Pukekohe Metro continued their dominance of the Duthie Cup 50 over Counties Manukau Cricket competition after beating second-placed Karaka by 88 runs on Saturday.

Pukekohe won the toss and opted to bat first on the Karaka Sports Complex wicket and got a solid start – working their way to 93/1 before top scorer Jonathan Keen was dismissed for 57.

Innings of substance from Marcel Marconi (38), Aue Parima (45), Leon Marconi (32) and Reid Somani (50) helped propel the visitors through to 281/8 off their 50 overs.

Leon Williamson, Cameron Jerram and Cory Mackay each picked up two wickets for the home side.

Counties Manukau men’s two-day captain Sam Varcoe showcased his class once again as he powered the run-chase with a game-high 118 off 108 balls – his fourth century of the season.

Unfortunately he got little help at the other end as Karaka lost wickets consistently throughout their innings. A 45-run partnership between Varcoe and Michael Schofield for the eighth wicket was the best partnership the home side could muster and their chase fell well short.

Marcel Marconi capped a terrific all-round day by collecting 4/23 while Cameron Hardwick had 3/37 for Pukekohe Metro.

Meanwhile Manukau City completed a comfortable 69-run victory over Papakura in the weekend’s other premier fixture at Bruce Pulman Park.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat and got off to a good start, losing their first wicket with the score at 49.

Long-serving player Richard Faust, recently returned from a stint in Australia, top-scored for Manukau, pacing the innings with 77 off 68 balls in an aggressive display before he was forced to retire hurt.

Rikeshs Patel (31 off 47), Tannin Khurana (22 off 27) and Dhruvit Patel (21 off 34) chipped in to get Manukau through to 202 all out.

The talented Cory Dickson was the chief destroyer for Papakura, taking 4/17 in a phenomenal spell, which included four maidens. RV Singh picked up a couple of wickets as well.

The Papakura run-chase never looked likely as they lost wickets at the top and fell to 62/7 before a late bit of fight from Jaggy Singh (54 off 42) and an unbeaten 37 off 61 from RV Singh got Papakura to 133 all out.

Pukekohe Metro Green successfully chased down Waiuku’s 251 all out with four wickets to spare in their Senior A Manchester Shield clash at Waiuku. An unbeaten 108 from Fraser Farrell powered the Pukekohe chase.

The Manukau City Fearless X1 scored a nail-biting three-run win over Weymouth Mighty Kings in an epic battle at Memorial Park. Suraj Gupta’s 82 and a half century from Yadvinder Singh saw the home side post 291/8 off their 50 overs. Weymouth’s chase came up just short despite a century from Karminder Singh.

The Manukau City Rising Caps cruised to a 107-run win over Pukekohe Metro Gold in their match at Memorial Park. Despite Pukekohe new ball bowler JS Singh taking 5/66, Manukau were able to post a target of 312. Pukekohe never got close, bowled out for 205.

Papakura Heat held off a spirited chase by Weymouth in the Plate section. Set 213 to win the match, Weymouth finished on 209/7 off their 45 overs.

Manukau City Red accounted for United with a 25-run win at Drury – Jagroop Singh Baath taking 7/40 to wipe out a century by United’s Owen Ford.

Karaka picked up a 47-run win over Tuakau after bowling the visitors out for 160.

Karaka scored a win in Senior B action however as they rolled Waiuku for 100 before chasing down the target in the 16th over but six wickets down.

A century to opening batsman Martin Denyer powered Glenbrook Maramarua to an impressive 244/7 off their 40 overs against Weymouth. They then bowled the visitors out for 194 with brother Aaron Denyer capturing four wickets.

The Manukau City Punjab Lions chased down Tuakau’s target of 194 all out, earning a three wicket win with more than 11 overs to go.

The Weymouth Eastern Kings cruised to a 148-run win over Papakura Blue while Pukekohe Metro ensured it was a tough day for Papakura as they beat Papakura White by two wickets.

Teams in Senior B now split into a top six/bottom six format.

Cullen Halliday produced arguably the innings of the season as they powered his Manukau City Zoo side to a dazzling score of 238 in their T20 game against the United Pirates. Halliday scored an unbeaten 150 off just 66 balls. His innings included three sixes and 19 fours. At the other end Devon Bryant scored 66 off 56 as the opening pair batted the entire 20 overs. United’s chase ended at 172/6.

This week’s match of the day was a low scoring thriller out at Karaka Sports Club, where the Weymouth Grumpy Old Men eventually wore down the Mustangs to claim a seven-run win.

The Grumpy Old men won the toss and with the sun shining decided to have first hit, but at the halfway stage they were not happy. Kamal Luthra was the main provider for them, but without a lot of support a total of just over 100 was a pass mark at best. The Mustangs off-spinner Ryan Fletcher was the pick of the bowlers, managing to extract kick and turn from the otherwise docile pitch.

