United win challenge cup final
THERE IS A SAYING IN SPORT: “HOW DO YOU MAKE THE NIGHTMARES GO AWAY? GIVE THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE.”
Property Brokers United’s nine seasons of disappointment and heartbreak were finally ended at Tasman Tanning (Victoria) Park on Saturday as a tremendous effort in the field secured a 41-run win in the Coastal Challenge Cup final over first-time finalists Ka¯piti Old Boys.
Despite being reduced to their second-lowest batting total in six appearances in the Coastal final with only 123 runs on the board, United fought for every inch and crowded the batters in the field as Ka¯piti collapsed under the pressure - dismissed for just 82 in both the shortest and lowest-scoring 50-over final in the competition’s history.
All 11 bowlers used in the match took a wicket, in a game that lasted just 69 overs in total.
For United, if they had been sitting in a room, then the air would have been sucked out of it as after winning the toss and opting to bat, then losing their highest run-scorer Greg Smith off just the second delivery of the game - bowled by Zack Benton (2-21).
Benton and talented allrounder Tristan Cloete (4-26) then put United through a devastating opening 30 minutes to be reduced to 27-4.
Only opener Matthew Boswell (27 from 54 balls) survived, joined by skipper Simon Badger (16) and then wicketkeeper Chris Sharrock (11), as Horowhenua-Ka¯piti representative bowler Carter Andrews kept the pressure on at first change, along with Martin Harrison, Michael Newell and Connor Beleski.
Newell finally clipped Boswell’s pads in front to end his innings - and when Sharrock was caught off Harrison, it was the veteran pair of Robbie Power (17) and Brendon Walker (18) who saw their team into triple figures by the 27th over.
But the innings wouldn’t last much longer, as Beleski drew Power into an easy catch - Ka¯ piti’s fielders not dropping anything during the innings - and Cloete’s return to the crease signalled a rapid conclusion as he fired it at Walker for a high deflection and a catch, then taking out last man Ryan Slight’s stumps in the 37th over.
For United, this was a depressing reoccurrence of the old story - just not batting well enough in the final - but nonetheless, the runs were on the board and this was Ka¯piti’s first Coastal Cup final.
Going with the slower balls followed by latter-over pace, Badger (2-20) trapped opener Daniel Franks with the third ball of the innings, while the game’s top-scorer in Daniel Browne (32 from 89) stood his ground to get his team through the early pressure from Badger and Slight to be 20-1 after seven overs.
Slight still knocked over Taine Halbert’s stumps, while Badger again laid the trap to get the LBW on fellow skipper Jayden Rose-Miles after less than a couple of overs at the crease - Badger bowling eight overs straight.
With Ka¯piti nervous, United brought the field in and kept a man at slip even after the bowling restrictions were lifted, as the leading hope in Cloete strode to the crease at 25-3.
However, returning veteran Tom Lance (3-16, four maidens) soon had Cloete out to a slips catch to remove Ka¯piti’s top run-scorer and at 28-4, United sensed today could be the day.
The fielding got tighter as the inform Power (3-19) joined Lance to have spinners going at each end - and with his second ball, he picked up Brayden Meikle to a catch by Smith at point.
Lance soon removed Beleski to another slips catch to have Ka¯piti in real trouble at 40-6, then after a couple of near misses on catches, the next man fell as Benton feathered at a wider Power delivery and took a nick for Sharrock to snaffle.
To allow Power to change ends when Lance would finish, teenager Aiden Muir was introduced to keep the spin tandem going, and in his first over he had Andrews hitting the ball straight back to him for 62-8.
Ka¯piti’s hopes were now resting entirely on Browne to carry his tail, but after hitting Lance to the boundary in his last over, the very next delivery the opener pushed at the ball and gave yet another snick to the slips.
At 70-9, the die was cast, and although last man Michael Newell showed some defiance, hitting Power to the boundary after his end change, the No 11 soon miscued a swing for Sharrock to take the spooned catch in front of the stumps and finally give United their inaugural Coastal Challenge Cup.
The relief was evident for Badger that his team had finally defied history, winning the Cup despite yet another poor batting effort.
“Just going back to some of the other finals, there’s one in particular we played out here against Paraparaumu and they got only 159 and we didn’t get there,” the United captain said.
“So I think we knew it was possible, we would have probably liked to have got 170, 190, but you make do with what you’ve got, and I couldn’t fault anyone in the bowling performance - that’s been us all season, so stoked.
“It’s a normal, Vic Park, end-ofMarch pitch, to be fair. It’s low and slow, turns a bit. It was always going to be hard batting second on it, so I haven’t got a bad thing to say - it was what we expected and we just played the conditions a bit better.”
The vast majority of the United playing XI had been involved in three or four of the previous Coastal final losses - Walker all five of them - and the celebrations went long into the evening.
“We unfortunately might lose our team now, there might be a few retirements tonight, so we’ll see how we go - we can all retire happy now,” said Badger.