T20 matches tight affairs

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.