Day 1 of the ICNZ Senior Provincials from Action Indoor Sports Central Auckland have concluded, with a number of sides making the early running across each grade. Here are the highlights:
Premier Men:
In the two round-robin format, it was Central Districts who made an explosive start to the competition, rattling off three wins from three matches to top the standings. Their impressive nine skins ensured they finished the day on 21 points from a maximum of 24. They are seven points ahead of second placed Auckland, with both teams having played three matches apiece; the rest with a game in hand.
They started the day with a 53-29 win over last year’s runners-up Auckland. Corey Perrett scored 20 with the bat while Nick Standen’s 5/-15 including a hat-trick derailed Auckland’s chase through the middle. Their second outing against defending champions Wellington saw them chase down a stiffer target of 77. Wellington’s innings was set up through the middle with Nick Ward and Jesse Ryder (22) and Mitchell Rush and Bryce Fellows (30) ensuring Central had to make a chase of it. However, the consistency of Central’s batting (all four pairs making over 20) was the difference, as they got home by 19 runs. Later in the day it was Canterbury’s turn. Central made a valuable 87 in their turn at bat, all pairs chipping in as Philip Baraclough and Laurence Watson made 30 to open the match. In response the Red and Blacks never got going, with the first pair registering -11. They were chasing the match from there and this time it was Adrian Fong’s turn with the ball, taking 5/-14 as they inflicted a heavy 74-run win to finish the day.
Auckland rebounded from their earlier loss by winning their next two on the bounce. They overcame Northern Districts by 9 runs in their second match, after Victor Davies and Craig Elliott’s opening partnership of 37 led them to a competitive 85. Darren Crook then took 3/-6 through the middle to stymie the chase. Although Northern’s last pair of Cooper Rowell and Arnie Yugaraja got to 25, they were left with too much to do to get the win. They would have been pleased with their second win over Wellington, after again putting up a good score of 89. While both middle pairs were relatively even (Auckland made 56 vs Wellington’s 66), it was Auckland’s eight wickets to Wellington’s three which made the difference, as Victor Davies, Hendrik Van Vuuren and Jason Hill all shared two apiece. The 10-run win consigned Wellington to two defeats for the day, joining Northern Districts as the only teams who didn’t register a win on the first day.
It was mixed fortunes for the Canterbury Men, starting the day with a big win and ending the day with a heavy defeat. It was a promising opening encounter as they reduced Northern to 36 before comfortably pulling away to 76 in response. The Gardner brothers, Mitchell and Braden took two apiece, and the team in total took nine, as Northern never got out of the blocks. They worked hard in the chase, making 47 in the first three skins for the loss of two wickets, before Richard Bell’s 20 took them to a comfortable win.
Summary Scores (batting team first):
Northern Districts 36 (1) [Joll 13, Dodunski 13, M Gardner 2/-1, B Gardner 2/1] lost to Canterbury 74 (3) [Bell 20, Papps 14, Martin 0/0, Dodunski 1/2]
Central Districts 53 (2) [Perrett 20, Fong 19, King 3/-4, Elliot 1/-1] def. Auckland 29 (2) [Crook 17, Lane 13, Standen 5/-15, Beatson 3/-12]
Wellington 76 (2) [Fellows 15, Rush 15, Watson 3/-8, Beatson 1/6] lost to Central Districts 89 (2) [Watson 19, Fong 16, Rush 1/1, Ryan 1/6]
Auckland 85 (2) [Davies 24, Crook 14, Yugaraja 1/4, Joll 1/4] def. Northern Districts 76 (2) [Wellsford 15, Rowell 14, Crook 3/-6, Sharma 2/-1]
Central Districts 87 (4) [Barraclough 15, Watson 15, B Gardner 2/0, Campbell 1/3] def. Canterbury 13 (0) [M Gardner 12, Cochrane 9, Fong 5/-14, Jensen 3/-6]
Auckland 89 (2) [Wright 22, King 15, Johnson 1/4, Foster 1/7] def. Wellington 79 (2) [Ryan 23, Ward 18, Davies 2/-3, Hill 2/1]
Standings: Central Districts 21*, Auckland 14*, Canterbury 7**, Wellington 3**, Northern Districts 3**
* Played three matches; **Played two matches
Premier Women:
With only three sides playing a double round-robin format, there were just the two matches played on the opening day of the Women’s competition. Auckland and Northern Districts both recorded comprehensive wins over Canterbury, with Auckland’s four skins bringing them eight points for a slender one-point advantage over Northern at the end of the day.
