Taylor’s sloggers sweep to victory
The carpark took a hammering with 25 sixes hit in the festival cricket match at Fitzherbert Park on Friday evening put on by Palmerston North Boys’ High School for old boys of cricket and rugby fame.
The crowd was treated to a goodnatured and entertaining game between Slog (cricket) and Sweep (rugby), which paid homage to former Boys’ High student Ross Taylor, who recently retired from international cricket.
Team Slog won the match in a super over, with man of the hour Taylor stepping up with the bat and ball.
Slog set an intimidating total of 202-4 batting first, but Sweep managed to level the scores on the last ball of the innings and could have won the game if not for a run out.
Sweep then batted first in the super over and scored 21 thanks to Bevan Small. But in reply Taylor took just five balls to win the game.
‘‘Cricket does strange things,’’ Taylor said afterwards. ‘‘At the end of the day it’s good to come back and play with some familiar faces. Guys I went to school with and played a lot of cricket with.’’
Both teams were stacked with guys Taylor had played with in his school and professional career.
Taylor had a massive hand in the win, smashing 44 from 14 balls in Slog’s innings and then taking two wickets in Sweep’s innings with his spin, including the wicket of former professional rugby player Craig Clare, who just about won the game for Sweep with some late boundaries.
Taylor got rid of Clare and Roald Badenhorst in the last over, but Sweep still managed to tie the scores by running two on the last ball, before Brett Davis was run out attempting a third.
Taylor stepped up and bowled the super over and made sure he was facing the first ball when it was his turn to bat.
‘‘After letting it go in that last over I had to. It was a bit of fun and it’s nice that at least cricket got one over rugby.’’
Dane Cleaver was at the other end but wasn’t needed. Earlier he had hit 52 from 22 balls, before retiring.
Cleaver punished former rugby professional Dean Budd, smacking five sixes from one over, two into the grandstand.
Taylor also teed off with six sixes, two hitting the top of the grandstand.
Others to clear the rope were Dave Meiring (30 not out), Scott Larsen (50 retired out), Small (56 retired out) and Bryce Grant (36).
Slog had a spin-heavy attack, including Boys’ High rector David Bovey, a former Manawatū and Hawke’s Bay rep.
The couple of hundred people who attended were also entertained in the innings break by freestyle motocross star Levi Sherwood and friends.