Collegiate bowlers deny Tech

On a tough day for batting, Collegiate's Nick O'Leary squares up to a delivery, watched by Tech's Travis Bartels.PHOTO/LEWIS GARDNER

"A QUICK game is a good game" was not an adage St Johns Tech would agree with as Wanganui Collegiate 1st XI claimed their second Porter Hire Premier League scalp at the school grounds with a five-wicket win on Saturday.

On a green wicket in intermittent drizzle and showers, Tech's batsmen, and woman, offered little in the way of smart decision making with their shots.

The students held six catches in a good fielding effort to have everyone back in the dressing shed in the 34th over for 85.

"I'd like to think it was a difficult pitch to bat on. But I didn't have to bat on it," said Tech coach Andrew Lock.

It can be hard to get on top of a bowling attack on Collegiate's picturesque No1 ground at the best of times, with its low bounce and deep on-side.

But Tech struggled without the steady hand of their senior batsman Bevan Hunter, still recovering from a broken toe, with captain Dominic Lock the top scorer, surviving for 22 from 72 balls while his team was floundering at 62-6.

Just making sure to keep a tight line, all six of Collegiate's bowlers took wickets, with captain Todd Inness taking 3-25 from his eleven overs while Sam Lambert bowled five maidens in his 2-19 from 12.

Left chasing a run-rate that would soon sit at just one-per-over, the main concern for Collegiate was whether or not the rain would set in permanently and decide the match via a calculator.

Despite losing early wickets, Inness steadied the ship scoring 23 from 37 balls, although in trying to wrap matters up quickly by striking a couple of boundaries, he fell to an excellent diving catch in-close by Travis Bartels.

At 40-3, it proved only a minor speed wobble as Barnaby Smith and Harry Unsworth played themselves in while waiting for the occasional good ball to turn square or drive straight from the clubhouse end.

An attempt to attack the spin of Premier 1's female player Jessica Watkin proved an undoing, as while she couldn't quite hold onto a caught and bowled chance, Smith then offered up a straight-forward catch to Bartels.

Unsworth had also been caught in similar circumstances but by the fall of the fifth wicket only six more runs were required for victory.

Down at Centennial Park, play was abandoned by 3pm as the rain set in hard just before Property Brokers United were set to go out and chase Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens' 126 all out from 40 overs.

Only Chris Rayner with 66 was able to mount an effective resistance for the home team, while United pace bowler Brendon Walker wrapped up the tail as part of a five wicket haul.

This final round of the abbreviated Premier League, which is one-day cricket under modified two-day rules, was already a dead rubber as Bayer Marist had the bye after winning four straight games to retain their title from last summer.

There will be a Twenty20 club round this coming weekend while Active Physio Wanganui play their Hawke Cup match with Manawatu at Victoria Park, before the start of the 50-over knock out competition on December 6 to find a team to play the Taranaki club champions on December 21.