The Riverview Motel Whanganui team at Levin's Donnelly Park, where they made the Chapple Cup final for the first time in 27 years.
“No fear” was its motto, and Riverview Motel Whanganui dared to be great as two upsets over the more fancied Central Districts opposition saw the team make history at the weekend.
In a revamped seven-team Chapple Cup competition, played in the Twenty20 format and with the absence of defending champions Pay Excellence Hawke’s Bay, Whanganui shocked both the title contenders in Pool B in the form of The Good Home Taranaki and Pine Griffins Nelson - beating them by two and four runs respectively.
Having given everything to make their first Chapple Cup final since 1995, before more than three-quarters of the team were even born, Whanganui ran out of gas for the final against tournament favourites Subway Manawatū, who had swept aside the other teams in Pool A.
Although the team lost by 89 runs, being put into bat first after two previous successful run-chase defences, Whanganui still reached a notably higher score than hosts HMC Horowhenua-Kāpiti, Post Office Hotel Wairarapa or Marlborough managed against the new champions.
Whanganui’s victory against Taranaki paid back their loss in this season’s disappointing Furlong Cup, while no one can even recall the last time they defeated Nelson, who brought a solid team with them, including Central Districts batsmen Greg Hay and Josh Clarkson.
“We are actually all [emotionally] exhausted – not only last over [wins], but last ball,” said coach Warren Marr after the final in Levin on Sunday evening.
“I’m so proud of the guys; finally, the batting unit came together.
“The motto was to play with no fear. The beauty of the Twenty20 is, you can.”
Although Whanganui did play one less game than Manawatū to make the final, due to Hawke’s Bay not sending a team from their Cyclone Gabrielle-devastated region, they had not been expected to be anywhere in the reckoning – with Taranaki and Nelson planning to sort out the qualifier between themselves.
But after Saturday morning games started at Donnelly Park with a minute’s silence for the victims of the storm, Whanganui showed Taranaki they would not be cowed, the entire top order contributing as they raised 158-6 batting first.
Desperate to get runs after a lean Furlong Cup, skipper Greg Smith (30 from 17 balls) led the way as opener, with Chris Sharrock (30 from 25), Mark Fraser (34 from 20) and Carter Hobbs (30 from 21) carrying on the momentum.
Taranaki did manage to pull Whanganui back with late wickets, Jordan Gard taking 2-33, to keep them away from Marr’s goal of 170.
With veteran opener Dean Robinson (41) anchoring their chase and eventually finding support from middle order all-rounder Davis Mills (36), not to mention Whanganui giving away 21 runs from wides, it appeared the mountain men would still get home.
“The game was theirs to take, and we just found a way,” said Marr.
“Other than those extras, the whole bowling unit bowled really well.
“They fielded like demons and took their catches, including on the boundary.”
Hadleigh O’Leary (2-32) got the key man Robinson, and then Hawke’s Bay import Liam Hall (3-23), whose family travelled to watch him, delivered right at the death to clean bowl both Mills and Jarred Cunningham (17 from 15), while preventing the new batsman from hitting the winning runs off the last ball.
With a bye in the afternoon, Whanganui watched Taranaki rebound to beat Nelson by 14 runs in the next round, meaning they knew one more big effort on Sunday morning would see them into a previously unthinkable grand final.
Again, the batsmen laid down the gauntlet with an imposing 180-5, as Smith (49 from 32), Shaun O’Leary (28 from 25), Sharrock (37 from 25) and the indomitable Fraser (53 not out from 34) hit out and, more importantly, cultivated precious partnerships.
“The wickets were good and those guys can hit balls,” said Marr.
“Nelson, they seriously underestimated us. To get 180 on the board, you’re going to create some pressure, and we did.”
But Nelson still had Clarkson and Hay, who collectively scored 50 runs from 37 balls, until the O’Leary family had a share of every wicket to fall as the favourites were stranded on 176-9.
Thomas Zohrab (28) and Jack Aldridge (21no) tried to see their side over the line, but Hadleigh O’Leary (4-31), Shaun O’Leary (3-26, two catches), and Connor O’Leary (1-28, two catches) were the heroes.
Needing to get the winning runs by the 17th over to make the final on run rate, Nelson were already eliminated when they needed six off the last ball, but Whanganui kept them to just two to win and qualify ahead of Taranaki.
