By Brendan Hodgson & Peter Jones
The Tasman Premier League continued with another competitive round in Nelson on Saturday, with ACOB edging Wanderers Wolves by seven runs and Nelson College securing a three-wicket win over Wakatu.
While over in Marlborough, the Falcons beat WTTU Tigers and the Dolphins lost by four wickets to Stoke Nayland on the main wicket.
At Brightwater Domain, Taylors Contracting Wolves won the toss and elected to bowl, looking to make the most of the fresh wicket. They made reasonable inroads early, but a Sam John-inspired counterattack propelled NBS ACOB to 266 all out with 10 balls remaining.
John was finally dismissed for 98 from 99 deliveries at 210/7, while number nine Moben Joseph chipped in with 35 to help ACOB reach a highly competitive total. Liam Hobbs led the Wolves' attack with 4-52 from his 10 overs, while Tommy Mcfarlane and Michael Olsen claimed two wickets apiece.
In reply, regular wickets prevented the Wolves from building any significant partnerships, despite the wicket becoming increasingly favourable for batting as the day progressed. Riley Weir scored a useful 32 at number three before Olsen capped a fine all-round performance with 73 from 62 balls. His innings helped put the Wolves in a promising position, needing six runs an over for the final 10 overs with experienced campaigner Sean Neal at the crease.
ACOB did well to take the game deep, bowling a series of tight overs to leave the Wolves needing 11 from the final over. Vinodh Perera held his nerve to concede just three runs, sealing a tense seven-run victory for ACOB despite Neal finishing unbeaten on 47.
Matthew O'Sullivan took 4-62 for ACOB, but Perera was arguably the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3-35. He also claimed the important wicket of Olsen and then held his nerve in the final over to seal the win.
At Ngawhatu Park, Quaystone Nelson College also won the toss and elected to bowl against New World Nelson City Wakatu, making an immediate impact as Ryder Gestro removed skipper Angus Philpott and the experienced Bryan Krammer without scoring.
Fintan Batt continued his good form with a patient 49 from 114 deliveries. The only other double-figure scores came from opener Tom Argyle, who made 17, and number 10 Noah Hassan, who scored 16, while Wakatu also benefited from 28 sundries.
Gestro returned to claim the final wicket, dismissing Hassan to finish with 3-7 from just 5.2 overs. Jack North also impressed with 3-15, while Thomas Maloney took 2-24 as Wakatu were dismissed for 123.
College's chase looked comfortable on paper, as Maloney ground out 42 from 97 balls, building partnerships with North, who made 16, and Jordan van den Berg, who added 18, before falling at 80/3.
A brief wobble saw the next four wickets fall for just 34 runs, but player-coach Bradley Norris remained unbeaten on 15 to guide College home with three wickets in hand and three overs to spare.
Campbell McLean claimed the best figures for Wakatu with 2-21 from nine overs, while Philpott took 2-28. Dallas Kelso was particularly economical, conceding just 14 runs from his 10 overs to finish with 1-14.
Falcons fly the Marlborough flag
For the second week in a row both Marlborough-based sides were at Horton Park, the Falcons beating WTTU Tigers by 95 runs on the No3 wicket while the Dolphins lost by four wickets to Stoke Nayland on the main wicket.
The Falcons innings of 251-7 was based around an unbeaten 115 by former rep batsman Matthew Stretch, his ton coming from 136 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. He had good support from opener Hamish O’Brien, 40 from 81, Harry Boyce with 23 from 16 and Greg Stretch with 23 from 15.
Jack Aldridge, Daniel Wightman and Logan Andrews picked up two wickets apiece.
The Tigers reply started well, the visitors well placed at 109-3 at the halfway mark, before the Falcons bowlers began to get on top.
Rep seamer Sam Boyce claimed a couple of wickets while Matthew Stretch completed a very satisfying outing by snaring the key scalp of opener Lucky Singh, who top-scored with 63 from 81. O’Brien wrapped up the tail, taking 5-8 from 4.3 overs, the match ending in the 42nd over.
On the adjoining ground a below par batting effort meant Dolphins were chasing the game throughout.
They could only put 94 on the board, being dismissed on the 40th over. Josh Poole top scored with 31 from 52 balls. Both Tom Sutherland and Luke Holdaway scored 15. For Stoke, Tim Muir bagged 4-17 from 10 while Jared Silvester took 3-19.
The visitors stuttered in reply, sitting at 38-6 before an unbroken seventh wicket partnership of 59 between Muir and Hayden Vallance got them over the line in the 30th over, finishing at 97-6. Jaden Adams, who claimed 4-23 from 10, and Holdaway, 1-14 from eight, were the pick of the local attack.
After Round 2: Car Company Stoke Nayland 10, NBS ACOB 8, Quaystone Nelson College 8, Taylors Contracting Wolves 5, Marlborough Falcons 5, Marlborough Dolphins 0, WTTU Tigers 0, New World Nelson City Wakatu 0.
