A fifth win from seven 50-over games on Saturday took Taieri to 37 points in the Bing Harris Shield and a handy buffer over North East Valley (27) and Green Island (25).
Taieri 205 beat Albion 137 by 68 runs
Adam Jones showed remarkable patience to guide competition leader to a respectable — then comfortably match-winning — total at Tonga Park.
Jones, batting at No3, contributed 71 as Taieri was dismissed for 205 in the 48th over.
He hit just two fours but nudged no fewer than 44 singles as he held up one end, facing 141 balls, to ensure his bowlers had as much of a safety net as possible.
Opening batter Beckham Wheeler-Greenall had given the innings a rollicking start with 35 off 29 balls.
Ben Lockrose (38) and Tom Dempster (36) then delivered handy cameos.
Tommy Clout did everything he could for Albion, claiming four for 33 off 10 excellent overs, while Josh Cuttance had three for 24.
Cuttance did not have as much luck with the bat, falling for a golden duck in the first over, and that rather summed up Albion’s chase.
Seven batters were dismissed for single-figure scores, only Clout — living up to his name with a breezy 51 off 55 balls, including two sixes — really thriving as Albion fell for 137 in the 38th over.
Wheeler-Greenall completed a handy day with four for 18.
University-Grange 99 lost to North East Valley 100/3 by seven wickets
Batting proved tricky for most at Tonga Park No 2 as the North East Valley bowlers squeezed the life out of the University-Grange batting order.
Hunter Kindley (three for 12 off eight overs) and Sam Blakely (two for nine off 7.1 overs) were brutally economical as University-Grange eked out 99 in 42.1 overs.
Only Venkat Kotte, whose 34 came off 76 balls, and Leon Perry (21 off 61) managed contributions of note for their
side.
In reply, North East Valley looked more comfortable with the bat and eased to victory in the 19th over.
Thorn Parkes (26 off 34) had some early success before Hayden Johnston (29 not out off 30) completed the job.
Green Island 191/9 beat Carisbrook-Dunedin/Kaikorai 69 by 122 runs
Green Island enjoyed playing on home turf — the game was transferred by Bishopscourt to Sunnyvale — and put Carisbrook-Dunedin/Kaikorai to the sword.
Blair Soper, the premier grade’s leading bowler with 16 wickets this season, did much of the damage as the Demon Dogs were rolled for just 69 in the 23rd over.
Soper had three for seven off five overs, backed up by Jack Mockford (three for 20) and Nick Parata (two for 12).
Earlier, Brad Kneebone had played the anchor role for Green Island in its patient 191 for nine off 50 overs.
Kneebone’s 69 came off 113 balls and included seven boundaries.
He got good support from Jed Mockford (45), the pair adding 75 for the third wicket.
Taine Bayly finished on the losing side but the CDK bowler had the figures of the day, five for 31 off 10 overs.
