Pukekohe Metro booked a spot in the Spark Regional Competition final after topping Pool 2 on the back of a six wicket win over Hamilton Old Boys at Bledisloe Park in Pukekohe on Saturday.
The boys in green entered this sudden death game against the Hamilton glamour club knowing a bonus point win would give them every chance of making their first ever final of this regional competition.
Skipper Cameron Hardwick won the toss and invited the visitors to have first hit. They quickly found themselves in a heap of trouble with Counties men’s paceman Reid Somani wreaking havoc with a quality opening spell.
At 41/5 things looked absolutely on track, but Old Boys have quality throughout their order, and former Northern Districts rep Brook Hatwell, batting at number eight, produced a quality unbeaten 67, which guided the visitors through to 203 at the end of their turn at bat.
The bonus point scenario meant Puke-Metro had 40 overs to chase this down. A flying start from Jono Keen and Aue Parima made the task a whole lot easier. The first wicket fell at 107 in just the 14th over allowing the batsmen that followed the ability to take their time and in the end the locals coasted to victory in the 32nd over.
Their fantastic effort in the round robin means they earn a final this week against Hamilton Marist. The supporters’ bus has already been booked, and the Puke-Metro boys are looking to take one more step, to become the champion club across Counties, Hamilton and Waikato Valley for the 2020/21 Spark Competition.
The last round of the Spark Competition also saw a local derby with Karaka facing near neighbours Papakura. Unfortunately Papakura, who have been progressing nicely throughout the early season, chose this day to not quite hit their straps, leaving all the local plaudits to head back down the road to Karaka.
Karaka skipper Luke Williamson chose to have first hit on what looked like a good wicket at Bruce Pulman Park, and decided to make the most of it himself, with a well compiled 75. This innings, along with support from the in-form Sam Varcoe, and promising off-spinning all-rounder Trey Bidois helped Karaka to a competitive total.
The pick of the Papakura boys with the ball was Davinder Singh who was making his first premier appearance of the year, coming up from the Senior A grade. His selection was rewarded with a five wicket bag – an impressive achievement.
Papakura’s innings started bad and just got worse. 3/1 turned into 47/8, and only some late order resistance from Sharan Nagra prevented a total humiliation. Destroyer in chief was Michael Schofield, who was having a big week. His 6/48 followed on from earlier in the week, where a 50th cap for Counties Manukau senior men’s side arrived, and 12 wickets in the annual Brian Dunning Tournament left him the tournament’s top wicket-taker.
The win meant Karaka finished in fourth place in their pool, with Papakura finishing seventh out of eight.
Following a frustrating campaign, Manukau City was hoping to finish their Spark Campaign with a win over the visiting Melville team. At the halfway stage, they would have fancied their chances, but once again the batting did not fire and their chase landed 20 runs short of home base.
Dhruvit Patel was the leading wicket taker in the innings and was complemented by a fine group effort from all the bowlers, including exciting youngster Louis Anderson who claimed two wickets on his premier debut for the club.
The batting line-up struggled without usual skipper Sandeep Patel (hamstring strain), and didn’t have enough answers to the Knights’ left arm spinner Freddy Walker, who’s 4/22 strangled the life out of the chase.
The bright spot for Manukau was the effort of 16-year-old Rikesh Patel, who played nicely for his 26. In Patel and Anderson, Manukau have secured two of the brightest talents in the ND region, who will no doubt add quality to the club in years to come.
Pukekohe Metro’s successful weekend carried into Senior A competition as well with both sides enjoying wins. The Pukekohe Metro Gold team moved into a share of the lead in Pool 2 as a result.
Manukau’s disappointing weekend also followed into Senior A action with both of their sides dropping their respective games.
Papakura continue to lead Pool 1 but Waiuku moved into second place in the pool with a win over Karaka.
Weymouth Eastern Kings beat top-of-the-table Manukau City Punjab Lions by 128 runs in a terrific Senior B performance.
Both Papakura sides enjoyed wins while Glenbrook Maramarua and United also collected victories.
Clevedon marked its first appearance as Match of the Week with a cliffhanging win over the powerful Karaka Mustangs.
After opting to bat first on a flat, hard looking pitch the highly rated Nick Howells notched his first 50 of the campaign with an innings that contained three huge sixes. He was supported by the powerful Cameron King who had a regal air about him as he dominated the Mustangs attack.
