Te Puke and Cadets continued their unbeaten starts to the Williams Cup on Saturday.
Led by a sparkling century from Jeremy Bates, Te Puke posted an impressive target when they reached 268/5 against BOP Indians at Smallbone Park in Rotorua. The Te Puke allrounder took control as he smashed an unbeaten 124, with Josh Dwight chipping in with a handy 38.
The day belonged to Bates who grabbed four wickets for 41 runs, with Josh Dwight returning 2/27, as BOP Indians were removed for 172. Jitesh Sima top scored with 39 for the home side.
At the Tauranga Domain, Element IMF Cadets made hard work of grabbing the points. Former Bay representative stalwart Campbell Wilson returned to form, taking six wickets as East Bay United were rolled for just 81. Richie Nillesen top scored with 30.
It was Wilson's seventh six-wicket bag for Cadets, second equal with Steve Charman, but still behind Rick Spratt who claimed 11 at the club.
However, Eastern Bay made a good attempt to defend their modest total, dismissing seven Cadets batsmen before the home side sealed the win.
Nick Earl was a rock at one end for Cadets, posting a gritty 35 as his side eked out their third successive win in the Baywide competition.
Defending Williams Cup champions Eves Realty Greerton got their Williams Cup campaign back on track with what turned out to be a reasonably comfortable victory over Tauranga Boys' College.
The Tauranga students batted first and reached 218/6. Team mentor Mark Orchard posted a solid 86, with Keaton Taylor and Ben Musgrave both getting to the forties. Tommy Clout was the best of the Greerton bowlers, returning 3/43.
An opening 60-plus run partnership between Suhkdeep Sidhu (44) and Kent Hodder (22) put Greerton in good shape. Solid contributions from Cameron Neal (47) and Elliot Timoti (33) continued the momentum as the home side got home with five wickets to spare.
The encounter between Mount Maunganui and Central was over by mid-afternoon, after the Mount bowlers dismissed the Rotorua visitors for 103. Ben Guild grabbed the last three Central wickets from just four balls, then went on top score with 51 runs, as Mount Maunganui won by nine wickets.
Williams Cup results
Central 103 (Ben Blackett 28; Ben Guild 3/14, Daniel Hill 2/30, Mike Jones 2/33) lost to Mount Maunganui 104/1 (B Guild 51, Mark Divehall 39)
East Bay United 81 (Richie Nilleson 30; Campbell Wilson 6/22, Vivian Kingma 3/17) lost to Cadets 82/7 (Nick Earl 35; Joel Mathews 3/19, M Carter 3/21)
Tauranga Boys' College 218/6 (Mark Orchard 86, Keaton Taylor 42, Ben Musgrave 40, Tommy Clout 3/43) lost to Greerton 220/5 (Cameron Neal 47, Suhkdeep Sidhu 44, Elliot Timoti 33; K Taylor 2/28, Tom Wakelin 2/51)
Te Puke 268/5 (Jeremy Bates 134no, Josh Dwight 38, Tai Bridgeman-Raison 21; M Chhagan 2/35, Prashant Dhanjee 2/47) defeated BOP Indians 172 (Jitesh Sima 39, Jayvant Dhanjee 25; J Bates 4/41, J Dwight 2/27).
Williams Cup points
Cadets 18, Te Puke 18, Greerton 12, Mount Maunganui 12, East Bay United 6, Central 6, Tauranga Boys' College 0, BOP Indians 0.