In Rotorua Premier cricket games at the weekend there was a case of close but no cigar for Rotorua Indians.
The team lost to iTCo Central in a tense encounter.
And Dawson Insurance Eastern Pirates had their game against Rotorua Boys' High as good as won at the lunch break after setting the students a mammoth target of 362.
Indians opener Umesh Morarji knows only one way to bat, and that's all-out attack from the first ball.
He set about the Central medium pacers to have the Indians innings rollicking along at close to five an over, before left-arm spinner Jason Trembath changed the complexion of the game when he took the first three wickets.
At 6/92 with half their overs gone Indians were in danger of being dismissed cheaply before Bipul Das and Praful Morarji put on 82 for the seventh wicket.
Das top-scored with 69, including three sixes and five fours, and Morarji contributed 32 to get Indians through to a respectable 182 tally.
Central had their innings reduced to 49 overs after failing to complete their overs on time, but even so a run rate of 3.73 was not over demanding.
Indians, with steady bowling and enthusiastic fielding, had Central on the back foot at 5/76.
But Jason Trembath got the Central innings back on track with some bold hitting.
On 38 he unleashed an all-out assault, hitting three sixes and two boundaries from five deliveries before being caught in the deep off the last ball of the over, for a scintillating 64.
With Central 6/132 and then 7/149 the game was in the balance but Simon Fleming and Reece Uerata were unbeaten when Central reached their target.
It was a close-run thing and while Indians were disappointed they can take confidence from the game.
Eastern Pirates totally dominated the Rotorua Boys' bowlers with Kane Spiers, Julian Danby and Jarrod Christoffersen peppering the boundary as the score mounted.
The target of 361 they set was always going to be beyond the school team and only Ritchie Megaw, Koha Newton and Dave Cheater put up any resistance as Pirates cruised to a 177-run win.
Scoreboards:
Eastern Pirates 361/5 (J Christoffersen 94no, J Danby 91, K Spiers 71, D Fluker 30, C Perham 2/49, J Porter 2/65) bt Rotorua Boys' High School 184 (D Cheater 36no, R Megaw 27, K Newton 27, R Flaherty 3/26, M Wickett 2/31, J Lee 2/41).
Rotorua Indians 182 (B Das 69, U Morarji 33, P Morarji 32, R Uerata 3/33, J Trembath 3/39) lost to Central 185/7 (J Trembath 64, R Uerata 26no, S Fleming 26no, B Das 3/57, V Morarji 2/35).