Mount stalwart Nick Smith scored his maiden century on Saturday. Photo/File.
Mount stalwart Nick Smith scored his maiden century on Saturday. Photo/File.
While rain played havoc with the Lonestar Baywide T20 games in Rotorua, with the games abandoned, the T20 matches in Te Puke saw Mount Maunganui win both their encounters to grab the outright lead in the title race.
The Mounties' first-up match with East Bay United turned into a run-fest,with both sides blasting 200 runs in their turn at bat. United batted first with the Yates brothers smashing the ball to the boundary at will, as their team reached 200 for 5. Tom Yates finished on 74 with Alex reaching 41 before he was dismissed.
In spite of a slow start, Mount Maunganui reached their target with three balls to spare and six wickets in hand. Batting at five, Nick Smith smashed 110 in quick time to anchor his side's innings. Smith, who is a long time member of his club's first 11, grabbed his first premier century, after falling in the 90s on a number of occasions. Hayden Byrnes was also in good touch with an unbeaten 47.
A second rain interrupted encounter resulted in Central chasing down an adjusted target against City Sports Bar Te Puke to win their second match of the T20 competition. Te Puke reached 133 with Charles Williams top scoring with 38, while Central bowler Jason Trembath took four wickets for 17 runs. Set a target of 80 to win, the Rotorua visitors cruised to victory with seven wickets to spare.
East Bay United bounced back from the narrow loss against Mount Maunganui to beat Central in the afternoon match in Te Puke. The Eastern Bay side posted 150/9 then bowled Central out for 102 to claim an emphatic first win of the competition. Mike Young top scored with 59 for United with Alex Yates taking three wickets to help his side to victory.
Mount Maunganui had a comfortable victory over Te Puke after restricting the home side to 106 for 6. Tight Mount Maunganui bowling and a couple of cheap key wickets kept Te Puke on the back foot. Joel Thompson led the way to the Mount victory with a gritty 30 runs.
