Cricket: Cadets and Te Puke earn Baywide Cup final spots

Tai Bridgeman-Raison (left) and Stephen Crossan were the top scorers for Te Puke against Greerton on Saturday. Photo / File

Element IMF Cadets and New World Te Puke will meet in the Baywide Cup final this weekend after finishing in the top two positions on the table.

Te Puke won a winner-take-all shootout against Eves Realty Greerton at the Te Puke Domain on Saturday to cement second place in the qualifying rounds and book a berth in the title decider.

Greerton batted first and set Te Puke a substantial target when they were bowled out for 241. Umesh Ranaraja took control of his side's innings, blasting 114 including nine fours and three sixes. Batting at nine, Dion McCall was also in good touch, scoring 53 runs. Parry Kular and Christian MacDonald took three wickets apiece for Te Puke.

The Te Puke run chase was anchored by captain Stephen Crossan, who top scored with 65, and long-time club member Tai Bridgman-Raison with 62 runs to his name. The encounter went down to the wire and Te Puke got home with seven balls to spare. Daniel Price also made a handy contribution of 39 runs and Lee Watkins took three wickets for the visitors.

Cadets won a high-scoring encounter against Bayleys Central Indians at the Tauranga Domain to finish at the top of the Baywide Cup standings. Batting first, the home team were removed for 279. Opener Fergus Lellman set up the big total with 54 runs. Bay of Plenty representative batsman Joe Carter, batting down the order, posted a half century, while Ben Jensen made a solid contribution of 33 runs. The Rotorua visitors' wickets were shared around.

Central Indians weren't fazed by the big target and made a solid start, with opener Yohann Irani reaching 47 before being dismissed. Stephen Nicholls dug and was rewarded with his side's highest score of 49 before his team were removed for 230. Daniel Maathuis was in good form with the ball, grabbing four wickets.

Carrus Mount Maunganui will play Greerton for third place in the Baywide Cup playoffs after easily dispatching GM Painters Lake Taupo CC in Taupo. Longtime Mount Maunganui all-rounder Peter Drysdale hammered another century for his club and carried his bat to an unbeaten 123 as Mount Maunganui posted 255/5. The Taupo side were bowled out for just 123 to give Mount Maunganui a 132-run win.

Baywide Cup results - Saturday

Element IMF Cadets 279 (Fergus Lellman 54, Joe Carter 51, Ben Jensen 33, Jono Boult 23, Tim Pringle 21; Andrew Gibbs 3/49, Jake Rowe 2/37, J Benhur 2/57) defeated Bayleys Central Indians 230 (Stephen Nicholls 49, Yohann Irani 47, G Dawson 39, A Gibbs 20; Daniel Maathuis 4/38, J Boult 2/33)

Eves Realty Greerton 241 (Umesh Ranaraja 114, Dion McCall 53; Parry Kular 3/23, Christian MacDonald 3/43, Alex Gooding 2/39, Cam Riley 2/47) lost to New World Te Puke 245/6 (Stephen Crossan 65, Tai Bridgman-Raison 62, Daniel Price 39; Lee Watkins 2/26)

Carrus Mount Mauganui 255/5 (Peter Drysdale 123, Tony Goodin 43, Ben Musgrave 22) defeated GM Painters Lake Taupo CC 123 (Roger Urbahn 37)
Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College the bye

Points Table

Cadets 34, Te Puke 28, Greerton 19, Mount Maunganui 19,Tauranga Boys College 16, Lake Taupo CC 9, Central Indians 6.