A ton each from Craig Russell and Nic Breslin got Onerahi Central away to an unassailable lead over Kamo in the third round of Northland Cricket's premier 55-over competition. Russell's 104 and Breslin's 112 not out, were massive contributions towards Onerahi's total of 307-2 on Saturday, with Kamo's bowlers struggling. Jamie Burgesschipped in another 54 for Onerahi, while Aaron Bradley was on 11 not out at the end of the innings before Kamo began to chase the formidable target. Tharindu Hapu (31), Jacob Cherrington (27) and Logan Choat (29) were the top scorers for Kamo but only made a small dent in the big total. Kamo were all out for 156, still winless in the 55-over championship, while Onerahi snatched their second win, making up for last week's loss to Whangarei Boys' High School First XI. The schoolboys lead the standings comfortably, with Onerahi in tow, despite drawing with Maungakaramea on the weekend, at Kensington. After winning the toss, Maungakaramea batted first, and openers Mark Southee and Dean Child made a handy start, hitting 50 and 28 respectively, followed by another half century from Joseph O'Sullivan. Their wickets fell steadily after that, largely thanks to a huge effort from offspinner Alex Seymour, who snatched an impressive seven wickets for 75 runs in his long 22-over spell. At the tailend of their innings, Finlay Brooker added another 30 for Maungakaramea, to take them to 198-9. Boys' High went into the game short in the batting stakes, with three of their top batsmen, Richard Kaufman, Henry Cooper and Rory Darkins, unavailable, playing for Northland against Waikato Valley. When opening batsmen Bradley Kneebone and Kashmir Harypursat fell for 13 and five, followed by the loss of skipper Ben Hyde, out for a golden duck, the schoolboys set their sights on not being bowled out. They did this comfortably with controlled efforts at the crease from Seymour (22) and his brother Fraser, (21 not out), who chipped away through the overs. Although they only managed 83 runs, they drew the game with four wickets intact. Kaipara Flats, playing on their home track, also drew with City in a reduced 45-over match. City were sent into bat and only lost two wickets on their way to a tidy 224 runs. The hosts made 186 in their 45 overs but had five wickets standing, resulting in a draw.
