Waikoikoi has reached the Southland 50-over club final against Appleby after beating Old Boys in the preliminary final on Saturday.
Old Boys batted first at Queens Park and opener Brayden Thomas (38) and Chris Case (62) patiently got the locals’ scoreboard ticking over.
The Waikoikoi bowlers kept their discipline and restricted the favourites to 202 for eight from their 50 overs.
Waikoikoi’s opening batsman Welby Reed was out for a golden duck and Ryan McFaul soon became Blair McKenzie’s second wicket.
Todd Thayer and Jared McKenzie got the run-chase back on track before veterans Glenn Paterson and Kurt Thompson (45) carried the country team towards the target. Paterson was unbeaten on 53 when victory was secured with three wickets and two and a-half overs to spare.
The Appleby Rams are the defending champions and were this season’s top qualifiers. They had the weekend off to prepare for the grand final at Queens Park this Saturday.
Te Anau will host Central Western Goats in the division one club final this weekend after the Goats narrowly fended off the Metro Cubs by five runs in a thrilling preliminary final in Winton.
Central Western posted 178 runs batting first in the 40-over match, thanks largely to Grant Kean (46). Connor Wells contributed a valuable 26 runs for the Goats and bowled out Akhill Prasad (44) when the Cubs appeared to be cruising to victory before losing their last three wickets for just four runs.
By John Langford
