From staring down the barrel of a heavy home defeat, Property Brokers United have qualified for their fifth Coastal Challenge Cup final in eight seasons after a stunning 20-run comeback win at Tasman Tanning (Victoria) Park on Sunday.
If Weraroa CC have to see Victoria’s No. 2 pitch again, then that will be a day that comes too soon, as for the third straight weekend the ‘White Herons’ stumbled at the final hurdle of an away game which was there for the taking on that turf.
A green wicket after the overnight rain, bringing the pace bowlers to the fore when both sides usually rely on spinners, United somehow managed to defend just 135 runs after Weraroa collapsed from 100-4 to be dismissed for 115 in the semifinal.
United will therefore host the final this weekend against defending champions Levin Old Boys, who signalled ominous tones when they did not even need 40 overs to run down Wanganui Vet Services Marist’s solid 245-run innings for a five-wicket win at Donnelly Park.
Early on at Victoria, in what became a 42-over match, it appeared Weraroa were going to take the one further step they had missed in the past fortnight, as Huka Kahu (3-18) opened and bowled his nine overs consecutively, working in tandem with youngsters Jaedyn Dawson (2-28) and Samuel Anderson (4-39).
The result was United succumbed to pressure and poor shot selection, stumbling to 64-5 after just 15 overs.
Only Greg Smith (29 from 39 balls) seemed in control, as top order players Matthew Boswell and Sam Roebuck got starts, then went to edges as Boswell was caught behind and Roebuck’s delivery clipped the stumps.
Smith chased a ball he shouldn’t have and was caught off the just-introduced Anderson, while Carter Hobbs also departed to a nick behind off the first-change bowler.
With Simon Badger (19) and Chris Sharrock having shared a 145-run partnership the last time these teams met, United were not too concerned, but Kahu carried on and dismissed Zeb Small off an outfield catch, then got Sharrock to spoon a catch off the toe of the bat for 72-6.
Fellow veteran Brendon Walker (19) then joined Badger to recover the innings as Dawson returned to replace Kahu and Anderson, while Prabodha Arthavidu Ellawala Liyanage brought on spin from the other end.
Walker’s bat was beaten multiple times, but he still had the power to strike three boundaries through a slow outfield, as the pair brought up the 100 by the 28th over.
But then Ivan McIntyre got one to cannon off Walker’s back leg into the stumps for 105-7, and despite another veteran in Tom Lance being back in the team to cover the lower order, Anderson returned to join Dawson to rip through them.
Badger, Lance and the tail-enders were cleaned up for just 30 more runs, and even though Weraroa were known to have a tail that doesn’t wag, it seemed enough visiting batsmen were in-form to make a successful chase an inevitability.
Opening bowler Duane Maraki (4-33) was initially unlucky as a couple of nicked deliveries ran through vacant slip areas, but soon enough the ball flew to hands as openers Max Culleton and Thomas Morgan went at 17-2.
Dawson looked to assert authority, lofting Maraki for a six, but the very next ball lost the top of off-stump to the fired-up bowler.
At 29-3, Weraroa began their recovery through skipper Blake de Burgh (19) and Liyanage (35), who took their side well past half the required target, as they survived the good balls and then put pressure on the fielders by dashing for second runs every time a stroke reached a gap.
Lance then came on and gave his side a lift by trapping de Burgh in front, but next man Locky Spring (19), who had opened in recent games, joined Liyanage to combine for another partnership approaching 30 runs - as they worked Lance, Walker and then a returning Badger around.
At 100-4, the United supporters on the pavilion balcony were more interested in following how their young Colts team was faring in a last-over P240 semifinal thriller down at Marton’s Centennial Park.
But out of nowhere, for the third straight weekend, Weraroa just fell apart, as Spring’s attempt to hit a returning Maraki for six fell to a good boundary catch by Boswell, and then in the decisive moment, Liyanage just chipped a simple push off Lovedeep Randhawa straight to Roebuck for 107-6.
