Marist, United secure final spots
Marist and United have booked another showdown in the two-day Manawatu¯ club final after wins in the last round of the regular season.
Old Boys were unfortunate, being on top of the table going into the final round, but missing out completely after losing outright to United, while Marist beat Freyberg outright to go ahead of Old Boys too.
Old Boys were in a similar position in the one-day competition, having been on top, but dropped out of playoff contention in the final round.
It will be the third year in a row Marist and United have been in the two-day final, with Marist having won the past two.
Jack Harris took 12 wickets for the match as United beat Old Boys outright by an innings and 72 runs at Manawaroa Park, Palmerston North, on Saturday.
Having taken 5-65 in the first innings last week, Harris followed that up with 7-32 from 12.5 overs as United rolled Old Boys for just 66 in their second innings, needing 139 just to make United bat again.
It was the first time Harris, a 19-year-old plumbing apprentice, has taken more than five wickets.
The ball was moving around a bit, but he followed a simple formula.
‘‘I just try and hit the poles,’’ he said. ‘‘I got told by our captain ‘just aim for the stumps every ball’.’’
He said there wasn’t much movement during his first spell, when he only got one wicket, but when he returned from the other end for his second spell and the ball was swinging, he took the other six wickets.
Earlier, United resumed the day on 52-4, well behind Old Boys’ first-innings score of 229, but a rearguard action led United to a big total of 367-9 declared.
Having slumped to 82-5, No 6 Ben O’connor and veteran Robbie James at No 7 led the revival. The pair added 84 for the sixth wicket before O’connor was out for 69.
Manpreet Singh was in next and he scored 52, as he added 101 runs with James, who also had a partnership of 64 with Cam Harris (29).
James was unbeaten on 127, having hit 20 fours and one six, when United declared.
Marist finished as top qualifier with a 119-run win over
Freyberg in a match where two pace bowlers starred.
The game was on Saturday and Sunday, rather than spread over two weekends, because Marist were at the Central Districts one-day championships last weekend.
Connor Morriss took nine wickets for the match for Marist, while Freyberg’s Brad Fulton took 10 for the match, but it wasn’t enough to win them the game, as Freyberg collapsed in their second innings.
Marist batted first and got to 192 from 68 overs, with Dylan Gaskin’s 50 at No 4 the foundation and Seamus O’reilly scored 39 at No 8. Fulton was bowling with pace and bounce and took 6-21 from 16 overs. Harry Wenham grabbed 3-40.
Freyberg then scored 157 from 39 overs, where opener Charles Parker scored 43.
Marist seamer Morriss ripped through Freyberg’s batting, taking 5-38 from 12 overs, while Jacob Edmonds and Hugh Symes picked up two wickets each.
Marist scored 174 in 41 overs in their second did, with Edmonds scoring a half century (52) and Liam Gunning making 41.
Fulton took 4-35 to complete 10 wickets for the match, which set Freyberg 210 to win.
But Freyberg were rolled for just 90, with Morriss taking 4-40 and Symes snared 4-42. Rishabh
De scored 24 down the order. In the other game, Palmerston North Boys’ High School
secured a first-innings win over
Palmerston thanks to star turns from batsman Ruben Love and bowler Thomas Kirk. It could be the last premier one game for Palmerston as the club is considering pulling out of the top competition.
Palmerston resumed on 103-4 after the schoolboys had scored 212 batting first, but only went on to 170 as Kirk ripped the guts out of Palmerston’s batting lineup.
Kirk took 7-59 from 18 overs to give Boys’ High a first-innings lead of 42. Carlos Jensen went from 41 not out to 47 and Sandeep Indupa made 33.
Boys’ High then lost a couple of early wickets in their second dig to be 45-3, but then Love, batting at No 4, went to work.
Love, who has just been named in the New Zealand under19 team, scored 100 not out and added 132 runs for the fourth wicket with Henry Deans, who scored 52.
Jensen took 2-60 opening the bowling for Palmerston.
Boys’ High declared at 190-4 in 42.5 overs, setting Palmerston 233 to win. Palmerston then reached 52-4 in 22 overs before stumps, with Angus Lyver taking all four wickets for Boys’ High. Rob Sheary was unbeaten on 23 for the red caps.