Captain’s knock from Hayden Hill
CRICKET: United have powered to a convincing first-innings win in the club two-day competition on the back of a huge knock from their captain.
In other second-round matches, Marist grabbed a big outright win and the Palmerston North Boys’ High School first XI sneaked a first-innings victory.
Hayden Hill stroked his way to 180 until he was last man out as United chalked up 385/8 against Old Boys over the past two weekends at Manawaroa Park, Palmerston North.
Hill was 43 not out after the first day, with a strike rate in the low 40s.
He found another gear on the second day, cutting loose against a decent attack. The 23-year-old builder ended with a strike rate of 75, facing 240 balls and hitting 19 fours and four sixes.
He and Akshay Pandey put on 169 for the fifth wicket after United were struggling at 58-4.
‘‘It helped that the pitch was pretty flat and it wasn’t really offering much for the bowlers,’’ Hill said.
It was his third ton for United in five years, beating his previous best of 121.
On Saturday, United turned up still keen on pushing for a win, on the back of their first-round walloping of Palmerston.
‘‘We wanted to bat for as long as we could and get a decent total and try and knock over Old Boys for an outright.’’
But that soon changed as United banked the first-innings points and batted time.
‘‘I thought the track’s so flat. I thought we’re not really going to bowl them out,’’ Hill said.
Old Boys limped to 169 in their first innings, but were solid in their second turn at bat.
At Boys’ High, the first XI squeezed a first-innings win over Freyberg in a game dominated by the ball.
The schoolboys limped to 126 all out in the 84th over in their first innings, thanks to captain Curtis Heaphy dropping anchor in a gritty 222-ball 67 not out. Incredibly, that was enough, as Freyberg could make only 122 in reply.
Boys’ High were again struggling in their second innings when the match finished.
Marist thrashed Palmerston in the second round’s other match, which finished on Tuesday because Marist were playing the Central Districts club champs over the weekend.
At Manawaroa Park, Marist, missing Manawatu¯ players on day one, declared on 274.
Palmerston were then rolled for 73, before they made 213 following on in an improved second-innings showing, leaving Marist a tiny target they chased down with ease.
Old Boys 169 all out (Cam Harris 4-48, Hill 3-14) and 91/0 (Henry Collier 64 not out) lost to
United 385/8 dec (Hill 180, Pandey 80, Mason Hughes 69, Stephen Bennett 4-65) on the first innings.
Palmerston North Boys’ High School 126 all out (Heaphy 67 not out, Brad Fulton 3-18, Ali Aktar 3-18, Ravindu Pathirana 3-23) and 131/8 (Harry Wenham 3-35) beat
Freyberg 122 all out (Finn Martin 4-36) on the first innings.
Marist 274/9 dec (Arana Noema-barnett 66, Chris Gregory 4-39, Gurpreet Singh 3-59) and 13/1 beat Palmerston 73 all out (Dylan Lynch 4-11) and 213 all out (Sunny Bains 50) by nine wickets.