Wilson fires Hinuera to opening win
A swashbuckling century from Ryan Wilson set Hinuera’s club cricket season off in stunning style on Saturday.
In the opening round of the Hamilton/Waikato Valley
50-over competition, Wilson’s rapid 46-ball ton saw Hinuera crush Fraser-Tech by seven wickets at Matamata’s Pohlen Park.
Hinuera were the only Valley side to record a victory in the opening round, and they did so in quite some fashion, chasing down their target of 171 in just 20 overs.
After a half-hour delay for a damp outfield, Tech won the toss and started OK, but in the end Richard Mills’ 35 was their highest contribution, as the visitors collapsed in a big way, losing 6-11 through the middle of their innings.
The chief destroyer was seamer Girvacques De Jager – a South African import who is also coaching junior cricket in the area – who took 4-34 off six overs, as Tech were bowled out for 170 in 42 overs.
Hinuera made no hesitation of their pursuit, and despite Tech having the services of Northern Districts seamer Jimmy Baker (2-36), they were to be no match for the blazing bat of Wilson.
The right-handed opener smashed the ball everywhere, hitting more sixes (10) than fours (six), with his second 50 coming off just 14 balls, before he eventually fell for 103.
Wilson’s effort was one of two hundreds on the opening weekend, with Hamilton Boys’ High School’s Michael Dodunski leading his side to victory over Otorohanga with three figures.
After winning the toss, hosts HBHS were wobbling at 95-5 in the 18th over, having lost ND’s Anton Devcich for four, but No 4 Dodunski combined with Hamish Mellow in an inspired
107-run partnership. Dodunski hit six fours and five sixes in making 104 off 109, which turned things in HBHS’s favour, with Mellow carrying on to make 81 off 100, as the home side posted a healthy 274-7.
In reply, Otorohanga were quickly well behind the required rate, with Devcich’s left-arm spin returning 2-23 off 10, and though skipper Leighton Parsons was unbowed on 85 off
113 and his side weren’t bowled out, they finished well short, on
198-6.
The third match of Pool One also saw a bonus-point victory, with Marist-Suburbs crushing Morrinsville by 157 runs at the Morrinsville Recreation Ground.
Electing to bat, MaristSuburbs posted 216-8, with Peter Bocock top-scoring with 73 off 81 (three fours), before Morrinsville fell apart in a big way, rolled for just 59.
Sam Cooper contributed 30 of those himself, with no-one else managing double figures, as batsmen numbers five to eight all posted ducks, and Jarrod Gellert finished with two
wickets in two balls.
In Pool Two, defending champions Cambridge lost to Star University by 54 runs at Steele Park.
In a match reduced to 40 overs-a-side, Star were inserted and posted 192-5, before fighting back with the ball after the visitors were looking good.
Cambridge were 100-2 in the
21st over when Pieter Geldenhuis took his first scalp, and from there the right-arm seamer went on to claim a superb 5-20 off eight overs, to see the visitors dismissed for 138 in
33.
Also claiming a bonus point were Old Boys, who, with the addition of ND returnee Brent Arnel, helped roll St Paul’s Collegiate for 127 in 50 overs at the school ground, in what was the only fixture to be played on a grass pitch. The visitors lost six wickets in reply but got to their target with 14.1 overs to spare.
The other game saw Melville prevail by two wickets in a tense finish against Te Awamutu at Melville High School.
Spinners Tharik Alam (4-18) and Freddy Walker (3-11) were
20 overs of trouble for the visitors, who folded for 102. But with ND seamer Zak Gibson
(1-19) helpful, Te Awamutu rocked Melville to the brink at
63-7, before late runs from veterans Jono McNeill (18 off 36) and Maurice Patten (19no off 57) saw them home, with 3.3 overs to spare.