WAIMATE CRICKET CLUB

On Saturday Waimate went to Timaru to take on Temuka.

After winning the toss Waimate chose to field first. On an artificial wicket it was always going to be a hard task to bowl out a good Temuka side.

Justin Thompson with 3 late wickets picked up 3-50 off 8 overs and getting the crucial wicket of Simon Davenport whom scored 89. Connor Farrell handing over the wicket-keeping duties to Ruha Davis and bowled well and was rather unlucky to only get 1-32 off 8 overs.

Pete Wallace came on after Connor and bowled and picked up no wickets with 0-25 off 5 overs. Greg Paul who replaced Justin bowled really well and some good tight bowling resulted in good figures of 1-25 off 7 overs.

After 20 overs and drinks break Temuka were cruising along at 103/2 so captain Greg Paul decided on a bowling change to bring on Tim Suddaby and Sam Newman. Tim who picked up a wicket in his first over bowled consistent and quick but bowling near the end of the innings resulted in him unfortunately getting hit for 1-33 off 7 overs. Sam Newman bowling from the other end bowled his medium pacers and wasn’t rewarded with a wicket and ended his spell with 0-20 off 5 overs.

Credit to Temuka they batted well and played to the field, hitting superbly. For their innings Temuka ended up with 205/6

Waimate going into bat and needing just over 5 runs an over should have been a score to chase down. But no strong partnerships and wickets falling regularly meant it was always going to be hard to keep the board ticking over. Thou noticeably Connor Farrell and Tim Suddaby did stick together for a time and gave some hope.

Opening up was Robbie Westland and Ruha Davis who both were out in the third and fourth over with Robbie getting 4 and Ruha 5. Todd Aikman comes to the crease and a good cameo of 14 before being caught going big. Ryan Manson being caught out for 11 looked good. Tim Suddaby coming in and Waimate were feeling the pressure of the run-rate going up. Tim batted well and scored at a good rate keeping the score ticking even at times surprising other that he can play attacking cricket. With Ryan gone Connor Farrell came in and batted well, scoring at a good rate with Tim but eventually being caught out for 17.

Adam Smart comes to the crease and didn’t last long, as he was bowled first ball for a Golden Duck 0 and a $5 fine to contribute to team funding. Waimate now at 110/6 and needing 95 runs off 9 overs to win was seeing the game slip away. However with Greg Paul coming in and well known for his aggressive play and good eye there still was slight hope that a win could be possible. Temuka were quick to learn this so they spread the field and Greg was caught near the boundry, out for 2.

Sam Newman didn’t contribute much with only 1 run and being caught from a leading edge witch is becoming his only shot it seems. Justin Thompson attacking cameo of big hitting did give some excitement and was good to watch. Meanwhile Tim Suddaby brings up a 50 with a cracking 4 to the boundary. Tim goes on to make a well committed 65 before some splendid quick fielding to be run-out from a direct hit.

With Tim gone it was just Justin and Pete Wallace left. Justin continued his good batting and will be secretly happy that his average will be going up with 29 runs and not out. Pete was last out LBW for 7 in the last over of the game. Waimate lost the game by 31 runs all out for 174 in the 39th over. Temuka’s bowling attack deserves credit too with tight bowling and a good spell from Shane Gilkson with 4-43 off 8 overs.

Next week Waimate take on MVHS/Star at Mountain View High School.

Reporter: Sam ‘Newsboy’ Newman

Timaru travelled to Waimate and batted first with openers Gerald Piddock (19) and a rejuvenated Chris Leonard (24) who was no longer the oldest senior cricketer on the field adding 41 for the first wicket in what was the best partnership to eventuate. The availability of Kris Howes probably dampened Waimate’s day as he top scored in the middle order with 33, and Hayden Leonard again thwarted the attack on his way to 21 not out as Timaru posted a competitive 157.

Alan Reid put in the hard yards as he bowled unchanged from one end for Waimate and was rewarded with 5-76, while Craig Booth took 3-11 and is wishing he had been brought into the attack earlier.

In reply Waimate were soon in trouble at 38-4 before Craig Booth (24) and skipper Jason Sew Hoy (35) added 54 runs to get things back on track at 92-5, but another mini collapse to be 116-8 at stumps has Timaru in the strongest position going into day two to not only gain first innings points, but also to try and push for the outright.

Waimate who were eight down overnight and still 40 runs short of a first innings lead put up a good rearguard action on Day 2 with young Finlay Keen making 21 not out but they ended up 13 runs short on 143 when the compulsory declaration was made after 50 overs.

Timaru made a good fist of their second bat with opener Gerald Piddock leading the way with 40 and handy contributions by Grant Brookland (33) and Hitesh Angrish (35 not out) to be able to declare at 177-7 leaving Waimate 190 to win from 43 overs.

For Waimate Craig Booth was again amongst the wickets taking 3-11 for the second time in the match.

Waimate were never in the hunt with only Adam Polson (12) and top scorer Andrew Davidson (14) making double figures and in the end Alan Reid who faced 51 balls for his 6 runs and had to face the last over with the whole Timaru team crowding around the bat as they strived to get the last wicket and outright victory, held on to see Waimate finish at 69-9 and save a draw.

Scoresheet