Top three eye grand final spot
Defending champs United get a sweet taste of revenge
It’s getting to the halfway point of the Cricket Whanganui Premier 1 competition and there are three teams in mathematical contention for making the top two after they all picked up quick wins on Saturday.
Defending champions Property Brokers United got revenge for their shock upset to the Whanganui Renegades last year with a comprehensive nine-wicket win at the Springvale fields.
Wanganui Vet Services Marist welcomed Whanganui High School back to the top grade for the first time since 2013 with an eight-wicket victory on their home pitch.
However, as last season’s runnersup, Marist are far from locked into the playoff game as the Whanganui Collegiate First XI, who have a game in hand on Marist, secured a big 174-run win over an undermanned Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens on the No 1 school pitch.
Needing to rebound from last weekend’s loss to Marist, United had a rearranged bowling line-up for the artificial turf, although conditions were a lot dryer.
Handing off the wicketkeeper gloves, Chris Sharrock (2-24) got the early breakthrough, as did Daniel Austin as both Renegades openers fell to catches by Matthew Boswell, who was about to have another excellent afternoon.
Under the pump at 4-2, the Renegades looked to rebuild their innings but right when the rest of the top order got starts, they also got out.
Matthew Deighton (23), skipper Ben Heap (26), Tony Tatana (24) and Henry Carver (27) could not kick on to be the innings anchor, falling victim to James Woodford (4-27), Ashvin Patel (2-26) and the promising youngster Ethan Toy, as the schoolboy claimed a top-grade wicket.
Reduced to 125-7, the Renegades got a few runs in the lower order through Matt Hodges and Gurpreet Singh, and it was worth noting that 152 in 33 overs was still a bigger total than they had successfully defended against United 12 months before.
But the difference this time was Boswell, still in sublime form as he followed up his previous weekend’s 129 with an undefeated 82 off 57 balls.
Joined at opener by the returning Daniel Burgess (44) - and not a moment too soon with Greg Smith out injured - the pair put on 94 runs for the first wicket in only 11 overs, before Deighton caught Burgess swinging one too many times, stumped by Heap.
Joined by Joe Gray, with his improved vision Boswell continues to see the cricket ball like a basketball, as he launched into seven sixes including three off consecutive balls in one big over of 19 runs.
It wasn’t just big hitting, as Boswell and Gray put the pressure on in the field with quick running between the wickets, before Boswell signed the match off with his third boundary off the first ball of the 19th over.
In three innings of this competition, Boswell has scored 238 runs from 173 deliveries at a strike rate of 138, and has only been dismissed once.
While this game was quick, there had still been plenty of time for interested spectators to walk over from the Whanganui High School grounds to watch the end of it, as Marist kept their playoffs hopes alive with maximum points from a game that took less than 50 overs total.
Whanganui High School were dismissed for 110, as Ross Kinnerley (3-29) and Josh Allpress (4-17) got amongst their top order.
The writing on the wall at 38-7, Whanganui High School had some consolation after a brave 51 from 69 balls from Harry Burroughs at No 8, hitting three boundaries.
Burroughs found a little help from last man Max Comrie (11 not out) to get their team into triple digits before Kinnerley broke the stumps in the 35th over.
Marist were not getting paid by the hour, reaching their target at the end of the 15th over.
After Zak O’Keefe (15 from 12) looked to get on with it, representative opener Joel Clark (40 from 35) began to bat himself into some form.
Joining him (and likely to also be immediately in the Riverview Motel Whanganui frame) was Shaun O’Leary (46 not out from 35), as he and Clark put on a rapid 75-run partnership before Clark was caught