Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Hawke Cup challenge just missed
Marlborough missed out on a Hawke Cup challenge by the most slender of margins last weekend as Nelson scraped to a one wicket win on first innings in a tense finish.
The Marlborough batsman performed well all down the order with number 8 Akhil Pant top scoring with 65 and no 9 batsman Tom Sutherland making a crucial unbeaten 49 to see his side through to 292 on the first day.
Black Cap and CD player Ben Wheeler also contributed a stylish 52.
In reply Nelson opener Nic Clark (86) and no5 Harsh Visavadiya (77) batted superbly but it was Joe O’Connor with an unbeaten 40 from 30 balls who saw them home 9 wickets down.
It was tough on the Marlborough side that can certainly be proud of their efforts over the 2 days.
Nelson goes on to challenge Canterbury Country for the Hawke Cup this weekend.
In the latest action from the SBS Bank Senior grade T20 competition there was an exciting one run win for Renwick over Wairau Valley, Rikki Bovey holding his nerve to concede just 5 runs from the final over including the crucial wicket of Marlborough rep captain Matt Stretch for 55.
Akhil Pant top scored with 34 and took 2-18 for Renwick. In the other game Wairau revived their hopes with a convincing 7 wicket win over Celtic, Harry Boyce and Will Smith both hitting rapid 40s as Wairau cruised home in quick time.
The top 4 teams are all in the running to make the final with two rounds remaining and only MBC out of consideration.
The 2nd grade 40 over final will be contested by Wairau Valley and Celtic Green this
Saturday on the Horton Park no1 ground. Valley confirmed its place with a comfortable 7 wicket win over Celtic Gold (Gagan Singh 4-8).
In the other game Renwick beat Wairau by 49 runs (Lachie Woolf 62 and 3-8; Benji Nation 35; Mike Anstis 3-11).
In T20 there were wins for UCVC over Renwick (Paul Hickman 84 for UCVC; Max
Brydon and Kirk Nicholas both making 47 for Renwick), Celtic Green over Celtic Gold (Liam Young 48 and 5-4), and Wairau Valley over Wairau (Louis Woolcombe 54, Paddy Wilkins 50, Chirag Jagota 3-18).
The final round was scheduled for Friday with the top two teams contesting the final on 4th February and all sides still in with a chance.
Also on Friday was the Junior awards evening at Horton Park from 6pm. These covered awards for 3rd grade and WK 4th and 5th grades for the 2020 year just completed.
A reminder also that if you want to give cricket a try this year email development @marlboroughcricket.co.nz or contact one of our clubs directly for more information.