On Saturday, a 50-over game — the player highlight of the tourney — was reduced to 40 and moved from the Frimley Park 1 turf wicket to that ground's artificial turf. Despite that, the Bay got a lot out of a rain-affected match with Eastern Suburbs.
After Suburbs captain Tom Baddeley won the toss and chose to bat on a cloudy, still day, the Wellingtonians' batting line-up made hay while the sun shone.
That was the basis of their 84-run win.
Suburbs posted 213-9, Baddeley in at No.5 hitting eight fours and a six in his 53 from 35 balls. He and opener Aryan Doshi (60) both retired, the latter having put on 25 with Alec Barker (19) before Barker – the king wicket – was caught in sensational fashion by wicketkeeper Charlie Castles off opening bowler Gayesha Mahabalage (2-11).
Before yesterday, Barker had not been dismissed in three innings, having made 49 against Wairarapa-Bush, 50 against Clifton Pirates and 52 against Napier-Tech, for an average of 151. Doshi featured in four fine partnerships and Suburbs' Robbie Burston was busy as first-drop, with 21 off 17 balls.
Like his fellow Bay paceman Mahabalage, Nathan Putter (2-21) produced three probing overs as the seventh bowler against an Eastern Suburbs side whose stature has grown since their encounter with Lone Star Wairarapa-Bush Blue, the strongest team in the grade, on Thursday.
In that clash, the Bush made 263-1 in 40 overs, retired their opening pair for 53 and 53, and their second-drop for 50, and lost their first wicket at 234 after 34.5 overs in a 73-run win.
Poverty Bay's Harvey Reynolds carried his bat for 42 in the nine-wicket win against Johnsonville on Friday morning and skipper Castles hit a six and five fours in his 40-ball innings of 42 from No.3 yesterday.
Suburbs coach David Dornan rates the gloveman-sometime-leg-spinner highly: “We were happy to get Charlie's wicket – caught by Doshi at mid-on from off-spinner Baddeley (1-9 in 3 overs), because he's a smart player; he's patient and he's hard to get out.
“I'd add, too, that it wasn't easy to bat second, as it rained for about 40 minutes, and rained hard for 30 of those.
“As we did batting first, the Bay boys backed up well and ran hard between wickets. They'd shown earlier that they're a very good bowling and fielding side. Archer Allen (1-20 from four overs) with the new cherry was absolutely magnificent.”
Poverty Bay were all out for 129 in 29.2 overs.
Allen made 17 from No.5, Robbie Newlands 13 at second-drop and Alex Langford 12 batting at No.6. The only Suburbs bowler to take two wickets was the 12th used, medium-pacer William Eglinton (2-9 from eight balls).
That his Suburbs outfit conceded only 14 runs in sundries on Saturday was a factor not lost on Dornan (extras cost the Bay 48), and they held the odd “screamer” — Burston's catch at square leg to dismiss Bay opener Josh Levy for 1 off a pull-shot to the bowling of offie Lorenzo di Maio (1-9 from three overs, one a maiden) was as big a dismissal in the context of the match as Doshi hanging on to Castles.
Dornan added: “As good as Charlie and Archer were in the middle, the Poverty Bay boys and parents were fantastic, too. It was certainly the most enjoyable game we've played here so far.”
Coach Castles' aim of seeing every member of his team step up was realised in the three days' play possible.
“The boys were competitive in every game, bowled really well and thoroughly enjoyed themselves on and off the field — it was a success,” he said.
“Everyone contributed at different stages and I saw their confidence grow, with better calling as batsmen, bowling well as a unit, and — just as an example, because all of them fielded well — Finn Robertson held three of the best catches you'd ever see.
“Every kid learned something this week.”
