Wairarapa took an absolute pasting from Taranaki on the opening day of their Hawke Cup qualifying round senior men's cricket match at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, on Saturday.
Missing about half their first-string players through injury and unavailability, this was always likely to be an uphill battle for Wairarapa butnobody could have foreseen a first innings capitulation which saw them all out for just 34 runs.
Remarkably, the first four wickets all fell with the score at five, both openers Tim Lucas and Sean Jarvis and then skipper Henry Cameron and Alex Treseder all trudging back to the pavilion without the scoreboard making the slightest movement.
And from there it was a procession with further wickets falling at 14, 15, 19, 32, 33 and 34, the whole innings being completed in 22 overs.
The only batsman to make double figures was Joe Hull who fought hard for his 13. He faced 48 balls and hit two fours. Amazingly only two other batsmen, Daniel Haxton and Jarvis, successfully faced 10 balls or more - Haxton, who was 2 not out, facing 27 and Jarvis 11.
The short scoreboard was: Sean Jarvis 0, Tim Lucas 1, Henry Cameron 0, Joe Hull 13, Alex Treseder 0, Gordon Reisima 5, Ben Foster 1, Harry Greenwood 2, Daniel Haxton 2 not out, Jock Cameron 0, Stefan Hook-Sporry 1, extras 9; Rob McLeod 4-11, Josh Barnett 3-10, Jamie Watkins 3-6).
Any thoughts it may have been the condition of the pitch which caused Wairarapa's undoing soon went out the window when Taranaki commenced their first innings.
They lost former Black Cap Peter Ingram for 28 but then Dean Robinson and captain Dion Ebrahim both brought up their centuries before the declaration was made at 245-1. Robinson's 105 included 14 fours and Ebrahim struck 14 fours and one six in his 101.
Wairarapa used seven bowlers in all with the sole wicket-taker being Greenwood who finished with 1-66. Hook had 0-50, Haxton 0-28, Jock Cameron 0-39, Foster 0-13, Jarvis 0-26 and Martin Reisima 0-19.
Stumps were drawn in Wairarapa's second innings with the score at 52-3.
