CENTRAL OTAGO
- Rhys Chamberlain
Ranfurly had a first-up win in the first round of the Maniototo Eastern Districts cricket competition on Saturday when it beat Macraes, at Macraes, by 106 runs.
Ranfurly compiled 204 for the loss of nine wickets thanks mainly to a superb 98 from No 8 batsman Gerard Steenkamp.
Before Steenkamp came to the wicket, Ranfurly was 55 for six and in a bit of trouble. He whacked 10 sixes in his innings but was stopped two short of his century, caught on the boundary off the bowling of Mark Preeble. Preeble had man-of-the-match figures of four for 14 off eight overs for Macraes in the match.
Macraes struggled from the outset in the chase and only Pete Brenssell put up any resistance, scoring 18. Willie Miller and Luke Steele both picked up three wickets for Ranfurly, while Kieran Parker chipped in with two for 18.
• Naseby had an eight-wicket win over Gimmerburn in its first match of the season at Naseby.
Batting first, the visiting side scored 186 all out off its 40 overs with Charlie Hore (40) and Paul Dougherty (28) the best of the Gimmerburn batsmen. Naseby captain Tim Greer picked up two wickets and was the best of his side's bowlers.
The successful chase from Naseby of 187 for two was highlighted by a superb 98 from veteran Ian Forester, with support coming from James Pyle who was there when the winning runs came on 65 not out.
• At Waikouaiti, Palmerston managed a 46-run win over the home side after amassing a big total of 259 for five off 40 overs.
Jeff Grubb was the star of the innings, smashing 119 not out off just 50 balls and he, along with Jeff McLelland (12), put on 130 in the final 12 overs.
Jeff wasn't the only Grubb in the runs. James also batted well, scoring 47 and Cam had 23. Another notable batsman in the innings was Matt McLelland with 33.
Louis Thomlin was the best of the Waikouaiti bowlers with two for 18 off his eight overs.
The reply from the home side was gallant but ultimately not good enough as it completed its 40 overs at 213 for seven, 46 runs short. However, Thomlin continued his good day with an excellent 96, while Murray Dempster was also in the runs with 55.
James Grubb was the chief destroyer with the ball for Palmerston, finishing with four for 14 and stifling the flow of runs after Waikouaiti found itself at 150 without loss after 30 overs. Ollie McLelland also bowled well, picking up two for 36.
• In Queenstown, the home side lost to Albion by 35 runs in its Vincent twenty/20 match at the Queenstown Events Centre.
Albion scored a total of 145 with the bat which was enough as Queenstown managed only 110.
• In the only other match played, Dunstan beat Alexandra by eight wickets.
Cromwell, Blacks Hill and Slope Hill all had a bye.
Softball
Alexandra hammered Queenstown 19-0 in Central Otago softball over the weekend.
Jeanine O'Neill, Carmen Monaghan and Michelle Kinney all featured in the match with home runs to their names.
Dunstan A also recorded a big win over Dunstan Ex-Girls 19-2 to remain unbeaten in the competition. Second base Paige Luff had the highlight play of the match with a superb double play.
In the other two matches played, Junior Girls beat Dunstan B 16-1 and Junior Boys thumped Maniototo Area School 25-10, Tyler Cameron hitting a home run with the bases loaded.
Bowls
Clyde 5 surprised a few other teams by picking up maximum wins in round 7 of the ECNZ Trophy held in Alexandra.
Alexandra SBS was the only other team to record three wins on the day.
Clyde 3 and RSA 5 were the teams to suffer this week, both failing to record a win.
Alexandra CB still leads the standings on 26 points, one clear of Alexandra R and two ahead of RSA 5.
A couple of tight matches were played in the latest round of pennants action in the Maniototo sub-centre competition.
Naseby's Duncan Cotton beat Roger Andrews of Patearoa 19-16, while Bill Morice (Naseby) got a two-point win over Sam McSkimming (Patearoa) 14-12. Other winners in the round were Stuart Hore, Neville Warhlich, Ken Weir and Andy Weir.
In the progressive tournament at the Wanaka Bowling Club, Peter Gray, Stan Kane and Shirley Gibson were all winners for the round.
NORTH OTAGO
- Terry O'Neill
Union, Albion and Waitaki Boys High School won their matches in Borton Cup cricket on Saturday.
Union remains at the top of the competition with 40 points ahead of Waitaki Boys (30), Albion (20), St Kevin's College (10), Oamaru (10), and Valley (10).
Waitaki Boys recorded an eight-wicket win over Valley at Weston Park. Sent in to bat by Waitaki, Valley was dismissed for 182 in the 47th over. Nick Webster (48), Hamish McKenzie (24) and Cameron Leckie (21) were the pick of the Valley batsmen who were aided by the 35 wides bowled by Waitaki Boys. George Inwood removed the Valley top order to finish with four for 37, with Matt Day taking three for 37.
A superb 123 not out from Stephan Groblar saw Waitaki Boys through to 183 for two in the 37th over.
• Oamaru won the toss and decided to bat first at King George Park against Union and was dismissed for 83 in the 31st over. Left-armer Chris Ware took four for 18 while Glynn Cameron and Isaac Shields took two wickets each for Union.
Union cruised through to 84 without loss in the 13th over with Jeremiah Shields unbeaten on 64 and Jason Todd on 20.
• Albion set St Kevin's College the task of scoring 183 to win after Albion decided to bat first at St Kevin's. Brad Kernahan's 28 and 35 from Hayden McKenzie saw Albion through, with Tim McCormick taking three for 19 and Brodie Flannery three for 27.
