Wairau win club cricket final

Wairau are the SBS senior cricket grade 40-over champions after edging past Wairau Valley in a low-scoring final at Horton Park this afternoon.

Top qualifiers Wairau were made to battle all the way for a two-wicket victory in the culmination of the 2022-23 season-opening competition.

They won the toss and decided to insert Valley, expecting the pitch to become better for batting on as the match progressed, a situation that did not eventuate.

Valley made a strong start on their way to 177-6 from their full complement of 40 overs, openers Sam Boyce and Jamie McVittie blunting Wairau’s new ball attack before they were separated with 37 runs on the board, McVittie falling for a patient 10.

Boyce was joined by Luke Pannell and the pair set about taking the sting out of the Wairau attack, mixing some belligerent strokes with clever placement and smart running to push the score past three figures before Boyce fell victim to spinner Griffin Carter for a handy 48 from 73 balls.

Matthew Stretch joined Pannell in the middle and the pair continued to set the foundation of a big score, taking Valley’s total to 155 before a smart piece of fielding by Tim Petrie saw the end of Pannell for a well-compiled 54 from 78 balls. Stretch followed nine runs later for 24 from 33 as Valley tried to put their foot on the accelerator in the final overs. However, it was the Wairau bowlers who dominated the final stages, the experienced duo of Nick Weaver and Tarin Mason ensuring there were no late-innings heroics.

Weaver ended with 2-27 from his eight overs, Mason taking 2-31 from seven. Carter claimed 1-34 from eight while Baxter Croad, Josh Alexander, Petrie and Hunter Ruffell all played their part with some tight overs. A black mark on the Wairau fielding effort was 31 extras, including 28 wides, a statistic that nearly came back to bite them.

While their total was lower than they would have hoped for, Valley had the runs on the board and a handy bowling attack to defend it with, a potent combination of spin and pace.

They also made a penetrating start, Boyce bagging opener Hunter Ruffell with just his second delivery then picking up Mason in his third over to leave Wairau precariously placed at 2-17.

However, opener Cooper Roberts remained at the crease and was to play a pivotal role in proceedings.

Wickets regularly fell around him as the required run rate rose. Top scorer Andrew McCaa, fresh off a century for the CD/Wellington side in the over-40 inter-provincial tournament being played in Marlborough at the moment, came and went for 15. Petrie made just a couple of runs before being bowled by Greg Stretch then Weaver departed for seven with 96 runs still required for victory and only five wickets remaining.

However, Roberts found a staunch ally in Carter and the big-hitting opener flicked the ON switch, taking 19 runs off a Joel Pannell over, then 12 from Jethro Moran’s bowling to drag the match back into Wairau’s grasp.

After hitting the first two balls of Luke Pannell’s sixth over for his fourth and fifth sixes to take Wairau within 38 runs of victory Roberts was bowled for a match-defining 87 from 79 balls by the tenacious Pannell, setting up a tense finale.

Carter and Carter Aitken eked the score to 155 before Carter was bowled for an invaluable 16 by Boyce, bringing veteran Colin Wood to the wicket.

He and Aitken added 10 more runs before Boyce struck again, removing Aitken with just 13 runs required and two wickets remaining.

With Valley pushing fielders close to the bat and bowling tightly, runs were hard to come by as the overs ticked by but eventually the cool-headed Wood found a gap in the cover field, stroking the ball through to clinch victory with seven balls remaining.

Boyce was an outstanding part of Valley’s attack, claiming 4-26 from eight overs, Luke Pannell bagging 2-29 from 6.5 and Greg Stretch 2-39 from seven. Matthew Stretch bowled economically to concede just 25 from his eight.

Final scores: Wairau Valley 177-6, Wairau 178-8. Wairau win by two wickets.