As well as the O’Learys’, the other Nelson wicket was claimed by recalled pace bowler Harpreet Binning, who Marr praised for a strong weekend performance.
And so to the final with the dominant Manawatū, and the fairytale run was ended as Whanganui was made to bowl first and the favourites cut loose to raise an uncatchable 226-4.
Veteran opener Arana Noema-Barnett (32) set the tone, and then Trent McGrath (38), Maara Ave (56) and Bevan Small (54no) did the rest.
Whanganui’s best bowler was weekend debutant spinner Fred McVerry (2-28), while Shaun O’Leary got the other two scalps at a high cost with 2-54.
Manawatū had previously bowled sides out for 61, 92 and 126 respectively, but Whanganui fought their way to 137-9 at the end of their innings.
Smith (18) and Hobbs (24) held on for as long as possible, while after not facing a ball previously in the tournament, Hall was defiant in the lower order, hitting 49 from 31.
Noema-Barnett, McGrath, Small and Jack Harris all took two-fors for the Cup to travel to Palmerston North.
But after a hard representative season in Furlong Cup, Whanganui celebrated like they had won the crown on Sunday evening.
“The boys did everyone proud,” said Smith.
“I think for a few of us that have struggled to get momentum [with the bat], it was nice to go out there and have some fun.
“Now, we don’t want it to be ‘upsets’ in future years.
“In red-ball cricket, we had chances, and [after losses] we’d be in the dressing room and say, ‘That’s because we don’t know how to win’.
“All weekend, there were lots of little things like that [making the final, beating Nelson] getting ticked off the list – let’s just keep rolling with it.”
With so many young players like the O’Learys, Hobbs and Sam Roebuck now having experienced success, Smith wants to build on this through the winter training programmes to have Whanganui in position to make more of an impact in 2023-24.
Saturday was also the second round of the Cricket Whanganui Premier 2 and Premier 3 competitions.
The Hunterville Hackers have joined in with Premier 3 to make that a four-team competition.
In Premier 2, Wicket Warriors Whanganui picked up a big 117-run win over Whanganui Collegiate 2nd XI.
Premier 3 saw Wanganui Vet Services Marist 2nd XI get a big 147-run victory against Kaitoke Knight Riders, after they scored over 300 from their 40 overs.
Results for February 18
Chapple Cup
Round 1: Riverview Motel Whanganui 158-6 (M Fraser 34, G Smith 30, C Sharrock 30, C Hobbs 30, H O’Leary 17; J Gard 2-33, Unknown 2-33) bt The Good Home Taranaki 156-7 (D Robinson 41, D Mills 36, J Cunningham 17; L Hall 3-23, H O’Leary 2-32) by two runs.
Round 3: Riverview Motel Whanganui 180-5 (M Fraser 53no, G Smith 49, C Sharrock 37, S O’Leary 28; Unknown 2-27, O Jones-Allen 2-30) bt Pine Griffins Nelson 176-9 (J Clarkson 29, T Zohrab 28, J Aldridge 21no, G Hay 21, S Neal 18; H O’Leary 4-31, S O’Leary 3-26) by four runs.
Final: Subway Manawatū 226-4 (M Ave 56, B Small 54no, T McGrath 38, A Noema-Barnett 32, B Cleaver 19no; F McVerry 2-28, S O’Leary 2-54) bt Riverview Motel Whanganui 137-9 (L Hall 49, C Hobbs 24, G Smith 18; T McGrath 2-6, B Small 2-9, A Noema-Barnett 2-29, J Harris 2-30) by 89 runs.
Premier 2
Wicket Warriors Whanganui 185-9 (L Cherian 40, A Paulose 27, L Varghese 27, S Nair 23; J Keenan 2-32) bt Whanganui Collegiate 2nd XI 68 (L Scott-Pages 15; L Varghese 3-11, S Soman 2-10) by 117 runs.
Premier 3
Wanganui Vet Services Marist 2nd XI 306-7 (Unknown 76, Z O’Keeffe 72, T McBride 46, J Baldwin 35; M Tongotea 3-62, F Edwards 2-48) bt Kaitoke Knight Riders 159-9 (T Waitere 67no; Unknown 5-24, Hadleigh Reid 2-23) by 147 runs.
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