Cricket: Bay dusted and Ryder done in quick time

GOT 'IM: Nelson celebrate the prized scalp of Wairarapa's Jesse Ryder for a golden duck. PHOTO/Warren Buckland

If you were rushing from work or school to catch a few lusty hits from Jesse Ryder or the Hawke's Bay senior men's cricketers in Napier yesterday then you would have been plain out of luck.

That's because the Pay Excellence Bay side were done and dusted by 3pm against Active Physio Whanganui in their opening Chapple Cup match at Nelson Park to the tune of seven wickets.

Ditto former Bay home boy and master blaster Ryder now turning out for his birth province of Wairarapa - the CD Stags comeback kid came and went for a golden duck as his side came close to upsetting Nelson, who prevailed by 11 runs.

It's fair to say the Colin Schaw-coached Bay probably didn't gain much from their clash against a depleted last-placed Whanganui but lower-seeded campaigners in the eight-team annual Central Districts' one-day inter-district tournament would have enjoyed beating the rain on a chilly day.

"Obviously it was our first game together so we bowled relatively well at good length and most times on one side of the wicket but we were wayward at times," Schaw said, saluting CD spinner Ajaz Patel who snared 4-10 from 10 overs, including four maidens.

"Ajaz bowled a good length and put his foot on the throat," he said, agreeing that's expected of CD stock, and resting last summer's top white-ball bowler Andrew Mathieson was a good move although he will be in the equation today when they play Nelson in round two.

Regrettably that will rob cricket lovers of a face-off between Ryder and Mathieson before they make an appearance for the Stags against the Otago Volts at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, in the opening round of the Georgie Super Smash Twenty20 campign.

"I think they [Wairarapa] were let down a bit by Jesse," Schaw reflected, revealing Wairarapa were "very unlucky not to win that" after they were 80-7.

Nelson paceman Joe O'Connor took 6-63, including Ryder's scalp.

Schaw was happy with his other bowlers who were frugal and Bay's run chase despite losing early wickets.

"Matty Edmondson and Kruger [van Wyk] did well," he said of the pair who were 55 not out and 19no, respectively.

No doubt, Schaw expects his top six batsmen to deliver today and tomorrow.

The clash of today will be between Taranaki and Manawatu, after the latter scraped home by two wickets against Marlborough who were 100 without losing a wicket.

In the quest for Cave Cup from today, Wairarapa play Whanganui and Marlborough face Horowhenua-Kapiti.

Taranaki yesterday beat Horowhenua-Kapiti by 169 runs after amassing 293 with Will Young scoring 87 and fellow Stag batsman Tom Bruce unbeaten on 61.