The semifinalists have been found in the South Otago premier competition after the final round robin matches on Saturday.
The Waihola Swans wrapped up the round robin shield with a strong 55-run win over the Kaitangata Kings at the Royal Landfill in Kaitangata.
Waihola was asked to bat first and recorded 178 for the loss of five from their 40 overs.
Waihola managed just 21 runs in the opening 10 overs, and were two down for just 50 at drinks. From there the Swans accelerated to charge through to a reasonable total.
Rowan Craw continued his form and top-scored again for the Swans with 44. Toby Greene was next best with 34.
Orry Young was the pick of the bowlers for Kai with two for 25 off eight overs.
In response, Kaitangata were bowled out for 123 in the 33rd over.
Opening batter Allan Thomson was the main contributor with 55. Orry Young was next best with 25.
Waihola’s bowlers bowled well in tandem, and wickets often came in sets of two or three. Dylan Bungard was most effective towards the end of the innings and finished with three wickets for just two runs off 2.1 overs.
The Owaka Bandits will host the other semifinal after their eight-wicket win over the Clutha Comets at the Cosmic Bullring in Balclutha. Clutha were short on numbers, so Owaka leant them two players and the teams played 10-aside. Clutha batted first and recorded 94 all out in the 29th over of the innings. The main contributor once again was Abhijeet Gaoli, who survived a couple of early chances to score 45 runs.
Jeremy Gray was the pick of the Owaka bowlers with four wickets for 15 runs off seven overs.
In reply, Owaka chased the total down in 10.5 overs for the loss of just one wicket.
Jeremy Gray (38 not out) and Gordon Edwards (30 not out) saw Owaka home.
The Valley Stingers beat the Milton King Crabs to seal their semifinal place.
The Stingers batted first at the Crab Grounds in Milton and recorded 167 all out on the final ball of the innings. Opening batters Sam Leslie and Daniel Cragg started well with a 45-run partnership. The two batters were Valley’s highest scorers with 36 and 21 respectively. Jacob Jenkins took three for 13. In reply, Milton fell short of the target after a promising start. Skipper Braden Adams (27) and Brendon Stanton (21) looked to be building nicely but Valley fought their way back into the match and tore through the lower order.
— Francis Parker
