Cricketers score freely

A stunning run chase marked the first round of senior division one 40-over cricket on Saturday.

Four teams are taking part in the post-Christmas competition – Wairau Valley, Wairau, Renwick and the Falcons, a side put together to replace the absent Celtic senior team.

On Horton Park three Wairau took on Renwick, a memorable match ensuing.

Renwick won the toss and asked Wairau to bat, probably rueing that decision a few hours later when the Blue and Whites managed 248-2 from their 40 overs. However, not to be outdone, Renwick chased down the lofty score, reaching 253-5 in just 36 overs.

Two centuries were registered. Wairau’s Andrew McCaa reprised his good form against Renwick, belting an unbeaten 110 from just 91 balls to set up Wairau’s total. Openers Aidan Lavender (39) and Griffin Carter (22) produced a 63-run opening partnership, before McCaa joined forces with Baxter Croad, who ended unbeaten on 58, to put together a collaboration of 182 runs. All the bowlers came in for some tap, Nathan Brooke-Taylor and Tim May the most economical.

Renwick’s run chase stuttered initially, Mark Zillwood going with just 19 on the board, but this merely brought Rikki Bovey to the wicket and the former rep allrounder made the most of his stay, hammering a boundary-laden 121 from 83 balls to wrench the initiative away from Wairau.

His partnership with Luke Frankland (unbeaten on 53) reaped 146 runs and ensured Renwick got the job done with four overs to spare.

Croad was the pick of the Wairau bowlers, his three overs going for just eight runs, and snaring one wicket.

On the number one ground, Wairau Valley met the Falcons, a side comprising a mix of Celtic senior and second grade players, plus a couple of Valley members.

Valley batted first and put 196 on the board, losing their final wicket from the last delivery of the 40 overs. Matthew Stretch contributed 69 from 84 balls, Lachie MacNeill 29 and Luke Pannell 34. Opening bowler Yadwinder Hundal claimed a five-wicket bag, snaring 5-27 from eight overs. Gagan Singh bagged 2-21.

The Falcons reply began well but no-one was able to push on to a sizeable score, the newcomers bowled out for 157 in the 32^nd over. Eddie Swan top-scored with 30, Jassi Brar scored 26, Aidan Conroy 27 and Bhawish Rathore 23.

Joel Pannell (3-12 from six) and Liam George (3-20 from five) did most of the damage with the ball.

Twenty20

A couple of close encounters marked the latest round of senior Twenty20 cricket, played at Horton Park on Wednesday evening.

Wairau and Renwick picked up victories, the former prevailing by the narrowest margin on the number one pitch.

Up against Wairau Valley, Wairau won by a single run, their total of 124-8 just enough to see off Valley who ended their 20 overs at 123-5.

With wickets in hand, Valley gave themselves too much to do in the final overs. They needed 26 runs from the final two overs, bowled by Nick Weaver and Andrew McCaa. Batsmen Luke Pannell and Lachie MacNeill managed to score 13 from the penultimate over, bowled by Weaver, but were able to accumulate just 11 off the last six balls, despite picking up four byes from the first ball.

Batting first, Wairau set a modest target, opener Aidan Lavender top scoring with 23 from 24. Griffin Carter scored 18 from 17, Weaver 19 from 10 and Hunter Ruffell added an unbeaten 15 from 14 at the end. Pannell, Jethro Moran and Danny Knox all bagged a brace of wickets to help Valley hold their rivals to a manageable score.

Opener Sam Boyce, 40 from 50, and Matt Stretch, 25 from 23, set up a shot at victory, but when both perished in consecutive balls in the 13^th over, Wairau slowed the run rate and piled on scoreboard pressure at the end.

McCaa, 2-19 from four, Hunter Ruffell, 1-15 from three, and Weaver, 1-24 from four, were to the forefront of the Wairau attack.

On the No 3 ground, Renwick batted first against Celtic, amassing 146-7, then held the powerful Celtic batting line-up to 136-7, winning by 10 runs.

Renwick’s total was boosted by 48 from 28 balls from big-hitting Joe Timms, while Kirk Nicholas, 30 from 30 and Luke Frankland, 30 from 32, were the other main contributors. Josh Poole, who claimed 3-21 from three overs, was the pick of the Celtic attack.

In reply, Celtic managed to form a couple of good partnerships, openers Liam Young, 14 from 17, and Tom Sutherland, 20 from 18, putting on 34, then Poole, 47 from 31, and Luke Holdaway, 15 from 20, combining for 52, but when Poole went in the 17^thover 35 runs were still needed.

Holdaway was dismissed in the next over and the asking rate proved too high for Celtic, despite 15 runs coming in the final over.

Kieran Gaudin, with 3-28 from four, and Timms with 2-20 from three led the Renwick attack.