Wairarapa are desperate to produce a winning performance in their Chapple Cup limited-overs cricket match with Taranaki at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval, Masterton on Sunday. Losses to Hawke's Bay and Nelson in previous Chapple Cup fixtures sees them sitting at the very bottom of the points table despite the fact theyhave a side which should be well suited to the shorter version of the game, and captain Sam Curtis says they are "dead keen" to rectify that situation. "We haven't been consistent enough in batting or bowling," Curtis said. "We can't make excuses, we simply haven't played well enough." A tendency for players to go for their shots too early in their innings, and get themselves out as a consequence, has been hurting Wairarapa badly and Curtis wants his batsmen to show the bowlers greater respect on this occasion. "There have been too many soft dismissals, we need to make the bowlers work harder for their wickets," he said. It will be vital too that the Wairarapa attack is up to scratch as with the likes of Tim Weston and Peter Ingram in their line-up Taranaki are capable of scoring heavily if they stray off target. The Chapple Cup match will, as has become the norm, follow two days of Hawke Cup action with Wairarapa still in with a chance of advancing further in that latter competition. A first innings lead was seen as their first priority against Taranaki with the hope they would then be able to press hard for an outright win late tomorrow. On the inter-club scene just the one Umpire's Cup match will be played tomorrow with leaders Flight Centre Lansdowne up against defending champions Red Star at the Sports Bowl. Greytown, who are disputing the pace with Lansdowne, was scheduled to play Rathkeale College but they already chalked up winning points through the students defaulting. With basically half their regular side on representative duty Lansdowne's playing resources will be stretched to the limits against a Red Star team which has just the one player, Brad Edwards, in the Wairarapa squad. It will be a busy weekend for Red Star as on Sunday they will play a second Umpire's Cup fixture against Wairarapa College at Wairarapa College.
