A rejigged Active Physio Wanganui batting lineup still struggled for runs in the 89 run defeat to Taranaki in their wet-weather reduced one day match in Hawera on Sunday.
The match was played as a 40-over affair and Taranaki was able to register an imposing 221-7 on the back ofexcellent 95 from their captain William Young.
Coming in at 12-1, Young hit three sixes and eight boundaries in his 84-ball knock, carrying the team through to 169-5 at the end of the 32nd over, with his main supports being wicketkeeper Jackson Braddock-Pago (23), and allrounders James McDougall (18) and Liam Muggeridge (retired on 20).
After the skipper's departure, Mattie Thomas (24) and Ryan Watson (11no) tried to slog some quick ones.
Wanganui's Ross Kinnerley (3-29) had the initial breakthrough and eventually got Young, while four of the other six bowlers took one wicket each.
In changes from the previous Wanganui Select XI game, teenaged import Akash Gill, the Canadian Under 19 representative who has joined St Johns Tech for the next six months, was slotted straight into No3 for Wanganui.
However, he would have to retire on 27, which had taken 89 balls, and by then Wanganui were once again in survival mode, being 21-4 in the 14th over.
Openers John McIlraith and Thomas Walshe again failed to fire, while key men Mark Fraser and Dominic Lock did not give the scorers much of a work out.
Ironically, moved down the order to accommodate Gill, it was Greg Smith who delivered in the No6 spot, making 62 from 69 balls, including five boundaries, as captain Simon Badger (14no) saw them through to stumps without having been dismissed.
Taylor Williams (3-12) wrecked havoc on the top order, while Thomas (2-32) was a little expensive but got Smith and the dangerman Nick Harding cheaply.
Taranaki 221-7 (W Young 95, M Thomas 24, J Braddock-Pago 23, R Kinnerley 3-29) bt Wanganui 132-6 (G Smith 62, A Gill 27, T Williams 3-12) by 89 runs.
