Taieri 160/8 beat Albion 158 by two wickets
Taieri had to scrap and fight to maintain their perfect start to the Dunedin premier club season.
The Plainsmen eventually got up by a slim margin as they chased down Albion’s moderate total at Brooklands on Saturday.
Chasing 159 for victory, Taieri top-order men Ruben Clinton (35 off 48) and Cameron Jackson (46 off 34, including five fours and three sixes), laid a reasonable foundation.
Albion gave themselves a fighting chance through James Brown (three for 41) and Lahiru Vimukthi (two for 36 off 10 overs), but they did not have enough runs in the bank, and Taieri got there in the 37th over.
Clinton (two for 33 off 10) and Ollie Shore (two for 35) had led the Taieri bowling attack as Albion nudged and nurdled their way to 158 off 46.3 overs.
Dylan Fletcher (37 off 28) and Matt West (37 off 44) made useful starts but otherwise the Eagles found the going tough.
CDK 162 beat North East Valley 152 by 10 runs
The next generation of Central Otago cricketing royalty had a decent day out at Logan Park.
Thomas and Jack O’Connor, the sons of former Black Caps bowler Shayne, took some key wickets as CDK handed North East Valley another defeat.
Defending just 162, CDK must have assumed their
day was shot when Shaedon Miller (55 off 67 balls) and Sebastian Lauderdale-Smith (34 off 36) got the Swans halfway to the target.
But when Jack O’Connor removed Miller, and Henry Scott removed both Lauderdale-Smith and danger man Hunter Kindley, the Hounds’ tails were up.
Jack O’Connor nabbed a couple more to finish with three for nine off four overs, Thomas O’Connor had two for 27, and Alfie Omelvena-Flame grabbed two for 33 as Valley fell 10 runs short.
CDK’s total had been built on patient efforts from Nick Tapper (36 off 86 balls), Nick Brown (27 off 62) and Thomas O’Connor (26 off 39).
Henry Dobson led the Valley bowlers with three for 23, and Miller took two for 20.
Green Island 119/3 beat University-Grange 117 by seven wickets
Hamish Wilson had the bowling figures of the day as Green Island had a relatively comfortable win at Sunnyvale.
Wilson tore the heart out of the University-Grange middle order, taking four for 22 off 10 effective overs as the Spartans crumbled for 117 in the 46th over.
He got nice support from Mayank Malhotra, who was also miserly in his three for 21 off 10.
University-Grange opener Morgan Duffy grafted for 28 off 66 balls, and Hrishi Bolar stuck around for 25 off 67, but this was another innings where batters struggled to put the ball away.
Green Island cantered to victory in the 26th over thanks to Brad Kneebone, whose 44 came off 45 balls and included six fours and a six, and Elliot Santer, who cruised to an unbeaten 20 off 23 balls.
