Manawatu¯ beaten by HB
The Manawatu¯ men’s rep cricket team lost their first outing of the season, but there was enough there to give new coach Dave Meiring confidence ahead of their first competition game.
Manawatu¯ lost by 105 runs to Hawke’s Bay in a pre-season one-day match in Napier on Sunday, where Meiring wanted everyone to have a run.
Hawke’s Bay scored 234-8 batting first, then restricted Manawatu¯ to 129-7 from their 50 overs.
A lower-order partnership meant Hawke’s Bay scored more than Manawatu¯ would have liked and in their turn at bat, Manawatu¯ didn’t put the hammer down.
Manawatu’s first Furlong Cup two-day game, a Hawke Cup qualifier, is against Taranaki in New Plymouth this weekend.
During Hawke’s Bay’s innings, they were 131-7 and 147-8, but Meiring said they dropped a couple of catches and didn’t finish things off.
Todd Watson and Liam Dudding, with 53 not out and 28 not out, respectively, got Hawke’s Bay through to 234-8 with a partnership of 87 runs.
Manawatu¯ medium-pacer Thomas Kuggeleijn bowled in good areas and was rewarded with 5-45 from 10 overs.
Carlos Jensen bowled well with the new ball.
Then in reply, Manawatu¯ took a slow approach to their batting as Trent Mcgrath top scored with a patient 36.
Meiring was next best with 23.
Meiring said their plan was to spend time in the middle.
Left-arm seamer Phil Mecredy showed he’s ready to return to the senior side, taking 5-18 for the Manawatu¯ emerging players, as they thrashed the Hawke’s Bay Mavericks by 110 runs.
Mecredy has been a regular fixture in the rep side, but has battled a knee injury recently.
Pacemen Mecredy and Jack Gleeson, who took 4-34, destroyed Hawke’s Bay’s top order.
They bowled them out for just 72 in 17 overs in pursuit of Manawatu¯ ’s 182.
Earlier, No 4 Scott Davidson held the emerging players’ innings together with a mature 66, while opener Arana Noemabarnett scored 22.
The Manawatu¯ women were thrashed by 118 runs by Wairarapa in Masterton.
Wairarapa have a strong young team and scored 175-8 batting first, with young Hind Georgia Atkinson scoring 81 not out.
Jessica Odgen and Mikaela Greig took two wickets each for Manawatu¯ .
Manawatu¯ ’s batting let them down and at one stage they were 27-6.
Greig’s 19 at No 3 and Alice Little’s 16 at No 7 were the only scores of note.
In a catchup club cricket match, Palmerston North Boys’ High School beat Palmerston by five wickets at a windy Manawaroa Park on Sunday.
Saturday’s games were rained off and Sunday’s was reduced to 30 overs.
Palmerston’s best came from opener Riccardo Areosa (24), as Boys’ High’s first-change bowlers turned the game their way.
Debut seamer Levi Woolston took 2-3 from six overs and Thomas Kirk grabbed 2-25.
Then medium pacer Rishabh De reduced Palmerston to 45-8 with 4-19.
The red caps were all out for 79 in 26.4 overs.
In reply, Boys’ High were in strife with the bat, languishing at 11-4 in the eighth over and 26-5 in the 12th over, as Gurpreet Singh had a good opening spell for Palmerston, taking 3-19.
But Max Harris (29 not out) and Henry Deans (12), then later Campbell Martin (15 not out), salvaged the innings, as they reached 80-5 in 22.4 overs.
Horowhenua Kapiti club cricket was rained off.