CRICKET - Wedding and cricket game all in a day's play

Gavin Benney doesn't claim to be a cricketer, but he is used to being called out to an emergency, so when he got an SOS call on Saturday he knew what to do.
The Hikurangi policeman was attending a friend's wedding at Waikaraka when he got a call from Onerahi-Central's Geoff Bigwood for back-up.
Onerahi's fate in the premier two-day competition hung in the balance with their tail disintegrating as they chased a winning total of 158 against City in their final-round match.
The club's Zimbabwean professional Greg Styrdom was holding up one end but the 10-man side was losing regular wickets at the other end.
Benney left the wedding slightly early and, in his words, "flew" in to get to Kensington Park in time. "As I was running across the field, the last wicket fell and City started celebrating - you couldn't have scripted it better - if I'd arrived one minute later it would have been too late," Benney said.
Benney might not win a popularity contest in the City team. "They weren't too pleased to see me walking out to bat in the pants I wore to the wedding. It was all pretty hard case."
It was Benney's third appearance for Onerahi - all of them have been when the team was short. "I'm not a cricketer, and there wasn't a good cricket shot played by me on Saturday. I was just out there to survive."
He finished on nought not out but Onerahi won the match by the narrowest of margins - by one wicket - with Strydom unbeaten at the other end on 52.
After a celebratory beer or two at the Onerahi clubrooms, Benney went next door to the ASB Centre to attend the wedding reception in what worked out to be a seamless day's play.
"I don't think I'll get the call for the final next week. But you never know - I'm always available," he joked.
The result means Onerahi will face Whangarei Boys' High School in the two-day final set down for Saturday and Sunday at Cobham Oval.
Whangarei BHS reached the final when Maungakaramea forfeited their match against the students on Saturday.
The only other premier grade match saw Kaipara Flats beat Kamo by 99 runs, with Kaipara's Tas Satti playing a starring role, top-scoring with 53 and taking 4/19 as Kamo were rolled for 98.