A remarkable five-wicket haul by Conor O'Fee helped University-Grange steal a dramatic win over North East Valley in Dunedin senior cricket on Saturday.
University-Grange 131
beat North East Valley 125 by six runs
O'Fee took five of the last seven wickets to stop the North East Valley batsmen in their chase for a small total.
Batting first, University-Grange started steadily to reach 79 for three, but good bowling from Jerram Bateman (two for 15) and Simon Murley (two for 15) caused the team to freefall and lose its last seven wickets for 38 runs.
North East Valley would have felt confident chasing 132 for victory, but no batsman found true rhythm, as O'Fee took over.
Derek De Boorder scored 24 for North East Valley, but the team's top score came from extras, with 29.
Issac Gutschlag tried gallantly to steal victory when 21 runs were needed with one wicket remaining, but O'Fee caught and bowled Gutschlag to secure the win.
Green Island 191/4
beat Carisbrook-Dunedin 190 by six wickets
Green Island continued its strong form, comfortably chasing down a modest total with seven overs and six wickets remaining, against Carisbrook-Dunedin.
Carisbrook batsman Tom Rutherford batted well to reach 53, before being dismissed by Mark Joyce.
Modest contributions from Michael Higgins (29) and Nick Eathorne (20) helped give the team a respectable total of 190, but it was always going to struggle to defend it against the in-form Green Island batsmen.
In response, Green Island lost an early wicket at 27, but a 106-run partnership between Gregor Croudis (58) and Scott Simpson (50) helped set the team up for victory.
Albion 182/3
beat Taieri 181 by seven wickets
Taieri managed one of its better batting performances but it was not enough to stop a rampant Albion side.
Tim Clydesdale (54) was the pick of the batsmen for Taieri, settling at the crease and helping his side gain momentum on its way to 181.
However, the Taieri bowlers struggled to capture wickets and were no match for the Albion batsmen, who reached the total with 13 overs remaining. Mark Craig (55) and Mark Somerville (68) created an 82-run partnership and ensured Albion captured a victory.
Kaikorai had the bye.
- John McKenzie
