MacDonald displays ruthless streak

Story by: Wayne Martin - The Nelson Mail - Photo by: Evan Barnes / Shuttersport

An ominously clinical Wairau team prevented a Nelson sweep in round two of the Kelvin Scoble Trophy combined one-day cricket competition on Saturday.

Car Company Stoke-Nayland, Athletic College Old Boys and Robbie's Bar and Bistro Waimea Toi Toi United all enjoyed wins over their Blenheim opposition, as a brutal batting display by Leon MacDonald helped ease Grove Tavern Wairau to a five-wicket bonus point win over Taylor's Contracting Wanderers at Brightwater.

Chasing only 180 runs for victory after dismissing the home team for 179 in the 45th over, MacDonald smashed a boundary-laden 56 runs to dominate a 95-run opening stand with Mike Hood (35). MacDonald hit eight fours and two sixes to post his half century in just the seventh over, the first wicket falling off the first ball of the ninth over.

With the foundation well established, Josh Clarkson (19), Fraser McIntosh and Geoff Barnett effectively saw the victory through in 33 overs, McIntosh remaining unbeaten on 34 and Barnett dismissed lbw for 23 just two runs short of their target.

Despite conceding 16 runs off his first over, seamer Hayden Ingham still finished with excellent figures of three for 28 off his 10 overs, including four maidens.

Wairau's slow bowlers had caused the earlier damage as offspinner Nick d'Auvergne (4-31) and Greg Logan (3-35) captured seven wickets between them. Several Wanderers batsmen made starts, but none was able to carry on against some constant Wairau pressure. Luca Roden topscored with 45 as opener Tom Cross (29) and Joe O'Connor (23) lent support.

Chris Harpur overshadowed his more illustrious batting partner to score an unbeaten century as WTTU crushed Guthrie Bowron Renwick by six wickets at Jubilee Park.

With former first-class batsman Greg Hay providing crucial support at the other end, Harpur produced an unbeaten 103 runs as part of a superb unbroken 155-run fifth-wicket stand between the pair on their way to a winning 244-run total. They reached it with six wickets and 21 balls to spare after Renwick had posted a competitive 243 for seven, dominated by half centuries to Clint Baker and Ricky Bovey.

An opening 73-run stand between George Marshall (26) and Corey Bovey (35) had kickstarted Renwick's innings nicely before stalling mid-innings at 137 for five. Baker and Ricky Bovey revitalised the innings, Bovey scoring 50 runs and Baker finishing 74 not out, hitting six fours and a six, when the innings ended at 243 for seven.

Cade Armstrong took four for 28 off 10 tight overs, while Hay conceded only 25 runs off his 10 overs of offspin. However, indiscipline cost WTTU heavily as their bowlers conceded a staggering 38 wides.

Renwick were well in the hunt at 26 for three in WTTU's reply. But a 63-run fourth-wicket partnership between Hay and Mason Thelin (31) began to generate some crucial momentum before Hay and Harpur joined forces, Harpur hitting 13 fours and three sixes in an indomitable innings. Hay was 79 not out at the finish.

Stoke-Nayland always appeared in control as they also sealed a comfortable 159-run win over Criterion Hotel Wairau Valley at the Marsden Rec.

A match-winning 132-run second-wicket stand between opener Mark Douglas and his captain, Ryan Edwards, was the difference between the two sides – Douglas hitting 92 runs, including 13 fours, as a more sedate Edwards constantly worked the singles for his 58. By the time Edwards was run out at 217 for five in the 40th over, a huge total beckoned.

But with Wairau Valley's bowlers managing to stem the boundaries, Stoke-Nayland eventually settled for 276 for nine at the close, leaving Darius Skeaping unbeaten on 31.

Wairau Valley's Steve Boyce and Ethan Gleeson maintained early interest with a 38-run opening stand in reply. However, the steady loss of wickets saw the innings collapse as Stoke-Nayland's four-seamer attack finally ended Wairau Valley's dwindling resistance at 117 in just the 32nd over.

Gleeson (20) and Matt McCormick (25) were the major providers, although seamers Marty King (4-42), Mitchell Ross (3-25), Dylan Eginton (2-33) and Skeaping (1-11) always had the operation well in hand.

Nelson's newly crowned Twenty20 champions, Athletic College Old Boys, had a genuine fight on their hands before eventually edging Biddy Kates Celtic by just four runs at the Botanics.

The match went right to the wire, despite Celtic requiring a heady 22 runs off the final over for the win. They got 17 of them, leaving No8 batsman Gareth Weaver stranded on 93 not out after a gritty rearguard action.

ACOB's innings had also needed a late injection of runs by Greg Chitty and skipper Luke Toynbee to help boost a struggling run rate due to some testing early bowling by seamers Ben Blackman and Ben McLennan.

The batsmen struggled for traction at the top of ACOB's order until No6 batsman Marc Allsopp (38) began to show some aggression ahead of the two crucial innings by Chitty and Toynbee. Chitty hit six fours and two sixes to end the innings unbeaten on 70, Toynbee hammering four sixes and three fours on his way to 61, the innings eventually finishing at a competitive 272 for eight.

Celtic opener Jackson Pearce accepted the immediate challenge, his 64-run innings including four fours and two sixes, before Jerrym Lamb (38) and finally Weaver continued the battle further down the line. Toynbee used nine bowlers in his attempt to end Celtic's resistance, his offspin accounting for three of the wickets as ACOB finally restricted Celtic to 268 for eight.

Hot Mama's Motueka barely got out of cruise mode as they coasted to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Brewer's Bar Wakatu at Memorial Park.

An unbeaten 101-run third-wicket partnership between opening batsman Kurt Pahl and BJ Barnett eventually saw Motueka home at 154 for two after 37 overs, Motueka having required only 33.4 overs to dismiss Wakatu for a paltry 153.

Sadly for Pahl, he was left stranded on 95 not out when he scored the winning single, Barnett having hit a six and a four off consecutive deliveries at the start of the final over to effectively deny Pahl any chance of reaching his milestone. Barnett finished unbeaten on 37 at the other end, Motueka's bonus point win only counting towards the Nelson club championship.

Matt Macquet's 50-run innings off 47 balls was a beacon in Wakatu's otherwise underwhelming batting effort as openers Shane Laurence (24) and Aaron Dron (17) and Cam Neynens (11) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.

Macquet hit five fours and two sixes, but it was Motueka offspinner Duncan Cederman who dominated proceedings, capturing five for 24 off just 5.4 overs, fellow offspinner Craig Hampton also chiming in with two for 23 as the pair efficiently shredded Wakatu's middle and lower order.