The latest round of Borton Cup cricket delivered two comfortable victories and a nail-biting one-wicket thriller at the weekend.
At the outer oval, Albion and St Kevin’s battled through a low-scoring affair.
Batting first, Albion struggled to 75 in 24 overs, with Tom Squire (20) the only batter making a meaningful contribution.
For St Kevin’s, Tai McLean claimed five for 25 from nine overs for his first five-wicket haul in Borton Cup cricket.
Aneesh Bose took to the challenge of defending a small total for Albion.
Opening the bowling, he took six wickets in his first four overs, including three in his fourth, to leave St Kevin’s in trouble at 30 for six.
Liam Direen then took charge, top-scoring with 25 to push the total to 73 before being dismissed as the ninth wicket.
After some tense moments and a wide, McLean hit the winning runs, St Kevin’s reaching 76 for nine in the 23rd over.
Bose finished with seven for 26 and Hayden Creedy two for 12.
At Waitaki Boys’, Oamaru batted first and posted 192 for nine from their 50 overs.
Stephan Grobler top-scored with 60, while captain Quinn Wardle contributed 34 and Luke Taylor 26.
For the school team, Billy Wilson was economical with three for 19 off 10 overs, while Jaden Dowling took three for 36 in eight.
Waitaki struggled through to be all out for 71 in the 23rd over, never providing a serious challenge.
Hunter Wardle led Oamaru with four for 16, supported by Grobler (three for 12) and Lachlan Brookes (two for 20).
At Glenavy, the Rangers had a dominant nine-wicket win over Valley.
Only Toby Growcott (28) and George Mavor (29) offered resistance as Valley were bowled out for 101 in 25 overs batting first.
Jordan Mulligan led Glenavy with four for 22 and Harry Murphy had three for 34.
It took only 14 overs for Glenavy to reach the required target. Openers Hamish McCulloch (37) and Murphy (57 not out) put on 91 for the opening wicket to safely see their side through. Glenavy finished on 102 for one.
— Scott Cameron
