Tauranga Boys' College and Mount Maunganui posted two wins apiece when the Lonestar Tauranga and Rotorua club cricket Twenty20 competition resumed at Tauranga's Fergusson Park on Saturday.
Tauranga Boys' College are now in the box seat with just one round of preliminary competition remaining this weekend before the mid-afternoon titleplayoffs. First up on Saturday the Tauranga students won a thriller against iTCo Central. The Rotorua side batted first and were removed for 99 with Peter Wood posting 35 runs. Tauranga Boys' got up with a solitary ball remaining in the game.
Led by master blaster Khan Greig, Platinum Pacific Reclad Mount Maunganui got through to 166/7 against Greerton. The Mount bowlers dismissed Eves Realty Greerton for 75, with seven Mount bowlers sharing in the spoils. In other round five encounters, East Bay United restricted Bay of Plenty Indians to a modest 79/7 before grabbing a six-wicket win and Te Puke upset long-time rivals Element IMF Cadets in a five-wicket victory.
Tauranga Boys' marched to the top of the points standings by easily defeating Te Puke in round six. Te Puke were removed for just 74, with James Boyd in good form with the ball, finishing with 4/13. Cameron Neal blasted the Tauranga Boys' team to victory with two big sixes as they got home with the loss of just four wickets. In spite of East Bay United tasting defeat, Alex Yates' gritty 47 took him past 500 runs for the season. The Eastern Bay side were dismissed for 95, with Cadets getting home with five wickets in hand. Mount Maunganui blasted their second big win of the day against Bay of Plenty Indians while Central cruised to an easy victory over Greerton.
