Eves Realty Greerton ended the first two rounds of the Baywide T20 competition on top of the points ladder after defeating Baywide new recruits GM Painters Lake Taupo CC and Element IMF Cadets.
The hard-fought win over arch rivals Cadets in the late-afternoon game on Saturday was their first win against Cadets since November 2015.
Cadets batted first and reached 136/7, new-season skipper Jono Boult top-scoring with 45 and Scott Steward making 39. Brett Hampton and James Boyd both grabbed two wickets for Greerton.
Cadets took a wicket with the first ball of the Greerton innings but captain Shane Wineti, who has just returned home from a winter sojourn in England, led his side to victory with a half-century. Hampton smacked a quick-fire 28 not out, with Lee Watkins and Josh Ormrod also among the runs.
New World Te Puke skipper Stephen Crossan got his team away to a flyer in the opening round against Bayleys Central Indians, hammering 83 out of 170/2. The Rotorua side were restricted to 145/5.
Lake Taupo CC, who have earned promotion to the Baywide premier ranks for the first time this season, took Te Puke down to the wire in round two. The new recruits removed seven Te Puke batsmen for 123 runs. With Lake Taupo needing six to win in the last over, Te Puke bowler Cam Riley restricted his opponents to just three runs to give Te Puke a narrow victory.
Carrus Mount Maunganui sat out the early bye before beating Central Indians. New-season Mount bowlers Daniel Smith (3-10) and Donavan Marshall (2-9) did the damage in restricting Central Indians for 108.
Bay rep batsman Ben Musgrave anchored the Mount Maunganui victory with an unbeaten 38 while youngster Logan Carr posted a handy 29 in the seven-wicket win.
Greerton and BOP opening batsman Tom MacRury blasted 91 off 37 balls as Greerton reached 229/4 against Lake Taupo in round-one action. Lee Watkins posted a half-century, with the Lake Taupo captain Roger Urbahn taking 2-37. MacRury backed up his batting performance, grabbing 4-6 with the ball as the Taupo side were bundled out for 112 to give Greerton a 117-run win.
Bay of Plenty Cricket Results
Baywide T20 - Round One
Eves Realty Greerton 229/4 (Tom MacRury 91, Lee Watkins 51, Brett Hampton 41; Roger Urbahn 2/37) defeated GM Painters Lake Taupo CC 112 (Jerome Dywer 34, Roger Urbahn 20; T MacRury 4/6, Jared Tutty 2/8, Tom Wakelin 2/23)
New World Te Puke 170/2 (Stephen Crossan 83, Tai Bridgman-Raison 42) defeated Bayleys Central Indians 145/5 (Christian MacDonald 3/20, Ryan Crossley 2/19)
Element IMF Cadets v Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College to be played at a later date
Carrus Mount Maunganui the bye
Round Two
Cadets 136/7 (Jono Boult 45, Scott Steward 39; Brett Hampton 2/17, James Boyd 2/19) lost to Greerton 141/3 (Shane Wineti 51, B Hampton 28no, Lee Watkins 28, Josh Ormrod 24no)
Central Indians 108 (AJ Kumar 31; Daniel Smith 3/10, Donavan Marshall 2/9, Dale Swan 2/23) lost to Mount Maunganui 109/3 (Ben Musgrave 38no, Logan Carr 29)
Te Puke 123/7 (S Crossan 34; F Davies 2/19, H Mawal 2/25) defeated Lake Taupo CC 121/8 (Blair Inch 29; Christian MacDonald 2/23, Cam Riley 2/24)
Tauranga Boys' College the bye.