Cricket: Marton Saracens win Premier 2 Pro 40 championship

The victorious Marton Saracens with the Premier 2 Pro 40 trophy after beating United 2nd XI in the final at Victoria Park on Saturday.

Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens gave a big boost to their club with a 20-run victory over Watsons Real Estate United 2nd XI in the Bullocks Premier 2 Pro 40 final at Victoria Park on Saturday.

Back in October, Saracens had to fold their Premier 1 squad before the stumps went in due to lack of numbers, so winning Premier 2's main championship will hopefully be the shot in the arm the Rangitikei club needs to help rebuild for next season.

Action from the first innings.

For top qualifiers United, they will look back on the 2018-19 season as the summer that might have been, as they have lost all three P2 club championship finals to different clubs.

Wanganui Renegades won the shorter Holiday Round title on January 19, while Wicket Warriors claimed their first championship in their second full season by winning the Bullocks Twenty 20 final seven days later.

On Saturday, Marton got off to a strong start as openers Allan Pond (33) and the Pro 40's highest run scorer Andrew Spence (76) put on 117 for the first wicket to carry their team through to the 28th over before Lovedeep Singh (2-33) got Pond's stumps.

United's Steve Meredith bowls Marton's Liam McAleese as part of his four wicket bag.

That led to United gaining the initiative as they picked up eight more wickets for 51 runs conceded in the last 12 overs, as the competition's leading wicket taker Steve Meredith (4-19) and Harpreet Binning (2-23) also struck, with Binning getting the key wicket of Spence off a caught behind in the 31st over.

Only Jayden Lane (17) would reach double figures and strike a four after Spence was dismissed, having hit eight boundaries and the only six of the innings.

Marton batsman Jayden Lane drives the ball at the tail end of his side's innings.

Set 169 to win at a run rate of 4.20, United had a horror start to slump to 15-5 by the tenth over.

While opener Zeb Small tried to play across the line and was bowled by a red-hot Brett Cunningham (4-11), the rest of the top order were all dismissed leg before, which included Cunningham successfully appealing to umpire James Doble to get both Sam Roebuck and Karl Bremer in the sixth over.

With the near unplayable Cunningham and partner Lane (1-23) coming out of the attack, United's Martin Pennefather (24) managed to hit a boundary and then a six as he was joined by international judo exponent Keightley Watson.

From an impossible situation, Watson would drag his team to within sight of the promised land, using his broad shoulders to strike seven boundaries in his 72 off 94 balls.

Watson lost a fuming Pennefather just after the drinks break in the 22nd over off Liam McAleese (2-31) in another successful leg before shout, with this one sounding suspiciously like a bat-pad.

At 72-6, Harpreet Binning (15 from 11) shared a quick 22-run partnership with Watson, before he became the fifth batsmen trapped in front off a good ball from McAleese in response to being hit over the rope.

Now batting with the tailenders, Watson looked to go on the attack, seeing off the last of Cunningham and Lane's eight overs, and beginning to drive over the top of the infield for a couple of boundaries.

But he was running out of partners as last man Meredith came in when 59 runs were needed off 54 balls.

Watson raised his 50 with a chip for two, and with his No11 partner just keeping the ball out of the block hole, Watson picked up enough two's and fours to keep a bare thread of hope alive with 25 needed off 12 balls.

He made a great start to the 39th over with a boundary off Phil Galpin (1-40), but the very next ball he swung and missed while the veteran bowler did not, hitting the stumps to give his team the title.

In the playoff for third at Victoria Park, Wicket Warriors also picked up a confidence boost heading into the Cricket Wanganui IPL in just under a fortnight, after beating Renegades by 36 runs.

Warriors were dismissed in the 34th over but not before running up an imposing 210, led by opener Anurag Mishra (88 off 74), who batted with most of his team and hit 15 boundaries, while fellow opener Mehul Barot (29) helped them off to a quick start.

They lost several runless wickets through the middle and lower order as Renegades bowlers Roger Moore (4-41) and Jack Donaldson (3-24) looked to pull it back, before No10 batsman Libin Varghese (23 off 16) slogged a couple of sixes to get his team up over the 200 mark.

In reply, Renegades got starts amongst most of their top order, but lost key wickets as they could not keep up with the run rate, batting out to 174-9 at the end of their innings.
Matt Deighton (15) and Moore (60), had them away to a hopeful start, but Anish Anto (2-55) got Deighton and Adam Heap off consecutive balls for 29-2.

Josh Trillo (28 off 23) carried on with Moore, before both would be caught out by 135-4 in the 29th over.

Woody Martin (34 off 87) just tried to survive as the Warriors turned the heat up, with Bibin Vijayan (3-35) and Vinu Chacko getting key wickets, plus a run out, and by 166-7 in the 38th over, Renegades were too far back.

Vijayan got two wickets in the last over to finish off the local club season.

Scoreboards

Championship final: Marton Saracens 168-9 (A Spence 76, A Pond 33, J Lane 17; S Meredith 4-19, H Binning 2-23, L Singh 2-33) beat United 2nd XI 148 (K Watson 72, M Pennefather 24, H Binning 15; B Cunningham 4-11, L McAleese 2-31) by 20 runs.

Consolation playoff: Wicket Warriors 210 (A Mishra 88, M Barot 29, L Varghese 23; R Moore 4-41, J Donaldson 3-24) bt Renegades 174-9 (R Moore 60, W Martin 34, J Trillo 28; B Vijayan 3-35, A Anto 2-55) by 36 runs.