Regional sports roundup

NORTH OTAGO TERRY O’NEILL

Union registered an eightwicket twenty/20 win over Albion in the first round of club cricket on Saturday.

Albion made 130 for eight with Jonty Naylor (34) and Dylan Winter the main providers while Union bowlers Sam Bastin, Matt Lilley, Scott Kitto and Dan Martin took two wickets each.

Union raced through to 131 for two with Bastin leading the way with 61 while Mason James added 27.

Oamaru/SKC tallied 110 for four against Valley with Nick Johnston topscoring with 47 while Cameron Grubb took two for six.

Valley cruised through to 114 for three with Rhys Petrie (34), Thomas Harding (32 not out) and Grubb (26) scoring the runs while Johnston claimed two for 28.

Valley made 147 runs against Union before the last wicket fell in the final over. Grubb topscored with 47 while Hamish McKenzie chimed in with 21. Bastin took three for 14 and Martin three for 22.

Union passed the Valley total with eight wickets in hand at 151 for two with Bastin and Kitto both making 43 while Matt Lilley was unbeaten on 30.

SOUTH OTAGO FRANCIS PARKER

The Kai Kings have wrapped up another twenty20 title, defeating the Waihola Swans by five wick ets in the final at Balclutha.

The Swans won the toss and elected to bat. Their top order lost regular wickets but the middle order put up a good fight to increase the run rate and give the side a chance.

Waihola finished on 149 for seven off 20 overs.

Brodie Flannery contributed 40 runs before giving his wicket away. Tim Grant scored 38 in his first bat of the year, and Simon Smaill (23) and Jordie Bungard (14) also had useful contributions.

Kings opening bowler Luc Thomson returned best figures of two for 33 off his four overs. He bowled a very tight opening three overs to restrict the Swans top order.. Marc Phillips bowled a miserly spell to finish with figures of one for 16 off his four.

In reply, the Kings always looked to have the game in the bag.

Tony Phillips and Pat McKenna combined brilliantly for a 97run partnership to smash any hope of a Swans victory.

The two batsmen rarely looked troubled, hitting shots along the ground and also cleared the boundary on several occasions. Both Phillips (60) and McKenna (30) were dismissed in the same over but the damage was already done.

Waihola managed to claim another two scalps before the end of the match but Kai reached the target in the 18th over. Craig Gordon was once again Waihola’s best bowler with three for 32 off his four overs.

In the third place playoff between the Valley Stingers and Clutha Comets, Clutha won the toss and chose to bat, making a 228 for five off the 20 overs. Caleb Carson scored a nicelystruck 56. Jared Crawford (32no) and Sam Mosely (49) tormented the Stingers bowling attack through the middle stages before Rhiane Smith came to the crease and smashed 37 off 12 balls.

After losing its first wicket with no score on the board, Valley opening batsman Bevan McCall and Mike Johnston put on 62 runs for the next wicket inside four overs.

As partners fell around McCall he carried on plundering boundaries.

He found a useful partner in captain Lachie Johnston. McCall brought up his halfcentury off 17 balls, and his century off 40 balls, giving his side a real sniff of victory.

He was dismissed for 114 after hitting 13 fours and five sixes. Johnston stayed at the crease but was starved of strike, his batting partners falling around him. The Stingers fell six runs short with Johnston not out on 52.

Crawford continued his good day with figures of three for 38 off four overs. Smith also took three wickets but was slightly more expensive.

CENTRAL OTAGO MALCOLM JONES

The first round of the Vincent twenty20 was played out on Saturday with Blacks Hill getting up over Molyneux, Queenstown accounting for Albion and Cromwell having a win over Maniototo in the Scurr Cup senior competition while Maniototo, Queenstown Zephyr, Queenstown Wakatipu and Albion and all had wins in the Barrie Cup senior reserve grade.

Blacks Hill got up by one run over a gallant Molyneux side at the Omakau Domain after batting first and posting 150 for the loss of five wickets. Drew van Boxtel scored 57 while Alex Gibson added a valuable 21.

Molyneux came up two runs short of victory finishing on 149 for the loss of seven wickets. Ben Whitaker topscored with 40 not out and was backed up by Kirk Pritchard (30) and Bevan Passmore added 28 valuable runs. Alex Gibson with two for 14 was the best of the home team bowlers.

Queenstown posted a challenging 142 for eight at the Queenstown Event Centre on the back of a punishing 71 not out from No 6 Amrit Gossal. Seb Arratia (two for 19) and Jason Roberts (two for 18) bowled well for the visiting side.

Albion could manage just 112 for the loss of eight wickets in reply with Sean Webber (23) topscoring. Kevin Loggenberg (two for for 24), Brett Anderson (two for 25) and Adam Hubber (two2 for 25) bowled well for the home side to give them the edge.

Cromwell batted first at home against Maniototo and compiled a good 142 for the loss of just four wickets. Sam Pimm (39), Mark Knox (31) and Sanchit Sandhu (37) all made significant contributions. Maniototo were always in the hunt but came up three runs short of the win ending on 140 for two. Marc Cormack (54 no) and Sam Pollock (32 no) gave it their all but just fell short of the victory.

In the Barrie Cup, Maniototo chased down the 95 needed for victory over neighbour Blacks Hill off 13.5 overs at Naseby on Friday night for the loss of four wickets.

Batting first Blacks Hill could only muster 94 with Sam Pringle topscoring with 48. Wayne Collett took three wickets for 18 off four completed overs. Ryan Becker (36 not out and Tim Johnson (26 not out) were together at the finish.

Queenstown Zephyr hosted the Cromwell side out at Jacks Point and came away with a comfortable seven wicket win. Cromwell batted first and made 103 with James Haniff with 45 claiming the top score. Gihan Fernando took four for 18.

Nikunj Vithalani scored 33 for Queenstown.

The Dunstan High School 2nd X1 hosted Albion and batted first after winning the toss and struggled through to 82. Sam Teal took two for 12 and Jared Cunningham two for 15.

Albion reached the target for the loss of two wickets.