Old Boys' title drought ends

CAMERON BURNELL

New Plymouth Old Boys paceman Riley McGregor steams in to bowl while umpire Ian Jury looks down the wicket during the Taranaki premier grade one-day cricket final at Pukekura Park. McGregor took five wickets in the match.

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New Plymouth Old Boys ended a five-year one-day title drought when beating Hawera United by 76 runs in the Taranaki premier grade one-day cricket final at Pukekura Park yesterday.

The two-day competition heavyweights last won the Yarrows one-day competition when beating Stratford in 2002-03 final.

The title was the first for Merit Cars Old Boys under skipper Brad Fale, who took over the captaincy from Nick Taylor at the start of this season.

"This is pretty special," Fale said after the match. "I'm bloody proud of the guys."

Hawera had not lost a match - one or two-day - this season until yesterday's loss.

The killer blow for the South Taranaki team was undoubtedly the brilliant medium-fast bowling of Riley McGregor, who knocked over the top order and finished with a five-wicket bag.

His scalps included Hawera captain and danger man Dion Ebrahim, who was trapped lbw for just five runs.

Ebrahim batted with a runner after pulling a hamstring when fielding earlier in the day.

McGregor also took a catch in the field off Matt Cleaver's bowling to remove opening batsman Chris Stephens.

Batting first, Old Boys posted a competitive total of 204-7, batting out the full 50 overs.

Then they proceeded to rip through the Hawera United batting line-up to have the defending champion reeling at 42-5 after 18 overs.

The downward slide didn't stop there, with Hawera losing another two wickets for only 19 additional runs.

Hawera staged a fightback with a partnership of 28 runs built between Kolyn Tai and Cody McGrath for the eighth wicket.

Tai continued to put pressure on the Old Boys attack before being clean bowled in the 41st over trying to put McGregor over the boundary fence.

His two-hour stay at the crease for 55 runs including five fours and one six.

Tai's replacement and No 11 batsman Steve Batchelor was clean bowled two balls later by McGregor to end the match.

Earlier, Old Boys, after a shaky start when losing two quick wickets with just 16 runs on the scoreboard, batted intelligently to build a competitive total.

Opening batsman Kent Jordan was solid, compiling runs slowly but surely in his spell of three minutes less than two hours at the crease.

When Jordan departed for 54, clean bowled Mathew Pease, Old Boys were 112-4.

Taranaki rep Jamie Watkins had no sooner got himself established and going along nicely when on 17 he was judged run out. It was a decision Watkins disputed with umpire Ian Jury before walking off.

Without another run being added, Joe Dravitzki was out caught and bowled by Pease.

Just when Old Boys were starting to look vulnerable, captain Brad Fale and Matt Cleaver settled things down. The partnership added 58 runs, with Fale batting out the innings, his unbeaten 46 including two big sixes.

Apart from Pease, Heath Chittenden (2-28 off eight overs) and Matt Kelbrick (9-1-46-2) were the wicket-takers.

Fale praised his side after yesterday's win. "It was a gusty effort to get 204 after the way we started and the guys bowled really well."

Fale said the focus now was to successfully defend the two-day title Old Boys have won for the past five seasons. "The two-day game is our field, more than the one dayers."