Paraparaumu claims club one-day crown

Paraparaumu cricket club have claimed the Horowhenua Ka¯piti one-day title with an exciting win over Levin Old Boys on Waitangi Day.

The home team chased down its target of 233 with three balls to go, eight wickets down against a hungry Levin Old Boys team desperate to reclaim the title.

At Kena Kena Park, Levin captain Jacob O’brien won the toss and elected to bat on what looked to be a fresh and green wicket.

Dion Sanson and Jamie Pinfold denied the Paraparaumu opening bowlers, Sean Windle and Dylan Reader, early wickets until Pinfold cheaply fell victim to Reader.

From there it was a real battle throughout the middle overs, with no team taking the game away from the other as the Paraparaumu bowlers kept the ball in good areas with great economy.

Kelsey Fahey, who took 1-28 off seven overs, and the evergreen Nigel Harvey, 1-32 off 10, put the brakes on the men from Levin.

Despite this, Bailey Te Tomo scored a typically classy 30 and with Sanson, 22, and Ryan Taylor, 28, they built partnerships around Horowhenua Ka¯piti rep playercoach Chad Law.

Law played a true leader’s knock, grinding to be nine not out from 50 balls and finishing on 88 from 106, caught by Windle off James Logan to spark wild celebration from the men in green, who limited Levin to 232-8 in 50 overs.

Windle was the pick of the Paraparaumu bowlers, with 1-17 from his 10, and James Logan grabbed 3-44 off six, bowling at the death.

The Paraparaumu opening pair of Andre Halbert and Ajay Kumar came out all guns blazing and got the home side off to a flyer.

Kumar hit 39 from 28 as he rode his luck and played some astonishing shots, dispatching rep seamers Fraser Bartholomew and Daemon Kennett until his luck ran out when Liam Pinfold came on to claim his first wicket for the day.

O’brien brought himself on with immediate impact. Paraparaumu’s Kelsey Fahey and Byron Gill were dismissed within a few overs of each other, both to O’brien, and the game was again wide open.

The seesawing nature of the match struck again as Paraparaumu got themselves back into a commanding position courtesy of Halbert, playing a commanding innings. He was eventually stumped for 56 from 73.

From here, Tim Lambert and Logan took over from the chase, each striking a crucial 37 to keep their team on top.

Typically, however, Levin never gave up and got themselves back into the contest as Keegan Mclaughlan had Lambert caught at cover by Taylor and Bartholomew came back and knocked Logan’s leg stump out.

Just as Levin seemed like they were sneaking ahead, Harvey and Reader pushed Paraparaumu closer and closer to the total before Reader was dismissed.

Harvey hit the winnings runs through square leg, causing havoc on the sidelines as Paraparaumu celebrated victory.

The Paraparaumu opening pair of Andre Halbert and Ajay Kumar came out all guns blazing.