Cricket: Unfinished business after win

Maungakaramea were beaten by Tauranga's Greerton in the Northern Districts one-day final last weekend

Maungakaramea scored an emphatic win in the Oxford Trust Two Day competition by completing an innings victory over Onerahi-Central at Kensington.

Although the team was happy to win the title on Saturday there was only minimal celebration after the match with the side already focused on their next goal, Maungakaramea's Mike O'Sullivan said.

"It's a bit like our glass is only half-full," he said.

"We want to win the one-day competition now - especially after we were beaten down in Tauranga last week, we feel like there's some unfinished business ahead of us."

Maungakaramea were beaten by Tauranga's Greerton in the Northern Districts one-day final last weekend and O'Sullivan said the team took the loss badly - adding to their desire to go down and win the competition next year.

Only a miracle or bad weather could have saved OC on Saturday, and the home team were unable to count on either. Despite an average day for the champions in the field, their bowlers were in fine form.

Mike Harris took four wickets for 33 off 13 overs, while newcomer Ian Wallace also finished with impressive figures. He bowled six maidens from his nine overs and took two wickets for nine runs. Nick Stobart and Jason Morgan also took two wickets apiece.

The win gave Maungakaramea a decisive points lead over second placed Kaipara Flats, who gambled all they had on an outside chance of beating Whangarei Boys High School but came up well short.

Kaipara needed first innings points and an outright win to try and keep apace with Maungakaramea. They had to take the three remaining Boys High wickets for just 13 runs on Saturday morning but when an edge flew through the slips and went for four in the first over it became apparent it was not their lucky day.

Boys High ended up scoring 151 before Kaipara returned to the batting crease, with only 84 overs left to try and force a result.

They were dismissed for 101 with Jaz Williams scoring 52 runs, and Sam Walker taking 4/22. Boys High chased down the total without losing a wicket with Matthew Lobb (33no) and Chamodh Peiris (36no) untroubled by the dispirited Kaipara attack.

Kaipara's Kevin Forde said it was another missed opportunity to try and win the two-day competition.

"We've had a lot of our guys playing for Northland regularly and we've brought a lot of young guys through but we haven't won the two-day competition in my six seasons at the club and it's one of those frustrating things that we're hoping to remedy soon," he said.

The final match of the round saw an action-packed second day with City edging out Kamo to take first innings points before Kamo bounced back to win the match outright.

City started the day at 112/6 chasing Kamo's first innings total of 196. Harry Darkins led the fight back scoring 70 as City were finally dismissed for 200, with Curtis Cherrington taking 3/64 from 23 overs.

Atif Qureshi top-scored for Kamo with 49 as they raced to 142, giving City a total of 139 to chase down for the win.

A great opening spell of bowling by Aaron Ashton (4/43/11) and Cam Johnson (4/45/16), put paid to City's chances and they came up just short of a win, dismissed just ten runs short of victory for 129.