Despite a solid 34 from Tim McCormick at the top of the innings, St Kevin's could not kick on and was dismissed for 129 in the 27th over. Dylan Winter and Brad Kernahan took three wickets each and Ricky Whyte two for 20.
Bowls
Kurow and Meadowbank Green are tied at the top of the Mills Shield points table after the fifth round on Saturday. Both clubs are on 16 points but Kurow has a game in hand. Meadowbank Gold and Phoenix Maroon are tied in third place two points behind.
Wins to Ian Pitches and Pat Kelly guided Phoenix Gold to a 2-0 win over Awamoa Gold while Meadowbank Green, with wins to Jim Ellis and Dave Weaver, beat RSA, 2-0.
Graeme Robins and Peter Lee gave Meadowbank Gold a 2-0 win over Meadowbank Blue. Kurow was a held to a 1-1 draw by Phoenix Maroon while Hampden and Maheno also drew although Maheno retained the Lang Cup on aggregate, 51-32.
Meadowbank Gold retained its lead in the Centre Sevens after the fifth round on Saturday with 24 points, two ahead of Phoenix Maroon and four points ahead of Awamoa Blue.
Meadowbank Gold lost 1-2 to Awamoa Blue and Phoenix Maroon struggled in the windy conditions before beating Kurow, 2-1.
Maheno beat Hampden, 3-0 and Phoenix Gold beat Awamoa Gold 3-0 as did Meadowbank Green over RSA.
Softball
Kiwi Dodgers beat Waitaki Boys A 12-7 in senior softball in an even game.
In another even contest, Rebels beat Industries,10-9. Aaran Barton and Jared Ovens both hit home runs for Industries with Wayne Kinzett the top batter.
Waitaki Boys Year 10 beat the Waitaki Boys Year 9 side, 5-1. The Year 10s scored two runs from the first turn at bat from Jesse Lusty-Winter and Caide Howe.
Year 9 replied with a single from Luke McCabe but the Year 10s scored a further three runs in the second innings.
Multisport
Three North Otago triathletes qualified for the 2012 world championships after participating in the qualifying event in Auckland yesterday.
Adair Craik covered the 1500m swim, the 40km bike ride and the 10km run in 2hr 35min 27sec to finish sixth in the women's 45-49 grade and Andy Collins finished 10th in the 40-44 men's race in 2hr 10min 38sec.
Lisa Rush finished ninth in the women's under-20 sprint event.
SOUTH OTAGO
- Norman Woods
There was play in the South Otago cricket competition on Saturday - for the first time in three weekends.
Highlights of the round came from Clinton, which last week was dismissed for a low score, but made amends with a good win over Kaitangata on a wet ground at Clinton.
Batting first, Kaitangata was all out in 38 overs for 101. The best batting came from Brad Storer with 34 and Alan Thomson scored 17. For Clinton, Lachie Johnston took three for 21 while Morgan Culbertson took two for eight from seven overs.
Clinton replied with 102 for three wickets. Lachie Johnston top-scored with 34.
• Milton proved too good for South Otago High School.
Batting first, Milton scored 210 for seven wickets. Peter Grant showed the way with a good 64, Bradley Frost 44 and Dylan Mathieson 27 and Ryan Littlejohn 33.
Best bowling for SOHS came from Tom Houghton who took three for 40.
In reply, SOHS was all out for 57. James White scored 16, and the best bowling for Milton came from Jason Mellon with three for six and Brad Frost, three for 12. Milton won by 153 runs.
• Lawrence, batting first against Tapanui, scored 136 for seven wickets. Best batting for Lawrence came from Dean Lawrence (44), Mark Paterson (22) and Dave Alderton (20 not out).Tor Tapanui, James Anderson took four for 17.
Tapanui replied 139 for six wickets from 33 overs, the best of which came from Te Waide (30), Brian Duff (23), and Alan Falconer 18 not out.
Best bowling for Lawrence came from Dave Alderton, who took two for 27, and Adam Wilson, two for 31. Tapanui won by four wickets.
• Owaka beat Clutha by default.
Bowls
Round five of the men's Interclub competition was played on Saturday.
Kaka Point continued on its winning way with a 10-2 win over Kaitangata. For Kaka Point, John Hurst and Neville Murdoch scored two wins each, while Ray Hopkins scored one.
Best for Kaitangata came from Neville Twaddle, won the opening fours over John Bisset, 15-14 in a thriller.
Milton Blue scored an upset win over Clutha Valley, winning 8-4. For Milton, Bill McDonald was a grand form. He led the opening fours to victory by 14-4, then won a pairs game 28-8.
Gerry Wyber and Sandy McNoe each recorded a win for Milton, and Tony Hooper and Ken Rishworth one each for Clutha Valley.
Balclutha beat Lawrence 8-4. For Balclutha, Blair Thomson scored two wins, with Tony Cook and Darren Wolland scoring one each. The best for Lawrence came from Don Cameron and Geoff Slack who recorded one win each.
Owaka beat Milton White 8-4 at Milton. For Owaka, Bryan Price, RAR Black, Lance Ibbotson and Tom Dallas all scored one win each. Best for Milton came from Murray Grant and Kevin Anderson.
SOTC and Milton Gold drew their game 6-6 at the T and C. For the home team, David Renton scored two wins, while Barrie Keach picked up one win.
For Milton Gold, Colin Smith scored a double and Max Taylor a single win.
In a close encounter at Clinton, the home team edged out Waihola to win 7-5. Wynstan McLachlan scored two wins, with Geoff Hurst scoring one win, while Brian Elder hung on for a draw.
For Waihola, Neil Walker and John Moana scored wins, with John Moana adding a draw.
