In praise of good turf

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A good turf pitch beats the best artificial. And there’s no better cricket ground for junior tournaments within Northern Districts than the Harry Barker Reserve, site on Wednesday of the nine-a-side T15 Colts league. The T15 games on Wednesday will be held at the reserve, with Saturday T30 matches remaining at Nelson Park.

In Round 1 of T15 play for 2019 on Wednesday, league debutants the Gisborne Girls’ High School first 11 under Kayley Knight beat the Auto Tyre Eagles by four wickets.

Knight won the toss. Girls’ High restricted the Noah Torrance-Cribb-led Eagles to 90-3, the Eagles’ captain and opener making 16. Second-drop Rhys Grogan struck six boundaries in his 25-ball 30.

Girls’ High seamer Maddie Ashworth was her team’s most valuable player for excellent bowling — 2-4 off two overs — while Teegan Hayward took 1-7 off two.

Girls’ High reached 92-4 in 9.3 overs, Knight, batting at No.5, hammering six boundaries in 16 balls on her way to 30 not out. First-drop Grace Kuil (19 off 16 balls) supplied fireworks in the form of three fours and the game’s only six.

Medium-pacers Dylan O’Rourke (2-13 off 1.3 overs), Grogan (1-6 off two) and Aiden Armstrong (1-10) took the wickets.

Square-leg fielder Tama Wirepa held the best catch of the match — at the second attempt — to dismiss opener Grace Levy (16). Levy smashed a pull-shot off O’Rourke above Wirepa’s head . . . above, but not over.

New team the Dnature Dragons beat the Bollywood Stars by seven wickets, after the Stars had posted a more-than-respectable 123-5. That total owed much to a run-a-ball 30 — including five fours — from opening batsman Daniel Watts, 17 from first-drop Dylan Foster and an unbeaten 13 from Jonty Fenn against bowlers of the calibre of Nathaniel Fearnley (2-12 off two overs).

Stars captain Liam Barbier had won the toss and elected to bat.

The Dragons were superb in the run-chase. No.3 Alex Shanks pounded six fours in his 30 (retired) off 26 balls, opener Fearnley also retiring (for 27). Wicketkeeper-batsman Sebastian Wilson may only have faced seven balls but no doubt enjoyed himself. He hit two sixes and two fours. Wilson’s second six won the game for the Dragons in 13.5 overs.

Barbier said: “We need to take more of our opportunities with the bat.

“Extras were what killed us off eventually.”