Whanganui batsman Ben Smith scored an unbeaten 162 against Taranaki over the weekend. Photo / File
The Riverview Motel Whanganui rep side has claimed a stunning victory over Taranaki in a game hailed as one of the best in recent memory.
The Whanganui side travelled to New Plymouth over the weekend to play a Taranaki side and were determined to return to winning ways against their southern neighbours.
The match was again played at the picturesque Pukekura Park and the result was one the travelling side will cherish as one of their best results in recent memory.
Whanganui's captain Max Carroll won the toss and elected to bowl first to utilise any assistance from the pitch. The Taranaki openers managed to negotiate the good balls and punish the bad ones as they reached 50 in the 16th over.
At 201/2 in the 61st over, a mammoth score and declaration late in the day looked inevitable. However, the Whanganui bowlers kept at their tasks.
Fringe Central Districts Stags player Dean Robinson held the Taranaki innings together with an imperious 151 off 246 balls including 22 fours and a solitary six. The Whanganui bowlers were regularly taking wickets when the Taranaki side surprisingly decided to declare at 301/8.
The Whanganui effort in the field was even more impressive given opening bowler Connor O'Leary strained his flank in his second over of the day and could not bowl for the rest of the match. In addition, fellow seamer John Beale struggled with a recurrence of an injury and could only bowl nine overs.
Fraser Kinnerley was the pick of the Whanganui bowlers in toiling for almost 21 overs and taking 2-39. His accuracy created scoreboard pressure for his bowling partners. Nick Harding was also impressive in his return to rep play with 3-58 off 17 overs. Hadleigh O'Leary worked hard for 2-57 off 14 overs.
The Whanganui side were left needing to negotiate more than 30 overs before stumps and the Taranaki quartet of quick bowlers didn't make the task simple.
Young Joel Clark was promoted to open the innings and he played positively for 28 but the Whanganui side limped to stumps at 99/4. Whanganui's sole professional player Ben Smith was not out at the crease with Hadleigh O'Leary and both looked assured getting through a difficult last hour.
Another beautiful day dawned; however, dew had been created by the towering trees so there was a delay to the start of day two.
After 40 minutes of play Whanganui lost Hadleigh O'Leary, who again had done the hard graft but failed to reap the rewards of mature concentration throughout 89 deliveries. Chris Stewart came and went quickly and at 122/6 the target of 302 was some distance away. But Whanganui knew they possessed a long tail - and more importantly, Ben Smith was still at the crease and increasingly dominant.
He needed a partner to support him and he found one in Chris Sharrock, who put his aggressive tendencies on the backburner and fashioned an innings of tremendous importance. Ben Smith continued to bat and the total got closer and closer. The Central Districts representative effortlessly dispatched anything too full or short.
Sharrock followed suit and anything the eight Taranaki bowlers employed was snuffed out. Their partnership of 195 saw the Whanganui side pass the Taranaki first innings total for a superb first-innings victory.
In what must rate as one of the greatest innings in Whanganui cricket history, Smith scored 162 not out off 261 balls with 21 boundaries and three sixes. Sadly, Sharrock was out for 75 (172 balls) after victory had been achieved and a deserved 100 beckoned. The wickets were shared around the Taranaki bowlers, who were left to rue their premature declaration.
Whanganui's selector Drew Morrison rated this victory as one of the best in recent memory.
"Since just last year, this side has lost four quality overseas professional players, the vast experience and ability of two senior players and last year's captain. They have fought significant unavailability and injuries then picked up two more during the match," Morrison said.
"They had been thoroughly outclassed by Hawke's Bay and played poorly against Wairarapa. But on this weekend the side fought their way to a well-deserved victory against a side who were determined to gain revenge for two poor recent results."
In other matches around the country, Wairarapa showed resolve to narrowly avoid an outright loss to Hawke's Bay, while Manawatu set Horowhenua-Kapiti a generous target in search of outright victory, only to suffer a convincing outright loss.
