A pretty good day at the office by all accounts, Gibson

CRICKET

JAMIE GIBSON sounded happy in his work.

And why not? With 146 off 90 balls, then bowling figures of 6-43 is the sort of day any cricketer would be proud of.

More importantly for the Eastern Suburbs all-rounder, his contribution helped keep his team in the hunt for their maiden National Club Cricket Championship title.

‘‘It was a pretty good day. I probably haven’t [had a day like that before]. Pretty small boundaries, but it’s always good to have a day like that,’’ Gibson said.

Easts have often treated this tournament as an end-of-season lark, but not this time. After a day one loss to Greytown, they’ve beaten Albion by eight wickets and yesterday accounted for Pukekohe Metro by 307 runs. Playing on the smallest oval at Auckland’s Cornwall Park, Easts made 429 after being asked to bat, before bowling Pukekohe out for 122.

‘‘We haven’t really lived up to where we want to be [in the past] so this year we’re definitely taking it more seriously and are here to win it,’’ said Gibson, a regular member of the Wellington A side this summer.

He said Easts knew they would need at least 300 to be competitive in yesterday’s game, given the short boundaries. ‘‘The batters batted well and 400 is a massive total on any pitch.’’

Especially with Gibson in the mood he was in. ‘‘I bowled OK. It was swinging a little bit to start and the slips caught well. So did the keeper,’’ he said.

Catching wasn’t Easts’ strong suit on day one, when Seth Rance’s unbeaten hundred saw Greytown upset the Wellington champions. Easts are now well ensconced near the top of the table.