The Grumpy Old Men still had something to say though. The Mustangs innings was bucked with three early wickets and though Cameron McRae steadied the ship, in the end the chase ran out of steam on 94.

Other winners in the grade were Pukekohe Metro Snakebites, Manukau City Red, Weymouth Hardly Athletic and Pohutukawa Coast.

Premier (Duthie Cup)

Manukau City CC Premiers (202/9 – 48.3 overs) – Richard Faust – 77, Rikesh Patel – 31, Tannin Khurana – 22, Cory Dickson – 4/17, Arwinder Singh – 2/72 Beat Papakura CC Premier Men (133/10 – 33.3 overs) – Jaggy Singh – 54, Arwinder Singh – 37, Sandeep Patel – 3/31, Nathan Halliday – 3/33, Adam Horvath – 2/5 by 69 runs.

Pukekohe Metro CC Premiers (281/8 – 50.0 overs) – Jonathan Keen – 57, Reid Somani – 51, Aue Parima – 45, Marcel Marconi – 38, Cory Mackay – 2/49, Luke Williamson – 2/45, Cameron Jerram – 2/46 beat Karaka CC Premier Men (193/10 – 41.3 overs) – Sam Varcoe- 118, Cory Mackay – 2/49, Marcel Marconi – 4/24, Cameron Hardwick – 3/37, Reid Somani – 2/35 by 88 runs.

Senior A (Manchester Shield – Championship)

Waiuku CC Senior A (251/10 – 48.3 overs) lost to Pukekohe Metro CC Senior A Green (252/6 – 46.4 overs) by 4 wickets.

Manukau City CC Senior A Fearless X1 (291/8 – 50.0 overs) beat  Weymouth CC Senior A, Mighty Kings (288/10 – 50.0 overs) by 3 runs.

Manukau City CC Senior A Rising Caps (312/9 – 50.0 overs) beat Pukekohe Metro CC Senior A Gold (205/10 – 40.4 overs) by 107 runs.

Senior A (Manchester Shield – Plate)

Papakura CC Senior A Heat (212/10 – 45.0 overs) lost to Weymouth CC Senior A (209/7 – 45.0 overs) by 3 wickets.

Manukau City CC Senior A Red (244/9 – 50.0 overs) beat United CC Senior A (219/10 – 49.4 overs) by 25 runs.

Karaka CC Senior A (207/9 – 40.0 overs) beat Tuakau CC Senior A (160/10 – 43.0 overs) by 47 runs.

Senior B

United CC Senior B Marauders – loss on forfeit vs Manukau City CC Senior B Blue – Win on forfeit

Papakura CC Senior B White (160/10 – 33.2 overs) lost to Pukekohe Metro CC Senior B (161/8 – 30.2 overs) by 2 wickets.

Tuakau CC Senior B (194/10 – 39.3 overs) lost to Manukau City CC Senior B Punjab Lions (195/7 – 28.4 overs) by 3 wickets.

Waiuku CC Senior B (100/10 – 28.2 overs) lost to Karaka CC Senior B (101/6 – 15.2 overs) by 4 wickets.

Glenbrook/Maramarua CC Senior B (244/7 – 40.0 overs) beat Weymouth CC Senior B (194/10 – 37.4 overs) by 50 runs.

Weymouth CC Senior B, Eastern Kings (274/10 – 37.3 overs) beat Papakura CC Senior B Blue (126/10 – 34.4 overs) by 148 runs.

T20

Pukekohe Metro CC T20 Snakebites (155/5 – 20.0 overs) beat Mauku CC Senior T20 (142/2 – 20.0 overs) by 13 runs.

Manukau City CC T20 Red (164/6 – 20.0 overs) beat Tuakau CC T20 Turkeys (150/7 – 19.3 overs) by 14 runs.

Clevedon CC T20 (85/7 – 13.1 overs) lost to Weymouth CC Hardly Athletic T20 (86/1 – 9.1 overs) by 6 wickets.

Manukau City CC T20 Zoo (238/0 – 20.0 overs) beat United CC T20 Pirates (172/6 – 20.0 overs) by 66 runs.

MATCH OF THE DAY:

Weymouth CC Grumpy Old Men T20 (101/3 – 20.0 overs) – Kamal Luthra 33(24), Ryan Fletcher 2/26 beat Karaka CC Mustangs (94/7 – 16.5 overs) – Cameron McRae 27(33), John White 2/23, Douglas Carson 2/10 by 7 runs.

Pohutukawa Coast CC T20 Coastal Calamities (161/6 – 20.0 overs) beat Pukekohe Metro CC Potato Peelers (151/7 – 18.1 overs) by 10 runs.