It's a time to ponder for Kurtis Weeks (left), John Drake, Christian Leopard, Matt Edmondson, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Bronson Meehan and Jesse Ryder. Photo / Supplied
It's a time to ponder for Kurtis Weeks (left), John Drake, Christian Leopard, Matt Edmondson, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Bronson Meehan and Jesse Ryder. Photo / Supplied
At first glance it may appear as if the bowlers lost the plot but that would be erroneous because that's not why Napier Technical Old Boys' bubble burst in Auckland today.
No, the Texans fell shy by 27 runs against St Albans in round three of the NZCT National ClubChampionship staged at Cornwall CC park grounds.
Having won the toss, St Albans skipper Ben Langrope chose to bat first on park No 3 that the Innovative Electrical-sponsored NTOB batsman Christian Leopard described as "a very small boundary".
However, it's not all doom and gloom for the Texans who can still become the second qualifiers on a robust run rate, on account of their two hefty victories, provided they remain unbeaten in the remaining games before Sunday's playoffs.
St Albans are the only undefeated side left but Green Island (Otago representatives), who lost by 10 runs to Eastern Suburbs (Wellington) today, may have something to say about that as they still have to play NTOB on Saturday.
In the other match today, Parnell, of Auckland, thrashed Greerton, the Northern Districts flag fliers, by 132 runs.
The Canterbury major association representatives amassed 290 runs against NTOB before they were skittled in 45.5 overs, a testament to the bowling prowess of the Liam Rukuwai-captained side.
St Albans opening batsmen Dan Sharples and G Dawson laid down the foundation of their innings with 53 runs and 50, respectively, before No 6 Langrope and No 7 Jack Harper bolstered the total with 42 runs each.
In reply, NTOB lost wickets regularly, especially in the top order, before the tail gave them some hop as they skidded to 263 all out with 20 balls to spare.
NTOB skipper Liam Rukuwai opens the bowling against St Albans (Canterbury) at Cornwall CC park No 3 in Auckland today. Photo / Supplied
"We lost a few wickets early on the top, which put us on the back foot so we were always fighting to get back in the game," said Central Districts Stags allrounder Leopard who top-scored with 47 runs from 23 balls, including six boundaries and three sixes, before player/coach Jesse Ryder, at No 6, injected some respectability with 45 runs.
No 7 Todd Watson added 35 runs before Sharples ran him out but No 8 Morten Freer and Stevie Smidt forged a vital partnership that saw them contribute 37 runs each, albeit in vain.
"We were able to put little partnerships together but then we'd lose wickets at crucial times and we were never able to come back so we kept on fighting but couldn't get over the line," lamented Leopard, who also didn't bowl because of a dodgy ankle.
He said it was their inability to maintain wickets in the hand that cost them the game.
"The bowlers always did their job because we knew we were going to get hit around a little bit so we were quite happy with that score in the end."
Leopard said NTOB needed to maintain their perch on the second rung of the ladder.
"It's a good learning curve for us so we'll come out even harder tomorrow from the mistakes we made today," he said, before they face Parnell tomorrow.
Watson, again, was the pick of the NTOB bowlers, claiming 4-40 from eight overs at first change while Bronson Meehan and Kieran Noema-Barnett took two scalps each although left-arm orthodox spinner Jayden Lennox was the most frugal with 1-42 from 10 overs, including two maidens.
Only opening veteran seamer Smidt took some stick, claiming 1-87 from nine overs.
Leopard said there wasn't any talk of making any changes because the side who took the field today was the best and it was simply about trusting the team's processes.
However, he felt perhaps the order of bowling and batting might be tweaked a little to see if NTOB could find a bit more traction in their aggressive approach to games.
"We just stick to our guns because it's worked well for us ... Stevie and [Rukuwai] have done a great job for us at the top so we'll continue with them."
Leopard wasn't sure if he would mark his run-up this week but was relieved NTOB had myriad options in the bowling department on slow wickets where he suspected Noema-Barnett and the spinners would thrive.
NTOB skipper Liam Rukuwai opens the bowling against St Albans (Canterbury) at Cornwall CC park No 3 in Auckland today. Photo / Supplied
