Cricket: Tech skipper carves up villagers

Taradale bowler Scott Phillips (right) begs the question of NOBM batsman Bevin Pollock to the chorus of wicketkeeper Luke Kenworthy, first slip Toby Doyle and second slip Callum Hewetson at Taradale Park, Napier, on Saturday. Photo/Glenn Taylor.

Captaincy is often doable when the cricketer assuming the mantle of responsibility can also deliver with the bat and the ball.

"It's kind of hard to ask the boys to perform or look up to you when you're not doing anything yourself," Complete Flooring Napier Technical Old Boys skipper Morten Freer said last night after spearheading his troops to a whopping 183-run victory over Craft and Hern Havelock North CC at Nelson Park, Napier.

Team manager Dave Caldwell said: "Morten just murdered it, really."

Did the bank officer ever? He carved up an unbeaten 193 runs in the Pay Excellence Hawke's Bay premier men's 50-over match, including 13 sixes and 16 boundaries.

With last summer's captain, George Diack, returning from an injury break, the club and team members felt it was best for Freer to carry on.

Caldwell said Property Brokers Hawke's Bay senior men's representative team coach Lincoln Doull would love to have the batsman in the mix but Freer had made himself unavailable.

Freer said: "I just want to look after the Tech team because it is hard on the players when someone comes and goes every two to three weeks."

He took a break from all cricket last summer to focus on his then Action Sport business but this year he sold it and gained fulltime employment in a bank.

"I have no real thoughts of playing at a higher level," said Freer, who will marry fiancee Rochelle Butcher, of Hastings, on Friday February 28, to ensure it won't disrupt his prem team much.

With his knock on Saturday, Freer leapfrogged Caldwell's on the Tech club's honour's board.

Caldwell was sitting in third place with 190 runs from a match in 1976. Paul Whitaker is the highest run scorer for NTOB with 249 almost a decade ago while current prem player Indika Senrathne is below him on 220 runs scored last season.

Caldwell said the villagers appeared to be struggling once Bay Graeme Tryon was out cheaply, although opener Matt Goodwin (52 runs) and player/coach Todd Astill (39) batted well.

Freer said he exploited a smaller boundary at the park.

At the Forest Gate Domain, Ongonga, Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall pipped Ruahine Motors Ford Central Hawke's Bay by 16 runs.

"It was a good game as it's always down there," Cornwall team manager Neil Jackett said, lauding Bay rep wicketkeeper Seb Langridge for his 56 runs but felt he needed to stay on a little longer to push for a bigger total.

"We also had no Liam Dudding or Jack Arnall because of injuries so our bowling attack was a little light," Jackett said.

Sharpies Golfing Range Taradale CC played their first game at home after not playing there from last summer to register a 38-run victory over The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist.

Dale captain Toby Doyle said the newly laid block at Taradale Park offered pretty true traction one end and a slow, low one at the other.

"It was raised a little so it affected the bowlers' delivery stride a little," Doyle said, believing that might have contributed to NOBM's 27 wides and five no balls and his side's 19 wides and six no balls.

Dale's Mark Harris (4-25) and NOBM's Brendon Quinn (4-39) did the damage with the ball but Doyle said the hosts' sharper fielding was the difference on a wicket where he had initially envisaged a 200 total.