Central Indians fall to big defeat in Williams Cup

Central Indians' player Tom Yarrall saves a boundary. Photo/Ben Fraser

Central Indians went down to a resurgent Te Puke in the Williams Cup at Smallbone Park on Saturday.

Defending Williams Cup champions Te Puke blasted a big total for the second week in a row. Batting first, the Western Bay of Plenty side reached 323/8 in their 50 overs.

Tai Bridgman-Raison carried on from his record-breaking ton last weekend to top score with 83 runs. He combined with skipper Stephen Crossan (61) to post a 134-run opening stand. Gareth Wallace also reached the sixties, with Gagandeep Singh taking three wickets for the home side.

Te Puke then cruised to a huge 236-run win when they rolled their hosts for 87. Bay of Plenty representative bowler Alex Gooding was in top form, grabbing five wickets at a cost of 40 runs. The victory elevates Te Puke into the Williams Cup top-four for the first time this season.

Cadets took the Baker Cup (WBOPCA Challenge Trophy) from Greerton for the second time this year when they posted a comfortable victory on Saturday.

Cadets took first use of the deck at Pemberton Park, with Morton Freer again in top form with the bat, posting his side's top score of 63. The dashing premier batsman has blasted nearly 300 runs in just six rounds of the 2017 Williams Cup title race.

Scott Steward posted 45 runs as his team were bowled out for 193. Harrison Perry and Josh Ormrod-Healy took three wickets apiece for the home side.

Greerton were given little time to settle, with the opposition bowlers striking with regular wickets as the hosts were removed for 106, to hand Cadets a solid 87-run victory. Greerton captain Shane Wineti was the best of his team's batsmen with 31 runs, while Ben Christensen took three bowling scalps.

Mount Maunganui posted a win against Tauranga Boys' College in an encounter where the victory was a lot harder that the final result suggested. Tauranga Boys' were bowled out for 180, with team mentor Charles Williams top scoring with a hard-fought 68. Luke Tatley was the best of the Mount bowlers, returning 4/38.

While Mount Maunganui started with an 84-run opening stand courtesy of Matt Golding and (53) and Nick Smith (35), the Tauranga Boys' bowlers then slowed the momentum. Logan Carr, batting down the order hit, an unbeaten 30 off just 22 balls to take Mount Maunganui to victory with the third ball of the 47th over.

Williams Cup results
New World Te Puke 323/8 (Tai Bridgman-Raison 83, Gareth Wallace 64, Stephen Crossan 61, Jonty Grigson 26; Gagandeep Singh 3/30, Dave Lewy 2/54, Andrew Gibbs 2/67) defeated Bayleys Central Indians 87 (Ajay Kumar 21; Alex Gooding 5/40, Brody Gilroy 2/17, Cam Riley 2/27)
Element IMF Cadets 193 (Morton Freer 63, Scott Steward 45, Ben Christensen 27, Rueben Clinton 24; Harrison Perry 3/24, Josh Healy-Ormrod 3/31, Dion McCall 2/4) defeated Eves Realty Greerton 106 (Shane Wineti 31; Ben Christensen 3/25, Scott Steward 2/25, Jim Van der Vorm 2/26)
Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College 180; Charles Williams 68; Luke Tatley 4/38, Nick Smith 2/29, Kyle Dovey 2/38) lost to Carrus Mount Maunganui 181/5 (Matt Golding 53, Nick Smith 35, Logan Carr 32no, Mark Divehall 21; Sean Wakelin 2/30)

Williams Cup Points Table (Provisional) Carrus Mount Maunganui 35, Element IMF Cadets 35, Eves Realty Greerton 29, New World Te Puke 17, Bayleys Central Indians 12, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College 5.