There would have been three prime contenders for any player of the match award after Wairarapa's comprehensive first innings win over Hawke's Bay in their shortened Hawke Cup qualifying senior men's cricket match played at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton in the weekend.
Top order batsman Henry Cameron and pace bowlers Seth Rance and Peter Borren all starred in a game originally to be played Saturday and Sunday but which provided no action whatsoever on the first day because of damp conditions, both overhead and underfoot.
There was never any doubt the greenish pitch would be something of a bowler's paradise on Sunday and so it proved with a variable bounce meaning batsmen were forced to rely as much on luck as good management to occupy the crease for any length of time.
Wairarapa won the toss and elected to bat and although their total of 140 would normally be considered well below par it was always likely to be competitive because of the vagaries of the wicket.
Cameron's 54 was a splendid knock under the circumstances. He came to the wicket at 7-1 and departed at 100-6, having faced 58 balls in 107 minutes and struck six fours and one six. His philosophy was simple, go hard at anything pitched up on a fullish length and singles were seldom in the mindset. He managed just six of them.
At the wicket with Cameron when he was run out courtesy of some smart fielding was Paul Lyttle and he continued on the good work, finishing unbeaten on 27, including three fours.The only other Wairarapa batsmen to get into double figures were opener Tim Lucas, whose 16 come off 34 balls, and Seth Rance who hammered three boundaries in his 15 off 14 balls.
The 35 runs Cameron and Lucas put on for the second wicket was the biggest partnership in the Wairarapa innings.
The Hawke's Bay attack was spearheaded by paceman Kurt Richards who put down 15 overs and finished with the excellent figures of 5-61.
It was Rance who did the early damage with the ball for the home side. Back on the representative scene after a lengthy injury break he showed he was ready for the fight by claiming both the wickets as Hawke's Bay stumbled to 15-2.
From there the visitors never really got off the ropes, losing two wickets at 38 and another two at 41 and finally being all out for 107, 33 runs short of their target.
Rance and fellow paceman Peter Borren, in his first game as Wairarapa skipper, tormented the opposition with their ability to bowl length and line.
It was a classic illustration of bowlers using the pitch to their advantage and they reaped their rewards, Rance taking 4-27 from his 12 overs and Borren 4-18 from his 9 overs. Borren's aggressive leadership was also impressive with the field setting often having six or seven players behind the wicket looking for edges or snicks.
Wairarapa's second innings lasted just the 10 overs as they got through to 19 without loss.