United's Tom Lance drives for four, watched by team-mate Matt Boswell, during their team's successful run chase on Saturday.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY
A month ago if you told a hapless Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens they would finish fifth overall in the inaugural Coastal Challenge Cup competition, there may have been some funny looks around the dressing room.
However, Saracens' victory a fortnight ago over Property Brokers United, who were resting their stars, put Marton into a higher playoff match than expected and on Saturday at their home ground at Centennial Park, after finally putting in a strong team batting effort and then bowling well at the death, they emerged with a thrilling nine-run win over a likewise game Bayer Marist.
"We sort of tend to struggle before Christmas most seasons, and then things just come right, I've got no idea why that is," said senior batsman Scott Oliver.
Marist's ranks were again complemented by the inclusion of several Wanganui Collegiate players who had a free Saturday.
Saracens got through to 249 in the 49th over after they managed to avoid their usual mid-order collapse, with several players getting starts and therefore able to support the leading hopes.
Oliver protected his wicket, working through to 52 from 94 balls, combining with captain Dominic Rayner who made another key 38, while down the order his brother Chris Rayner smacked a priceless 52 from 44 deliveries, including a six and nine boundaries.
This time, however, Josh Trillo (18), Sam Lambert (27) and John Anthony (22) helped the home side to a decent total. Marist bowler Craig Thorpe got hit a bit near the end with Chris Rayner looking to get going, but Thorpe was picking the key batting partners to finish with 4-30 from five overs.
In reply, Marist were also getting pretty good service from their top order with Sam O'Leary (29), John McIlraith (34), Angus Dinwiddie (40) and Thorpe (59) all working the team through to 202-6 by the 38th over, although each fell when they could have easily secured the win for their team by staying there.
Nonetheless, Connor O'Leary (12 not out) and P Taylor (15) were pushing the ball around and when Taylor was the third clean-bowled victim of Dominic Rayner at 234-7 in the 45th over, the good money was still on the visitors.
Yet the veteran Rayner delivered yet another classic saviour spell, as in his next over he clean bowled the last two batsmen, after Trillo had a catch taken off his bowling the over before, for Marist to lose their last three wickets for six runs.
Rayner finished with 5-24 from his nine overs, all of them by breaking the castle, having gotten the prize scalps of Dinwiddie and Thorpe before wiping out the tail-enders.
"He came in, bent the back and bowled a few quick and straight, which their lower order couldn't handle," Oliver said.
Saracens will now look at a strong end to the season as their undefeated Twenty20 team will play the combined Whanganui grade T20 final against the David Jones United 2nd XI at Centennial Park next Saturday.
After having a January to forget with defeats across both the 50-over and Twenty20 formats, the United 1st XI ended their cup campaign on a positive note with a comfortable seven-wicket win over an understrength Kapiti Old Boys in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon at Victoria Park.
With only nine players, Kapiti were soon bowled out for 115, with near total reliance on top batsman Carter Andrews, who made 65 before being caught off Ritesh Verma, who took 3-5 in his three overs.
Ryan Slight took 3-36 from his eight overs to finish with 24 dismissals from the campaign, which would leave him one wicket behind Weraroa's Adam Simonson for the most in the competition.
At full strength, United did not waste time and although Matt Boswell went early as one of the two wickets by A Murray, United continued to swiftly pick off the total through Tom Lance (23) and Greg Smith (35).
Brendon Walker was in no mood to wait around and constantly risked whacking the ball through the air, giving Kapiti plenty of catching opportunities which they would neither reach nor grasp, as he finished 46 not out in 22 balls. "It's nice to finish the competition on a win," said captain Gerard Hobbs. "I'd mention Ryan's bowling for us this year."
In the playoff for third between the other two Horowhenua-Kapiti teams, Weraroa CC hammered Paraparaumu CC by 132 runs at the Weraroa Domain.
Weraroa reached 249-9 on the back of a fine 107 from opener Matt Good, while Jason Strickland was unbeaten on 48.
In reply, Paraparaumu collapsed to 117 all out in the 22nd over, with Simonson's 3-29 keeping him just ahead of Slight for the best bowling statistics of the competition, while captain Huka Kahu took 4-40.
The Whanganui teams have one more local Premier 1 competition this summer, red ball cricket, which will end with a two-day final on consecutive Saturdays just before Easter.