Buller beaten in trophy clash
Celtic batsman Tom Sloan plays through the off side during Friday evening’s T20 clash at Horton Park. Photo Peter Jones.
The Scanlon-Stretch Trophy stayed in Marlborough hands after the men’s rep cricketers scored a three-wicket win over Buller in Westport at the weekend.
The trophy match, first played in 2017, acts as a pre-season fixture for both sides ahead of their Hawke Cup qualifying campaigns.
On Saturday, Buller won the toss and batted at Buller High School, posting 195-8 from 45 overs. Luke Henderson’s 73 and Jesse Elley’s 26 provided most of the runs.
Opening bowler Zariab Karkaria took 2-42 from nine overs, while Griffin Carter claimed 2-30 from nine.
In reply, skipper Joel Lavender anchored Marlborough’s chase with 41 from 62 balls before departing at 103-4. Middle-order contributions from Sam Young (39 from 57), Kirk Nicholas (31 from 40) and Piers Landon-Lane (23 not out from 28) saw the visitors home at 199-7 in the 44th over.
Sunday’s scheduled T20 match was abandoned due to bad weather.
Emerging players shine
On Sunday at Horton Park, a Marlborough Emerging Players XI comfortably beat Nelson in a 50-over clash.
Batting first, Marlborough scored 211 in 46.5 overs, then dismissed Nelson for 158 in the 41st over. Carter starred with 80 from 94 balls and 3-23, while Josh Harris added 33 from 58. Nick Drayton took 3-44.
Club T20 results
The second round of senior T20 cricket was completed on Friday evening.
On the number one wicket, Wairau beat Celtic by eight wickets, while Renwick edged Wairau Valley by nine runs on the number three deck.
Celtic batted first on the main ground, posting 124-6 thanks to Luke Holdaway’s unbeaten 41 from 36 balls and Greg Knowles’ 23 from 16. Lavender and Carter took two wickets each as Wairau restricted the scoring.
Wairau’s opening stand between Lavender (83 not out from 57) and Young (22 from 28) produced 88 runs, setting up a comfortable win in the 17th over.
Renwick made 137-7 batting first against Valley, with Nicholas (22 from 22) and Landon-Lane (33 not out from 32) leading the way. James Bell grabbed 3-12 and Sam Boyce 2-28.
Valley’s chase ended at 128-9 after 20 overs. Jassi Brar (26 from 27) and Patrick Moran (38 from 31) gave them hope, but Renwick’s attack prevented big partnerships. Nathan Brooke-Taylor (3-24), Landon-Lane (2-22) and Fred Sululoto (3-16) were the chief destroyers.