Central Otago
Albion took the points away from the Cromwell side at Luggate and in doing so retained the Burnett Shield. Albion batted first and got through to 180 for the loss of nine wickets. Ryan Wheeler (41) led the way and was well supported by Tim Cotter with 39. Mark Knox coming back from injury took two wickets for 35 runs. Albion then dismissed the Cromwell side for 103. Gareth Knoble (40) and Sam Pimm (39) topscored while Tom Myles also returning from injury showed great form in taking five for 26 while Seb Arriata chipped in with three for 26.
Senior Reserve
After batting first at Naseby and notching up 178 all out the home side then dismissed Dunstan High School for 146 to complete a 32run victory. Rex Gibson (36) and Steve Cormack (32) topscored for the host side while Matt Johnson, with four for 49, and Beau Meehan, two for 28, were the pick of the high school bowlers. In reply, Matt Neville (43) and Ivan Hill (30) gave the high school a shot at victory but the bowling of Anton Hood (three for 32) and Luke Steele (two for 25) ensured victory for the home side.
Molyneux had first use of the conditions at home and were dismissed for 205 with the inform Sasha Hill topscoring with 88 while Dave Reinds added 49 valuable runs. Luke Ashe took four for 54 while Mark Rushton picked up three for 27. Cromwell could only muster 171 for the loss of eight wickets in reply with the consistent Mark Rushton getting 54 of them. Joe Burket was the best of the Molyneux bowlers, with three for 55.
The Albion reserve side travelled to Becks to play their Blacks Hill counterparts and came away with a fairly resounding victory. The local lads provided a wellprepared grass track and some typical country hospitality for the visitors. The home side chose to bat first but only managed 81 and was undone by some excellent medium pace bowling from the Albion captain Kirwan Creswell. Creswell ripped the Blacks Hill side apart and ended with the excellent figures of six wickets for nine runs off five overs. Josh Roberts backed his skipper up well, taking three for 14. Albion took only 12 overs to chase down the modest target to end on 82 for two. Lachie Weir (39) and James Baker (27) were both not out when the target was reached.
Queenstown Zephyr accounted for the Queenstown Wakatipu side by four runs in a closefought contest on Saturday. Batting first, the Zephyr side got through to 148 with Pritpal Singh topscoring with 46 and Lachie Clarke making 23. Dan Lewis took two for six for the school side. The school side nearly pulled off the upset of the season, ending up four runs short on 144. Gabe White topscored with 21 while Jatin Patel took three wickets for nine runs.
Queenstown Ballarat scored 236 for six wickets in its game against Blacks Hill on Molyneux Park No 1. Henry Burns (62) and Brett Aderson (55) put on 98 for the first wicket while Amrit Gossal (30) and Reece Collin (31) added solidity in the middle order. Barry White with two for 45 was the most successful bowler. Blacks Hill fell 75 runs short, being dismissed for 161 with the experienced Cam Nicolson (40), Tom Yardley (37) and Lindsay Horne (29) the main contributors. Swaran Sandhu hit three for 23 off eight overs and was the pick of the bowlers for the winning side.