Green Island 242 for nine
beat Kaikorai 153 by 89 runs
Kaikorai has been setting the pace this season but Green Island has trimmed the gap at the top of the competition standings to just two points with a comfortable win over its rival.
Veteran medium pacer Dion Lobb was outstanding once again.
He took five for 36 to help dismiss Kaikorai for 153 after his side had posted 242 for nine from its 50 overs at Sunnyvale.
The Swamp Rats started well with Scott Simpson and Nathan Watt (23) putting on 76 for the first wicket.
Simpson went on to reach 69. Joel Meade played aggressively for his 38, while Mark Joyce (24) and Russell Ritchie (20 not out) made solid contributions.
Ritchie starred with the ball as well, taking three for 27. But it was Lobb's day.
He overtook Grant Payne at the top of Green Island's list of leading wicket-takers earlier this season and continues to take regular five-wicket bags.
Kaikorai showed some fight through Rhys Bayly, who was undefeated on 40.
Matt Hunted scored 21 at the top.
Hamish Robertson added 28 and Iain Robertson counterattacked with 27 from 12 balls.
No11 Michael Fraser swatted two fours and a six in a seven-ball stay.
The problem for Kaikorai was it was not able to establish a more lasting partnership than the 44 runs Hamish Robertson and Bayly put on for the fifth wicket.
North East Valley 39
lost to Taieri 40 for three by seven wickets
Taieri's Regan Flaws just about did it all.
The right-armer took four for 18 in a tremendous spell.
He effected two run-outs and scored 25 with the bat to help his side record a seven-wicket win against a North East Valley unit that was dismissed for just 39.
The game was shifted to Bayfield but the artificial pitch proved to be a tricky wicket to bat on.
There was a shower just before the game started and the ball was skidding through and seaming off the pitch.
Flaws removed opener Tom Griffin with a ball the batsman decided to leave. It nipped back and crashed into the top of off stump.
Then Fred Humphries nicked out. Veteran Michael MacKenzie grabbed the catch at second slip. It was his 150th for the club.
Chris Beck shouldered arms as well and North East Valley soon found itself on 15 for four.
Second-grade medium pacer Logan Smart took three for three from three overs to complete the rout. Only Adam Miles was able to stick around for long. He top-scored with 17.
Taieri lost three wickets chasing the target but the winning runs were hit in the seventh over of its innings.
Albion 231 for nine, Caris
Dunedin 8 for six, game abandoned
Albion was robbed.
The defending champion needed to get through just one more ball - yes, one more ball - and it would have beaten Carisbrook-Dunedin by the Duckworth-Lewis method at Tonga Park No3.
A minimum of 20 overs per side is required and Albion had got through 19.5 overs.
Richie Buchanan was at the top of his mark and ready to run in.
But a bit of gamesmanship from batsman Kane McKay combined with a shower arriving at the right time saw the players leave the field and the game was later abandoned.
Carisbrook was 88 for six in reply to Albion's 231 for nine.
At one point, Carisbrook-Dunedin was ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis calculation but three quick wickets from Buchanan saw Albion pull ahead.
While Albion did not get the win, it can be pleased with its performance. Taylor Cumberland dropped down the order to No4 and scored 77 from 107 balls. He combined in a 74-run stand with Mark Somerville (34) for the fourth wicket.
Matt West smashed 45 not out from 31 balls to help get his team into a strong position.
Chris Ware was once again impressive for Carisbrook-Dunedin. The left-armer took three for 33 and off-spinner Riki Ashwell bowled well with two for 32 from 10 overs.
Sean Eathorne (38) and Max Chu (26) added 62 for the third wicket and got Carisbrook-Dunedin ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis.
Their dismissals saw the game swing Albion's way before rain had the final say.