186 is a tough chase in any T20 game, but the Mustangs came out of the blocks strong, with the blockbusting duo of Stewart and Bharti laying the platform. A 103-run opening stand was a great platform, but Clevedon are known for their tight bowling and in the end, led by Josh Hanley’s key wicket taking ability, the boys from Counties Eastern Suburbs held on for the win by five runs.
A great effort from both teams, and a good spectacle for the spectators.
Premier (Spark Regional Competition)
Karaka CC Premier Men (245/9 – 50.0 overs) beat Papakura CC Premier Men (87/10 – 20.1 overs) by 158 runs.
Luke Williamson – 75, Sam Varcoe – 49, Trey Bidois – 36
Michael Schofield – 6/48, Cameron Jerram – 3/30
Davinder Singh (Papakura) – 5/43
Hamilton Old Boys (Senior) Old Boys Premier (203/8 – 50.0 overs) lost to Milestone Homes Pukekohe Metro Premiers (207/4 – 31.5 overs) by 6 wickets.
Reid Somani – 4/38, Cameron Hardwick – 2/35
Jonathan Keen – 69, Aue Parima – 56, Marcel Marconi – 31
Gallagher Melville CC Premier (151/10 – 41.4 overs) beat Manukau City CC Premier Men (131/10 – 37.4 overs) by 20 runs.
Dhruvit Patel – 3/15, Louis Anderson – 2/16, Stan Skinner – 2/16, Nathan Halliday – 2/26
Rikesh Patel – 26,
Senior A (Manchester Shield)
Tuakau CC Senior A (175/10 – 45.0 overs) lost to Pukekohe Metro CC Senior A Green (176/5 – 38.0 overs) by 5 wickets.
Karaka CC Senior A (165/10 – 44.4 overs) lost to Waiuku CC Senior A (170/5 – 34.0 overs) by 5 wickets.
Manukau City CC Senior A Red (128/10 – 43.3 overs) lost to Weymouth CC Senior A, Mighty Kings (131/3 – 20.0 overs) by 7 wickets.
Manukau City CC Senior A Rising Caps (67/10 – 20.3 overs) lost to Manukau City CC Senior A Fearless X1 (68/3 – 22.0 overs) by 7 wickets.
Papakura CC Senior A Heat (235/8 – 50.0 overs) beat United CC Senior A (207/5 – 50.0 overs) by 28 runs.
Pukekohe Metro CC Senior A Gold (298/9 – 50.0 overs) beat Weymouth CC Senior A (150/10 – 33.1 overs) by 148 runs.
Senior B
Manukau City CC Senior B Blue (152/10 – 39.1 overs) lost to Papakura CC Senior B White (153/4 – 24.2 overs) by 6 wickets.
Karaka CC Senior B (148/9 – 39.1 overs) lost to Papakura CC Senior B Blue (149/4 – 29.1 overs) by 6 wickets.
Glenbrook/Maramarua CC Senior B (191/10 – 39.1 overs) beats Pukekohe Metro CC Senior B (140/10 – 33.0 overs) by 51 runs.
Weymouth CC Senior B (187/9 – 40.0 overs) beat Tuakau CC Senior B (156/10 – 36.2 overs) by 31 runs.
United CC Senior B Marauders (175/10 – 35.0 overs) beat Waiuku CC Senior B (79/10 – 24.4 overs) by 96 runs.
Weymouth CC Senior B, Eastern Kings (225/10 – 36.4 overs) beat Manukau City CC Senior B Punjab Lions (97/10 – 27.0 overs) by 128 runs.
T20
Tuakau CC T20 Turkeys (179/3 – 20.0 overs) beat Pohutukawa Coast CC T20 Coastal Calamities (114/6 – 20.0 overs) by 65 runs.
Mauku CC Senior T20 (54/7 – 11.5 overs) lost to United CC T20 Pirates (55/3 – 11.2 overs) by 4 wickets.
Weymouth CC Grumpy Old Men T20 (89/6 – 18.2 overs) lost to Manukau City CC T20 Red (93/0 – 10.3 overs) by 7 wickets.
Manukau City CC T20 Zoo (124/6 – 20.0 overs) lost to Weymouth CC Hardly Athletic T20 (125/1 – 11.5 overs) by 6 wickets.
MATCH OF THE WEEK
Clevedon CC T20 (186/6 – 20.0 overs) Nick Howells 64(36), Cameron King 36(19), Cameron McRae 3/21 beat Karaka CC Mustangs (181/3 – 20.0 overs) Paul Stewart 56(49), Shobit Bharti 37(34), Joshua Hanley 2/30 by 5 runs.
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