Rain washes out Whanganui games
Rain might have shortened matches in HorowhenuaKā piti for the latest round of the Coastal Cup at the weekend, but at least they managed to squeeze in some cricket.
Further up the line, all Whanganui games were completely cancelled due to heavy rain, preventing some teams there from potentially gaining more points to move up the competition ladder.
As it now stands after four rounds of the Coastal Cup, four HorowhenuaKāpiti teams are in the top five spots and in contention for the semifinals, with four rounds of competition remaining.
Of the games that were played at the weekend, Weraroa beat Kā piti Old Boys in a tight match at Weraroa Domain with number nine batsman Jaedyn Dawson — better known for his exploits as a strike bowler — scoring freely at the death including a boundary in the second-to-last ball to help his team home.
Dawson, who had help from Shane Weldon at the other end, scored 11 runs in the final over in a match shortened by rain to 27 overs. Both batters finished 12 not out as Weraroa reached 149-8, passing Kāpiti’s target of 148 in the nick of time.
The best of the batters for Weraroa on a day where runs proved hard to come by were Prabodha Arthavidu (29) and Caleb O’Connell (28). Kāpiti’s best bowler was Daniel Franks who ended up 3-14 from his three overs.
Kāpiti’s best batsman was opener Daniel Brown who scored 59 off 64 balls, but Weraroa’s bowlers were able to take wickets at regular intervals preventing any other batsman from getting a decent start.
Caleb O’Connell (2-39), Prabodha Arthavidu (2-29), Keegan Maclachlan (1-25) and Weldon (2-10) kept it tight enough to give their batsmen a realistic total to chase.
Down the road at Donnelly Park, defending Coastal champions Levin Old Boys hit a roadblock in their quest for a three-peat and were toppled by Paraparaumu, who bowled them out for a low total and then had to inch their way to a two-wicket win.
Matt Good top-scored with yet another good knock, his 58 coming in 50 balls, but he didn’t get much help. The best of the rest was a score of 16 from opener Mathew Wilson as they were all out for 120 in the 27th over.
It was almost enough though. Paraparaumu limped their way to that mark in the 33rd over losing wickets at regular intervals with only one batsman left to pad up.
Opener Jacob Ross scored 20, while further down the order Liam Ruku scored a patient 30 and Kamal Patel 34 — two innings that proved crucial to the final result.
Meanwhile, some teams could be left to rue the weather in the latest round. As all games in Whanganui were cancelled due to heavy rain, it prevented those teams from potentially advancing up the points table.
It was the second time that had happened this season, with round one games in Whanganui cancelled while games in Levin went ahead.
There was still enough time for all teams to stake claim though. Semifinals of the Coastal Cup will be held on March 16 with top qualifier playing fourth-placed qualifier, and second versus third in the other semifinal, the winners of which will meet in the grand final on March 23.
■ Scoreboard: Levin Old Boys 120 (M Good 58; S Windle 3-30, D Mcnamara 2-23, K Patel 2-27) lost to Roofbox Paraparaumu 121-8 (K Patel 34, L Rukuwai 30no, J Ross 20; J Bishop 2-8, R Taylor 2-13) by two wickets. Kapiti Old Boys 148-7 (D Browne 59, B Meikle 22, T Halbert 20; S Weldon 2-10, P Liyanage 2-29, C O’Connell 2-39) lost to Weraroa CC 149-8 (P Liyanage 29, C O’Connell 28; D Franks 3-14, Z Benton 2-26, T Cloete 2-27) by two wickets.
This Weekend (Round Four): Red Star v LOB, venue tbc. Kapiti Old Boys v Whanganui Marist at Paraparaumu Domain. Whanganui United v Paraparaumu, Victoria Park. Weraroa bye.
■ POINTS TABLE: Red Star 7, LOB 7, Kapiti 6, Paraparaumu 6, Weraroa 6, Whanganui United 4, Whanganui Marist 2.