The day started well for the Northerners, after Auckland recorded a 75-33 win over the Red and Blacks in the opening contest. Steady contributions in their opening three pairs saw them make 48, before Pam Yates’s 20 in the last skin saw them set up a tricky total. Amy Rendell and Claudia Green both took two wickets. In response, Canterbury held firm in their first three pairs scoring 40, including 18 by Jacinta Savage, however there was too much for the last pair to do. While five wickets fell in that pair, as they attempted to go for the win, the foundation was laid in the 12 overs preceding it, as Auckland took nine wickets and generated five third-ball plays to put the brakes on Canterbury’s chase. Lily Mulivai and Regina Lillii took two wickets apiece.
In the second match of the day, a superb fielding effort saw Northern restrict Canterbury to just 20 batting first, after conceding 25 in the first two pairs. Northern took a massive 15 wickets in the 16 overs, with Shreya Naidu closing the second and third pairs to end up with the impressive figures of 4/-12. Five other bowlers took two wickets each, with 33 dot-balls ensuring the Red and Blacks got nowhere near a competitive total. In response, Canterbury were a lot better in the field, but not before Northern had run away with the match. Natasha Van Tillburg and Skye Bowden (29) took the match out of reach in the first pair, but two wickets to Emily Lord, Georgina Harris, Daphne Boyd-Tibbots and Saffron Wilson meant they took one point from the game.
Summary Scores (batting team first):
Auckland 75 (4) [Yates 20, Deb 15, Green 2/3, Emily 1/4] def. Canterbury 33 (0) [Savage 18, Boyd-Tibbots 10, Erica 3/-4, Deb 2/-1]
Canterbury 20 (1) [Rendell 19, Lord/Savage 7, Naidu 4/-12, Van Tillburg 2/-6] lost to Northern Districts 60 (3) [Van Tillburg 23, Crooks 10, Boyd-Tibbots 2/-3, Harris 2/-2]
Standings: Auckland 8, Northern Districts 7, Canterbury 1*
*Played two matches
22 & Under Boys:
Four matches were played today in the 22 & Under Boys grade, with four sides also contesting a double round-robin format. Wellington Boys made the greatest impact on day one, going unbeaten and taking three skins from each game for 14 points, with a handy five-point lead ahead of second-placed Auckland. Northern Districts also picked up a win, while Canterbury Boys were unsuccessful in both their outings to date.
In the first game of the day, Northern made their way to 70 batting first against Wellington. Brody Gilroy and Nathan Walker (31) gave them the impetus in the third pair, after Joey Field had taken three wickets in his two overs to set them back earlier on in the innings. Nine wickets and six third-ball plays ensured the target was a gettable one. Despite a hiccup in the middle, with -7 in the third pair, all other pairs scored over 25; Harley Smith and Regan Vekony closing with 30 to ensure Wellington took an 11-run win. Their second outing against Canterbury showed another consistent effort; 53 runs through the middle pairs ensured they put up 84 while the Red and Blacks could only take three wickets in the 16 overs. While Canterbury needed 30 in the last pair to win, it proved to be a few too many as Wellington prevailed by 17 runs.
Canterbury would be disappointed with their effort against Auckland after a very promising start. Batting first, they reached 42 in their first two pairs, with Nic Brosnahan and Flynn O’Donnell (22) and Jackson Hemingway and Jared McKay (20) setting them up with a good base. Unfortunately, they fell away after this, scoring a meagre seven runs in the last eight overs; Renay Meadows taking three, while Viren Manglani and Isaac Crooks shared two apiece. 50 was never going to be enough however Canterbury came out fired up, reducing the first pair to four, with Hemmingway, Thomas McDonald and Josh Dyer all taking wickets. Bailey and Renay Meadows amassed 38 between them, bringing the game to parity, before Auckland pulled away in the last skin.
