NTOB v Havelock Nth
Complete Flooring Napier Technical Old Boys beat Havelock North by 41 runs.
NTOB skipper Morten Freer scored 62 runs from 110 balls at No4 while No11 Hudson Craig was unbeaten on 16 as the pair forged a decent partnership to take the total to 156 all out with a ball to spare in their innings.
"We lost three or four wickets in quick succession so I knuckled down to noodle it around to come out all right," Freer said, lauding Craig, 47, who has moved up from the senior grade.
NTOB are more of a bowling team and that showed with Craig Herrick claiming a five-wicket bag while Stevie Smidt took 3-27 and Liam Rukuwai took 2-24.
While Tech lost the toss, they made it hard for themselves with Freer feeling the total could have been better.
For the villagers, Jared Priest took 4-36 while CD rep Ben Wheeler was frugal with 1-13 from 10 overs, including five maidens.
Havelock captain/wicketkeeper Todd Astill, though, let 11 byes and 7 leg byes slip past his gloves.
"I was probably a little lazy a couple of times but in the longer version of the games a lot of balls have to be really [spary] to be given wide," Astill said.
The visitors run chase was over in 33.5 overs on 115 with No 7 Casey Rangi 34 not out and Astill contributing 33 from 63 balls.
"Our batsmen struggled," Astill lamented but hailed Priest's bowling effort.
Cornwall v Taradale
Taradale skipper Toby Doyle said batsmen had to work hard for their runs after they walloped Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall by seven wickets.
"We bowled and fielded well to put Cornwall under pressure so their batsmen went easily," Doyle said after Bracewell Academy's bowler Tevita Mpofu claimed 4-20, as the Hastings club managed a paltry 105 all out in 46.5 overs.
CD left-arm orthodox bowler Ajaz Patel took 3-41 on a slow-turning wicket with Cornwall No9 Liam Dudding top scoring with 43 from 54 balls.
Teenager Ben Stoyanoff and CD allrounder Kieran Noema-Barnett were wicket-less but frugal around 1.2 runs an over.
"The ball did quite a bit in the early stages," Doyle said.
Seven Cornwall batsmen posted single-digit figures.
Vance Morris (37 runs) and Callum Hewetson (29) set the platform for the run chase, eclipsed in 21.4 overs for the loss of three wickets.
NOBM v CHB
Napier Old Boys' Marist won by 49 runs against Ruahine Motors Ford Central Hawke's Bay and it was easy to ascertain why.
Ex-CD batting maestro Mathew Sinclair showed he was an able disciple of Reeve, amassing 69 runs from a patient 101 balls at No 4 as NOBM posted the highest total of the round with 202 all out in 53.2 overs.
CD seamer Andrew Matheson was 37 not out at No8 while veteran Daniel Drepaul contributed 31 at No5.
"It was the make up of the whole day ... so we had to be patient," Sinclair said.
"I just told the boys to soak 10 to 12 overs then create runs. We sort of slightly did that but lost wickets in patches. You just had to treat every ball in the now rather than the future but I also backed my bowlers to do the job, too," the former international batsman said.
Jake Chalmers took 3-33 while Zac Jones (3-49) and Charlie Robson (2-26) backed him for CHB. In reply, CHB could manage only 153-8 but will collect 4.5 points for showing some ticker.
Teenager Angus Schaw stopped the rot at No6 with an unbeaten 62 from 125 balls although no one else seemed to catch his wavelength.
Brendon Quinn (3-21), CD rep Roald Badenhorst (1-13) and Sinclair (2-10) were equally adept with the ball.
"We couldn't get Angus out to get maximum points but a winning draw's a pretty good start," Sinclair said.
CHB skipper Scott Schaw took some heart from the losing draw.
"When the bowlers got full it was hard to play on the wicket," Schaw said after winning the toss and having the hosts padding up to bat.
He rued fielding errors and dropped catches that saw NOBM bolster their innings.
"The fight from our guys to get us out of a tight situation for a draw was good."
