Veteran Marist batters Mark Fraser and Chris Stewart combined for a match-winning 180-run partnership against United in Whanganui on Saturday. Photo / Jared Smith
There is a saying in baseball - “sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains”.
All options were on display in the pivotal round-three game of the Premier 1 45-over competition on the artificial wicket at Springvale Park on Saturday, as Wanganui Vet Services Marist secured a crucial 36-run win over defending champions Property Brokers United.
Down at Centennial Park, the rain had the ultimate say as Whanganui Renegades secured a victory over Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, when the home side could not continue batting with just over 15 overs left.
With rain falling intermittently throughout the Springvale match, including forcing a break in play just past the midway mark in Marist’s innings, the men in green raised an imposing 299-8 at a run rate of 6.64.
United, who were playing without injured skipper Greg Smith, rely on a spin-based bowling attack and, in the wet conditions on an artificial wicket, there was just not a lot of turn - and Marist’s veteran batsmen went on the offensive.
Although United’s Harpreet Binning (5-77) got early breakthroughs by dismissing both Marist openers, Mark Fraser (113 from 101 balls) and Chris Stewart (97 from 109) raised an excellent 180-run partnership.
Even with a damp ball and grassy outfield, they combined for 23 boundaries and four sixes.
They led Marist from 38-2 to 218-3 near the end of the 35th over when Martin Pennefather (2-48) finally induced Fraser to give up a nick behind, meaning the remaining Marist batters were free to slog as many as they could.
They contributed another 81 runs, four of them reaching double figures and all of them scoring at a run-a-ball or better to finish just shy of 300 runs, in a record for this competition.
But if United were daunted by the chase, they certainly didn’t show it, led superbly by opener Matthew Boswell (129 from 101), who has made some adjustments to his vision contacts in the off-season.
Confidently playing Connor O’Leary and Marist debutant Josh Allpress, on loan from Collegiate, Boswell and Sam Roebuck had United off to a flyer with 35 runs from the first five overs, until Allpress cramped Roebuck for room and he fell to a good catch.
Cricket fates can be cruel as Carter Hobbs went from an outstanding 92 in the previous weekend’s Furlong Cup game to spooning a catch to gully as Marist’s third wicket.
But Boswell soldiered on and was outstanding, striking nine boundaries and five sixes, finding crucial support from Chris Sharrock (25 from 25) and Robbie Power (29 from 43).
With the exception of Connor O’Leary with an excellent but wicketless spell of 0-27 from his nine overs, being bowled out early after changing ends, Marist’s other bowlers took a little stick, and it seemed they might be short of a good finisher for some crucial overs near the finish.
Power holing out to a catch in the deep at 198-5 in the 33rd over, with United still neck-and-neck with Marist’s innings, saw Campbell McKerras (30 from 27) enter and keep the momentum going, although, after coming on at the opposite end to Connor, spinner Hadleigh O’Leary (2-40) was trying to slow their momentum.
With Connor now bowled out, while Allpress and Nick Harding (2-43) had only an over each left, it seemed Marist needed someone else to keep them alive from the London St end.
Enter Connor Rees (3-20), who produced the breakthrough as Boswell looked to smash him for his sixth six, only for Connor O’Leary to take a fine catch over his head right on the boundary - lifting his leg and spreading his arms to make sure he didn’t step back over the line.
McKerras and James Woodford were initially unfazed with a quickfire 21-run partnership to leave the match poised with 43 runs needed from 30 balls.
But in the space of two deliveries, United’s hopes were cast asunder - McKerras and Woodford ending up at the same end for the latter to be run out, then the former immediately holing out to an outfield catch off Hadleigh O’Leary.
Rees rapidly cleaned up the tail, United losing their last five wickets for 27 runs, while Marist have rebounded from their upset loss to Whanganui Collegiate First XI.
Although they did not get to finish off their game in similar style, Renegades celebrated a win on the occasion of bowler Mathew Hodges’ 100th match.
They reached 232-9 from their innings, with Marton sitting on 141-5 when the rain came down in the 30th over.
The Premier 2 Twenty20 competition were able to get through their Springvale games without much delay, with Wanganui Old Boys-Tech able to secure their first win of the season, beating Property Brokers United P2s by 40 runs.
Wicket Warriors Whanganui dealt defending champions Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens’ title hopes a blow with a quick seven-wicket victory, while the Hunterville Hackers just got over the line for a one-wicket win over Wanganui Vet Services Marist Second XI.
Premier 1
Wanganui Vet Services Marist 299-8 (M Fraser 113, C Stewart 97; M Binning 5-77, M Pennefather 2-48) bt Property Brokers United 263 (M Boswell 129, C McKerras 30, R Power 29, C Sharrock 25; C Rees 3-20, H O’Leary 2-43, N Harding 2-48) by 36 runs.
Whanganui Renegades 232-9 (J Donaldson 60, W Martin 32, R Donaldson 25, N Sherbone 22; D Rayner 3-45, Unknown 3-47) bt Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens 141-5 (Unknown 55no, D Ford 35; R Donaldson 4-39) by DLS method.
Premier 2
Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens 60 (A Reynolds-Rowe 10no; R Rajan 3-12, S Soman 2-9) lost to Wicket Warriors Whanganui 62-3 (S Sreekumar 28, C Paily 18no) by seven wickets.
Wanganui Old Boys-Tech 131-5 (J Lawson 43no, A Tipper 24, T Czerwonka 24; K Bremer 2-16, Unknown 2-27) bt Property Brokers United 91-8 (S Mosen 29no, D Austin 14; J Lawson 2-19) by 40 runs.
Wanganui Vet Services Marist 114-7 lost to Hunterville Hackers 115-9 by one wicket (scoreboard unavailable).
Whanganui Collegiate Second XI bt Kaitoke Knight Riders (scoreboard unavailable).