Wairarapa lets Nelson up off the canvas

Wairarapa player-coach Robin James was quick to praise his team after their gut-wrenching outright loss to Nelson in their Hawke Cup elimination cricket match played in Nelson over the weekend.
In a game of changing fortunes Wairarapa conceded maximum points after dominating the first day's play with both bat and ball but rather than blame his side for their second day effort James elected to pay tribute to Nelson's resilience.
"We had them on the ropes and they came back through playing good cricket, that's was all there was to it," James said. "It was gutting for everybody to lose the way we did but we gave it our best shot, and that's all you can do."
It was all Greytown all-rounder Seth Rance who grabbed the limelight for Wairarapa on the first day.
Wairarapa took first strike on a batter-friendly wicket and again had problems with their top order, struggling from 9-1 to 29-3.
A 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Academy duo David Irvine and Jamie Perkins improved the situation but when Perkins went for 17 at 79-4
Nelson remained in the box seat.
Captain Robin James was trapped before leg wicket to make it 106-5 and then Irvine was caught for a well-made 63, which included 12 fours, and it was 141-6. Paul Lyttle was out for 20 a ball later and Jeremy Anderson soon after and at 153-8 the prospects of Wairarapa building a respectable first innings total looked remote.
But then Rance took centre stage, blasting 12 fours and one six in an unbeaten 88 and featuring in a 73-run partnership with Matt Young, who made just six, and a 28-run partnership with Jarrod Watt, whose 17 included two fours and a six.
When Watt was clean bowled to end the innings the Wairarapa tally stood at 254, not outstanding but a lot better than anticipated when Rance strode to the wicket.
That total was made even look even better when Rance took the new ball when nelson's first innings commenced and in a fine display of accurate bowling claimed a wicket in his fourth over, two in his seventh and one in his eighth to have Nelson in dire straits at 26-4.
Wickets continued to fall with regularity and when the first day's play closed with Nelson at 118-7 anything other than a substantial first innings lead to Wairarapa was difficult to imagine.
Cricket though can be a strange game and the second day's play was a complete contrast to the first with a Wairarapa attack depleted by the absence of Richard Lewis, who had a bad side strain, being dominated by the Nelson "tail".
Led by Pahl (80) and Scoble, who came in at No.9 and got through to 92 ( (14 fours), Nelson stunningly overhauled the Wairarapa total and declared at 262-9.
The Pahl-Scoble partnership for the eighth wicket was worth a magnificent 134-runs and, what's more, they never gave a chance.
Wairarapa used nine bowlers in all with Rance's figures of 6-87 from 26 overs a superb return for the promising youngster, who first played for the Wairarapa seniors while at Wairarapa College last season.
With first innings points gone, Wairarapa had no alternative but to go for the doctor in their second innings with the idea of scoring enough runs to give themselves at least an outside chance of an outright win.
James elected to open the batting himself on this occasion and with four of his first five scoring shots being boundaries he quickly made his intentions known. In a partnership of 79 with Sam Curtis he made 62 , hitting 11 fours in all from the 39 balls he faced.
But if James was in an aggressive mood, even more so was Irvine who followed up his excellent first innings effort with a rollicking 64, which included five sixes and the same number of fours. Some of his sixes were amongst the biggest seen at the Nelson ground and his runs came off only 21 deliveries.
Rance too again showed his ability with the bat and had struck three sixes and two fours in his 31 when the innings was closed at 240-6.
That left Nelson 31 overs to score the 233 runs required for the outright win and with Lewis's injury leaving Wairarapa a bowler short they got there with just seven balls to spare, opener Capstick hitting nine fours in his 71 (made of 49 balls) and Pahl again being a nuisance with an unbeaten 29.
WAIRARAPA
First Innings
Curtis c Edwards b Malcolm.............................?.3
Stoneley c Gardiner b Nielsen .........................?.4
Stone c Gardiner b Malcolm?.............................9
Irvine c Nielsen b Scoble................................?.63
Perkins c Barnett b Armstrong?........................17
James lbw b Armstrong?...................................12
Lyttle c Armstrong b Scoble...........................?..20
Anderson b Scoble?............................................1
Rance not out?..................................................88
Young c Edwards b Malcolm...........................?..6
Watt b Malcolm...............................................?.17
Extras?...............................................................14
Total?...............................................................245
Fall of wickets: 9, 14, 29, 79, 106, 141, 142, 153, 226, 254
Bowling: Malcolm 14.3-4-33-4, Nielsen 12-4-35-1, Armstrong 14-1-77-2, Scoble 21-6-50-3, Barnett 7-1-24-0, Cederman 4-0-24-0.
Second Innings
James b Nielsen?..........................................?62
Curtis b Barnett?...............................................24
Stoneley c Malcolm b Armstrong....................?..2
Stone not out?...................................................29
Irvine c Armstrong b Barnett.........................?..64
Perkins b Barnett?...............................................0
Lyttle c Capstick b Barnett?...............................23
Rance not out.................................................?.31
Extras?.................................................................5
Total for 6wkts dec?.....................................?.240
Fall: 79, 91, 93, 162, 162, 196
Bowling: Malcolm 5-0-39-0, Nielsen 6-1-29-1, Krammer 3-0-29-0, Barnett 9-1-74-4, Armstrong 3-0-32-1, Cederman 5-0-31-0.
NELSON
First Innings
Capstick c and b Rance?...................................13
Gardiner lbw b Rance?........................................5
Wraight lbw b Rance?.........................................3
Cederman c Perkins b Watt............................?..9
Krammer lbw b Rance?.......................................0
Pahl c Perkins b Young..................................?..80
Edwards c Stone b Rance?...............................35
Barnett lbw b Rance?..........................................5
Scoble stpd Perkins b Watt............................?..92
Armstrong not out...........................................?.13
Extras?.................................................................8
Total for 9wkts dec....................................??.262
Fall: 9, 21, 22, 26, 40, 76, 83, 217, 262
Bowling: Rance 26-4-87-6, Lewis 7.4-3-6-0, Young 20-5-55-1, Anderson 4-1-4-0, Stone 22-0-9-0, Watt 6.3-0-27-2, James 17-4-51-0, Curtis 8-1-20-0.
Second Innings
Capstick c Stone b James?...............................71
Gardiner c James b Rance?..............................13
Edwards b Young?..............................................28
Cederman c Rance b Watt?..............................44
Krammer not out.............................................?.27
Armstrong stpd Perkins b Watt?........................19
Pahl not out?......................................................29
Extras................................................................?.5
Total for 5wkts............................................??236
Fall: 23, 80, 158, 161, 186
Bowling: Rance 3-0-27-1, Stone 3-0-39-0, Curtis 4.1-0-34-0, Young 5-0-41-1, James 8-0-51-1, Watt 6-0-39-2.
.