Property Brokers United with the Cricket Whanganui Premier 1 45-over Trophy they retained after a thrilling final with Whanganui Collegiate First XI. Photo / Jared Smith
The Premier 1 45-over title remains with Property Brokers United after a hard-fought two-wicket comeback victory over the Whanganui Collegiate First XI at the school grounds last Saturday.
In a compelling finale to the expanded six-team competition, momentum fluctuated throughout with key players stepping up in big moments on both sides.
Having pulled back a strong start with the bat by the home side with a succession of quick top-order wickets, only to watch the middle order hold firm to raise a competitive 238-7, United’s hopes of retaining the title seemed cast asunder as they were reduced to 24-5 inside the first 10 overs.
But incumbent Riverview Motel Whanganui players Chris Sharrock and James Woodford held firm, putting on a 128-run partnership at better than a run a ball to leave their side needing 44 runs from the last 60 deliveries.
Sharrock, after scoring a clutch 103 from 84 deliveries, finally lost his stumps to the returning Charlie Mabin (3-26), who along with fellow opener Luke Bullock (3-40) had wrecked United’s top order.
But Woodford (63 not out from 87) would not be denied, finding support from veterans Robbie Power and Martin Pennefather to reach their target after Collegiate’s strike bowlers had completed their maximum nine overs each - Pennefather making a straight drive to the boundary for the winning runs with eight balls to spare.
The result was tough for a schoolboy team who had held ascendancy for much of the contest, starting with an 86-run opening stand from the in-form Tim O’Leary (74 from 76) and Bullock (33 from 54).
Setting themselves for a total over 250, it was Power (4-30) who pulled Collegiate back through the middle of the innings with accurate spin - the home side losing three wickets for 15 runs - before George Ormsby (27 from 45) started the rebuild.
Angus Pearce (51 not out from 44) came out to join Ormsby, and after two more dismissals, he found his own support from Logan Brown (27 from 27), as the pair were able to attack the bowling again.
Harpreet Binning bowling Brown to start the last over helped make sure Collegiate finished just under 240 - a good score in a final, but seemingly a dozen runs short of putting United under real pressure.
Initially, it appeared not to matter as Bullock hit the stumps twice in the third over to be sitting on a hat-trick, as several of United’s in-form batsmen departed unceremoniously.
Mabin then got in on the act with a pair - Pearce holding on to a screamer catch above his head and then the bowler diving for a catch off his own delivery.
Limping captain Brendon Walker (18 from 27) then came in to join the freshly arrived Sharrock, but when Walker gave away a catch off Pearce at 67-6, it seemed United were running out of ideas and wickets.
Sharrock and Woodford were unperturbed, and with the opening bowlers stepping away, they began to see the ball coming onto the bat against the next-tier medium pacers and spinners, keeping the scoreboard ticking over in between periods of sustained attack.
Sharrock hit 14 boundaries and two sixes, with Woodford playing the support role to a tee, ultimately striking four boundaries and a six of his own.
Mabin was able to finally break the partnership just after a tiring Sharrock had raised his bat, and Ormsby managed to trap Power leg before at 217-8 entering the last five overs.
But Woodford and Pennefather held their nerve, ticking off the last 22 runs, being assisted by a midfield boundary and a couple of wides as the schoolboys had fired their last shots.
“It was a game that, for the most part, we probably thought we were behind, but glad to stick in there,” Sharrock said.
“Finals are about trying to take it as deep as you can, we did and thankfully we got there.”
All through their match-winning partnership, Sharrock and Woodford had encouraged each other to keep batting time, but not letting the bad balls go unpunished.
“We still had to make sure we were trying to score and be positive with it.
“Credit to Collegiate, they bowled real well up front with the new ball and they didn’t give us much, consequently put us in a bit of a hole.
“We just had to make sure we were selective about our shot-making with the balls we tried to hit, and stick with it as long as we could and try to take it deep.”
While United have claimed consecutive Premier 1 45-over titles, both seasons have been quite competitive, with upsets and more players out of the Premier 2 grade getting higher-level play.
“It’s going in the right direction - it’s the best thing for Whanganui cricket to have Collegiate in this space again, and contending for a title is fantastic,” Sharrock said.
“It’s only going to be for the benefit of cricket in town and it means everyone’s got to be turning up with a solid team and wanting to put their best foot forward and win every week - every game counts.”
The penultimate round of the Premier 2 Twenty20 competition produced several key results in the race for the top four semifinal spots.
The leading three sides have locked in their places, and it is just a matter of seeing who will join them when the final round-robin games are played on January 6.
After their momentum stalled with a couple of losses, the Wicket Warriors Whanganui righted their campaign with a four-wicket win over Wanganui Vet Services Marist Second XI.
Whanganui Renegades moved to the top of the table with two victories, the second of them by 15 runs over the in-form Hunterville Hackers, who are still set in third place after their big 73-run win against the Kaitoke Knight Riders.
Premier 1 Final
Whanganui Collegiate First XI 238-7 (T O’Leary 74, A Pearce 51no, L Bullock 33, G Ormsby 27, L Brown 27; R Power 4-30) lost to Property Brokers United 239-8 (C Sharrock 103, J Woodford 63no; C Mabin 3-25, L Bullock 3-40) by two wickets.
Premier 2 Twenty20
Wanganui Vet Services Marist Second XI 119-8 (K Watkin 63, D Purvis 17, T Redpath 16no; S Nair 3-21) lost to Wicket Warriors Whanganui 120-6 (S Sreekumar 36, S Nair 24, L Cherian 20; C Friedel 4-21) by four wickets.