Eves Realty Greerton eventually got home by four wickets in their low-scoring Baywide Cup catch-up game against Tauranga Boys' College on Monday.
Ironically, it was a member of last year's successful Tauranga Boys' first XI, Cameron Neal, who won it for Greerton with a knock at the end.
Batting first at home at Nicholson Field, Tauranga Boys' opening batsman Tom MacRury anchored his team effort with a solid innings of 38.
However, batsmen came and went at the other end before Henry Conway, batting at nine, arrived at the crease. Better known for his bowling skills, Conway dug in to score an important 24 before Tauranga Boys' were dismissed for just 114 on the artificial surface.
Another notable former Tauranga Boys' player, Tom Clout, was in good form with the ball, taking four wickets for 26, with long-time Greerton stalwart Murray Jarvis grabbing three wickets and Dan Spencer two.
Chasing down a moderate target, Greerton also struggled to get on top of the bowling and were in early trouble, with Mark Orchard and Henry Conway taking two wickets each, before Neal strode to the crease.
On Saturday, Neal had played a vital knock of 45, to help Tauranga beat Rotorua in an Attrill Cup match, and he showed his fighting qualities again to score a vital 28, which got his team home for the four-wicket victory.
Jarvis has seen plenty of artificial wickets in his 24 years at the club since he left Boys' College but he was not impressed with the surface at Nicholson Field.
"It was the main reason for the low-scoring game," he said. "It was installed on an angle and slopes up, so the bowlers get more bounce. Tom [Clout] got his wickets from the bounce and so did Mark Orchard bowling for them."
One thing Jarvis is impressed with is the calibre of the new players that have joined Greerton this season.
"This was our first game of the season. We are rapt with the guys we got from TBC and we definitely got the pick of the crop.
"Cameron batted well for us and he obviously has lots of talent, while Tom is very tall and is reasonably quick. Keeper Elliot Timoti took three or four catches for us no problem at all and looks a good player for the future."
Result: Tauranga Boys' College 114 (Tom MacRury 38, Henry Conway 24; Tom Clout 4-26, Murray Jarvis 3-35, Dan Spencer 2-18) lost to Eves Realty Greerton 115/6 (Cameron Neal 28; Mark Orchard 2-15, Henry Conway 2-37).