Stoke-Nayland cruise to easy victory

Car Company Stoke-Nayland cruised to the easiest of wins at Victory Square on Saturday, beating Wakatu by six wickets with more than seven overs to spare.

Half-centuries by opening batsman Aaron Dron (59) and No7 batsman Mark Allsopp (57) had provided the only meaningful resistance in a Wakatu innings otherwise lacking any substance in the top order.

Dron made a typically forthright contribution dominated by boundaries, hitting 11 fours and two sixes as he watched his fellow batsmen fall around him.

Darius Skeaping ripped the heart out of the Wakatu innings, finishing with 5-57 as the home team collapsed to 45 for 5, before a brief 37-run stand between Dron and Allsopp pushed the total through to 82 for 6.

Skeaping had earlier dismissed Campbell McLean (1) and Simon McGowan (0) off consecutive deliveries at 39 for 4, leaving Allsopp and Matt Macquet (18) to eventually post the biggest partnership of the innings with their 54-run seventh-wicket stand.

But even at 136 for 7, Allsopp's continued resistance offered little hope of a competitive total, his being the last wicket to fall at 170 when he offered a return catch to legspinner Peter Younghusband.

Allsopp's knock included eight fours and a six.

Duane Valentine anchored Stoke-Nayland's run chase, carrying his bat to finish unbeaten on 67 when he hit the winning boundary off legspinner Craig Mueller at 172 for 4 in the 43rd over.

Valentine's 56-run second-wicket stand with Ryan Edwards (43), capped off by an unbeaten 50-run fifth-wicket stand with Ben Homan (16 not out), represented a comfortable winning effort.

Although well beaten, Wakatu found some consolation in the performance of opening bowler Dave Riordan, who conceded only 17 runs off his 10 overs.

Motueka batsman Bryan Krammer tapped into his rich source of experience in helping to steer his team to a tight three-wicket win over Waimea College at Saxton Oval.

Krammer completed his second half-century in consecutive weeks to produce the key innings as Motueka reached their 197-run target with just three balls to spare against a competitive Waimea College unit.

The former representative right-hander contributed 55 runs to the winning cause, including only four fours, as his 82-run fifth-wicket partnership with John Ogilvie (29) got Motueka to within 37 runs of their target.

A vital 37-run contribution by Mark Gardiner at the top of the order had helped to counter the attentions of an effective Waimea bowling attack, after Waimea's batsmen had posted a seemingly non-taxing 196 for 6 off their 50 overs.

There were some excellent contributions throughout Waimea's order, with Connor Neynens (51), Tom Beaumont (54) and Tom Cross (55 not out) scoring half-centuries as part of meaningful 61-, 54- and 36-run partnerships respectively.

Karl Mytton bowled consistently to finish with 5-50, including two wickets in the final over, as Motueka's leading wicket-taker. But despite their valiant efforts, Waimea's bowlers fell marginally short as Krammer and Ogilvie combined to ultimately guide Motueka home.

Taylors Contracting Wanderers moved up the points table with a narrow nine-run victory over Sprig and Fern WTTU at Brightwater.

Wanderers ultimately defended their 202-run total, based primarily around an 80-run second-wicket stand between Dan Cooper and Chris Bartholomeusz, dismissing WTTU for 193 off 46.1 overs.

Cooper comfortably topscored for the match, hitting 75 runs (three fours, three sixes) as he and Bartholomeusz helped to lift Wanderers' total to 126 for 2, before Bartholomeusz was stumped off the bowling of Simon Carr for 48 in the 33rd over.

But instead of building on their handy foundation, Wanderers' batsmen sparked a familiar procession back to the pavilion as Carr, Brendan Hodgson and Jon Routhan steadily picked up wickets.

Each finished with three wickets as Routhan (30) and Hodgson (28) maintained their positions as the competition's leading wicket-takers.

Wanderers' last nine wickets fell for just 76 runs.

There was also some familiarity to WTTU's response, with only a 97-run fifth-wicket stand between Ricky Edwards and Cade Armstrong providing anything near the required response.

Edwards scored 48 runs and Armstrong 47 as the pair helped to lift the score to a seemingly competitive 152 for 5 in the 35th over, when Edwards was finally bowled by Joe O'Connor.

Only 41 further runs were added as WTTU's tail offered minimal resistance, the side eventually being dismissed with virtually four overs remaining.

Hayden Ingham made a further bid to reclaim his previous position as the competition's leading wicket-taker, finishing with 3-33 off his 10 overs to finish the day on 27 wickets with two rounds remaining.

- © Fairfax NZ News