Cricket: Wanganui Premier 2 final tomorrow

The summer ends for the Cricket Wanganui club season at Victoria Park tomorrow with the Bullocks Premier 2 Pro 40 final.

Top qualifier Watsons Real Estate United 2nd XI won their way through to the championship match to face third-placed Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens after both negotiated their semifinals last weekend.

The main championship for Premier 2, the 40-over competition started in October and ran on weekends when teams were not competing in Bullocks Premier 2 Twenty20, which was won by the Wicket Warriors after upsetting United in the final.

Officially, Pro 40 was a six-team grade, although five sides picked up default wins when they were due to face Watsons Tech P2, with Tech struggling for numbers in both grades this summer.

United finished top of the table with an 8-2 record, ahead of defending champions Wanganui Renegades with a 7-1 record and two games abandoned, followed by Marton (5-5) and Wicket Warriors (5-4-1).

In the semifinals, Marton were able to avenge their eight wicket loss to Renegades seven days before on March 9, by upsetting them by three wickets.

Marton bowled the favourites out for 116 in the 30th over, then a lower order fightback saw them sneak home with 118-7 in 36 overs.

Aaron Smith was the matchwinner, taking 6-30 with the ball, before scoring 20 not out in 10 balls coming in at No 9 to get his side home.

United got payback on the Wicket Warriors with a comfortable eight wicket win in the other semifinal.

They bowled the all-Indian club out for 121 by the 33rd over, with Steve Meredith, Sam Roebuck and Lovedeep Singh taking three wickets each.

United took their time, but reached 122-2 by the 35th over, with Alan Kenny unbeaten on 41 after joining opener Karl Bremer (25no), who anchored the chase.

In the season statistics, Marton's veteran batsman Andrew Spence is the leading P2 scorer, having made 311 runs from his nine innings at an average of 38.88, including 104 not out in the four wicket loss to Whanganui Collegiate 2nd XI on November 24.

United's Meredith is the season's best wicket taker, with 16 scalps from eight games and an economy rate of 2.78 runs per over, with his best figures being 4-22 in the three wicket win over the Warriors on the same day in November.

The final will start at 12.30pm.