With 20 overs left, it still seemed Weraroa just needed to block for a while to blunt United’s momentum and then push a few runs around for a narrow win. Instead, the hits kept coming as Lance bowled Jamie Marshall, and the previous weekend’s top scorer Sean Finlayson swung at Badger and got nothing but a top-edge nick behind.
Kahu went when Smith took a great one-handed leaping catch over his head off Lance, and then with the final delivery of his spell, the veteran spinner trapped McIntyre in front to finish with clutch figures of 4-21 with two maidens.
So close to their first Coastal grand final appearance, Weraroa lost six wickets for 15 runs to again be left wondering what might have been.
There were no such concerns for Levin, who backed themselves to chase down any target that Marist set, even a side reinforced by the returning Shaun O’Leary and Central Districts batsman Ben Smith.
Put into bat, Marist made a good start through Nick Harding (24) and Ross Kinnerley (67), before losing a succession of wickets to be 112-4.
Shaun O’Leary (52) held the line, joined by Mark Fraser (29), but again Marist lost wickets in pairs until Hadleigh O’Leary (29) joined Shaun.
Knowing they would need every run, Marist also tried to survive to bat out the 50 overs, their run rate slowing, as they still had a chance to get over the psychological hurdle of 250 at 244-9 entering the last over, but Levin’s Daniel Parker (3-24) was up to the task of denying them.
Daemon Kennett (3-43) and Ryan Taylor (2-35) were the other stand-out bowlers.
In reply, Kinnerley (3-55) got an early breakthrough, but with a stacked batting line-up, Levin just looked to Bailey Te Tomo (58) and Andrew Simpson (22) to carry on.
Matt Good (88) initially supported Tomo, but then took over as the dominant partner – striking 10 boundaries and two sixers.
The pair took Levin to 170-3 with plenty of overs left, and Tomo falling to Harding just brought out Mathew Wilson to smash 32 off 20 balls.
Good and Wilson departed shortly after each other at 218-5 as a returning Kinnerley and Connor O’Leary finally caught up with them, but Taylor and skipper Dion Sanson had plenty to time to tick off the last 28 runs required, with Levin reaching their target in just 39.5 overs.
Follow results and draws for the tournament here.
In the CW P240 semifinals, the young Property Brokers United Colts came within inches of upsetting unbackable favourites Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens, who hung on with a great catch in the final over to win by just two runs at Centennial Park.
A vital 81 from veteran Dominic Rayner saw Marton through to 183 before being bowled out with one over left - United’s Daniel Austin taking 6-23.
Austin then led the way with the bat, making 60, as United needed just over a run a ball in the final 10 overs, getting runs but losing wickets along the way.
A heart-stopping final over, with seven needed and one wicket left, saw United score a two, another two, and then Liam McAleese ran and dived to make a one-handed catch after United had crossed for one run and were heading back for the second.
An upset, although more minor, did occur in the other semifinal on the Springvale fields, as Wicket Warriors Whanganui denied defending champions Wanganui Renegades the chance for any silverware in 2022-23.
Follow results and draws for the tournaments here.
Results for March 18
Coastal Challenge Cup semifinals
Property Brokers United 135 (G Smith 29, B Walker 19, S Badger 19; S Anderson 4-39, H Kahu 3-18, J Dawson 2-28) bt Weraroa CC 115 (P Liyanage 35, B de Burgh 23, L Spring 19; T Lance 4-21, D Maraki 4-33) by 20 runs.
Wanganui Vet Services Marist 245 (R Kinnerley 67, S O’Leary 52, M Fraser 29, H O’Leary 29, N Harding 24; D Parker 3-24, D Kennett 3-43, R Taylor 2-35) lost to Levin Old Boys 248-5 (M Good 88, B Te Tomo 58, M Wilson 32, A Simpson 22; R Kinnerley 3-55) by five wickets.
Premier 2 semifinals
Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens 183 (D Rayner 81, D Ford 44, T Westwood 29; D Austin 6-23, C Meredith 3-36) bt Property Brokers United Colts 181 (D Austin 60, N Burroughs 32; B Cunningham 3-37, Unknown 2-25) by two runs.
Wanganui Renegades lost to Wicket Warriors Whanganui (scoreboard unavailable).
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