Lance smashes the leather

Tom Lance plundered 125 runs in United's opening game of the Premier 1 Twenty20 competition on Saturday.

Finally blessed with warm October weather, the Cricket Wanganui season formally got underway on Saturday with the two new-look divisions of the Bullocks Twenty20 competition.

Although the representative squad was away at the Chapple Cup in Napier, for the remaining club players the Twenty20 has been split into Premier 1 and Premier 2 grades for the first time, rather than being a more equal combined tournament.

In Premier 1, traditional favourites Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens - who were last summer's combined T20 runnersup and the champions in the season before - picked up a comfortable 65 run win over a ten-man St Johns Tech at the Whanganui High School grounds.

Josh Trillo top scored with 33 in the total of 105-7, with Dominic Rayner coming in at the end for a quick-fire 17 not out.

Tech's Fraser Kinnerley was the pick of the bowlers with 2-12 from his four overs.

In reply, Tech were bundled out for 40-9 in 17 overs, with no batsman reaching double figures.

Trillo (3-8) and Michael Thomson (3-9) were the best of Marton's bowlers, while Phil Galpin also had a good allrounders day (2-7, 14 not out).

After his 2016-17 summer was cruelly cut one game short, Property Brokers United captain Tom Lance signalled early intentions for this season by leading his team to a 96-run hammering of Marist on the Springvale fields.

Lance smashed 125 not out in 64 balls, including eleven boundaries and seven sixes, as United raised a demoralising 194-2.

Import Freddie Wilson (33) and veteran Robbie Power (20 not out) had the best seats in the house to watch Lance.

Marist batted their full innings but could only raise 98-5, with Sam O'Leary (29 not out) hitting a couple of defiant sixes, while five of United's six bowlers snared a wicket each.

In the Premier 2 matchups at Springvale, last summer's combined T20 champions Sportz Bar United 2nd XI lost by 56 runs to the Wanganui Collegiate 1st XI, who are playing the lower grade while their coach Warren Marr and several key players are on representative duty.

After their creation for the experimental Whanganui IPL last summer, the all-Indian team Wicket Warriors made their Saturday club cricket debut with a nine-wicket loss to the Central ITM Marton Saracens 2nd XI.

Next round for T20 will be November 11.

Scoreboards

Premier 1
Marton 105-7 (J Trillo 33, D Rayner 17no; F Kinnerley 2-12, T Czerwonka 2-25) bt Tech 40 (J Trillo 3-8, M Thomson 3-9) by 56 runs.
United 194-2 (T Lance 125no, F Wilson 33, R Power 20no) bt Marist 98-5 (S O'Leary 29no, Z O'Keeffe 17) by 96 runs.

Premier 2
Wicket Warriors 100-6 (N Singh 19, J Job 16no, B Sebastian 16; D Woolston 2-19) lost to Marton 2nd XI 103-1 (T Westwood 69no, D Woolston 17no) by nine wickets.
Collegiate 1st XI 146-3 (Ben Kelt 48, J Russell 46, N Lewis 31no) bt United 2nd XI 90 (A Bostock 22no; B Donald 4-22) by 56 runs.
Renegades bye.