Northern finished the day strongly, with a 10-run win against Auckland, sparked by a great bowling performance and backed up with consistent batting chasing 64 to win. It was in the field where the match was won though. While they only took five wickets, there was an incredible 42 dot-balls, as the Aucklanders struggled to get the ball away. They conceded -2 in the third pair as Gilroy grabbed a double while Devon Murdoch and Jack Shimmin took one apiece.
Summary scores (batting team first):
Northern Districts 70 (1) [Gilroy 20, Desai 17, Field 3/-2, Pawson 2/-1] lost to Wellington 81 (3) [McHale 22, Pile 18, Gilroy 2/-2, Murdoch 3/0]
Canterbury 49 (1) [O’Donnell 12, Hemmingway 11, R Meadows 3/-2, Crooks 2/0] lost to Auckland 75 (3) [R Meadows 22, B Meadows 16, Hemmingway 2/-5, Finnie 2/1]
Wellington 84 (3) [McHale 15, Field 14, McKay 1/5, Beck 1/7] def. Canterbury 67 (1) [O’Donnell 12, Watson/Dyer 11]
Auckland 63 (2) [Henry 14, Donovan 14, Gilroy 2/-4, Murdoch 1/4] lost to Northern Districts 73 (2) [Gilroy 13, Mackenzie 12, B Meadows 3/-6, R Meadows 2/-1]
Standings: Wellington 14, Auckland 9, Northern Districts 7, Canterbury 2
22 & Under Girls:
Each team played each other once today in the 22 & Under Girls grade, with three sides contesting a double round-robin format. The early indications appear similar to the Boys’ 22 & Under grade, with Wellington taking two solid wins to go unbeaten after the first round of play. Their seven skins from a potential eight have catapulted them to 15 points, a handy nine-point buffer from Auckland, whilst Canterbury did not register a win today. From here, Wellington would be in pole position for a place directly into the grand final, as the second round of matches take place tomorrow.
In the opening match of the day, Auckland’s 94 proved to be a few runs too many for a game Canterbury side, who went down by seven runs, but took three skins in the process. The Aucklanders set their innings up with an excellent 39 in the first pair from Lune Strydom and Annie Ewart, as the Red and Blacks struggled to maintain their lines. Canterbury pulled it back after that, and although Gemma Adams and Amie Hucker closed with 23, Georgia Wells closed two pairs herself with the miserly figures of 2/0. In the chase Adams and Hucker backed up their batting with three wickets between them in the first pair, and two to Iesha Bruce as the first pair registered just three runs. Canterbury were chasing the game from here but didn’t give up, as Maia Radloff and Joey Hull (25) and Rachel Davidson and Jenny Harvey (35) brought them back into the match for a tight finish.
Wellington halted any momentum Canterbury took from their first game, with a comprehensive 57-run win for all four skins. They set up the match with their batting in the first innings, scoring 89 as the first three pairs all scored over 20, with Olivia Boivin (18) and Kate Fenton (16) propping up the total in their pairs. It was then all Wellington in the field, as they took 15 wickets in their 16 overs; Fenton, Isla Shanks and Micaela Mason-Jones all taking three.
Wellington backed it up with another solid batting effort, scoring 89 in their match against Auckland. The impetus was again at the top with the first two pairs making 57; Asha Strom and Phoenix Williams combining for 36 themselves in the second pair. While Lune Strydom took three wickets herself in the third pair from her two overs, they were left chasing almost a run-a-ball to win. Wellington kept the pressure on, bowling 27 dot-balls through their innings as Strom and Xara Jetly took two wickets each. Despite 23 from Adams and Hucker at the end, they could only manage one point.
Summary scores (batting team first):
Auckland 94 (1) [Strydom 23, King 17, Wells 2/0, Davidson 1/9] def. Canterbury 87 (3) [Harvey 24, Radloff 15, Hucker 2/-5, Ewart 2/2]
Wellington 89 (4) [Boivin 18, Fenton 16, Foster 1/4, Asmussen 1/4] def. Canterbury 32 (0) [Harvey 23, Gibbs 15, Mason-Jones 3/-7, Shanks 3/-3]
Wellington 89 (3) [Strom 21, Jetly/Williams/Brearton 15, Strydom 3/-4, Illie/King 1/4] def. Auckland 70 (1) [Hucker 16, Stanton 13, Strom 2/3, Jetly 2/3]
Standings: Wellington 15, Auckland 6, Canterbury 3
