night and the Falcons playing their final Tasman Premier League match there on Saturday.
On Friday wins went to Wairau and Celtic.
Up against Wairau Valley, Wairau restricted them to 118-7, a half century (54 from 62) to Sam Boyce forming the basis of their score. Zariab Karkaria took 2-23.
Wairau ran down their target in the 19th over, Joel Lavender (36 not out from 41) and Griffin Carter (35 from 29) guiding them to 121-4, a six wicket victory.
Renwick batted first on the number three ground, 36 from 34 balls by Rikki Bovey helping them amass 11-9, Liam Young the pick of the Celtic attack with 3-22.
Celtic batted positively to clinch a six wicket win, Ben Stewart (54 not out from 37) the top contributor.
Meanwhile, the Falcons and the Dolphins both ended their season on a high, the former scoring an 111-run win over Stoke Nayland in Blenheim and the latter beating Wakatu at Victory Square in Nelson by four wickets.
This weekend the Falcons’ batting came through, a series of batters chipping in to register a healthy 206-9. Luke Pannell scored 29 from 71, Griffin Carter provided impetus with 53 from 57 while Sam Young shipped in with 40 from 48 down the order.
Despite an initial flurry from opener Mason Robinson (30 from 24) Stoke Nayland were never in the hunt, tumbling to 95-9 when the game ended in the 30th over.
Zariab Karkaria, Sam Boyce and James Bell all grabbed a brace of wickets.
The Dolphins also had their batters to thank for a morale-boosting victory, chasing down the home side’s 251-6 with 5.4 overs to spare.
Leading the way Josh Poole, who scored an unbeaten 111 from just 90 balls. He formed an 84-run partnership with Aidan Conroy, who scored 36 from 60, while Ben Stewart added 37 from 50 balls.
Kayse Holdaway claimed 3-59 from 10 to restrict Wakatu’s score.
Final TPL points (top four to semifinals): ACOB 28, Wolves 27, Stoke Nayland 17, WTTU 17, Falcons 13, Nelson College 10, Dolphins 8, Wakatu 7.