By Brendan Hodgson and Peter Jones
Stoke Nayland made it three straight bonus-point wins, while Dolphins claimed their first victory of the Tasman Premier League cricket season on Saturday.
Car Company Stoke Nayland and WTTU Tigers both recorded wins in the Nelson-based fixtures in round three of the Tasman Premier League, while Dolphins celebrated their first victory of the season and Wakatu comfortably accounted for Falcons.
At Botanical Sports Field, Stoke Nayland batted first after winning the toss and posted 228/7 from their 50 overs. Captain Joshua Smith top-scored with 56 from 83 balls, while Lucca Hemingway remained unbeaten on 55 from 85 deliveries. Jack Kearns also made a valuable contribution at the top of the order with 35.
Off-spinner Matthew O’Sullivan produced the best figures for NBS ACOB Premiers, taking 3/37 from 10 overs, while Ben Neale and Vinodh Perera claimed two wickets each.
ACOB’s chase was led by captain Jonty Raxworthy, who scored 65, with Inder Tiwari adding 23. However, Stoke Nayland’s bowlers maintained the pressure throughout. Jared Silvester finished with 3/13 and Liam Hall took 3/19 as ACOB were dismissed for 140 in 38.3 overs.
The 88-run victory gave Stoke Nayland a third consecutive bonus-point win and a clear lead at the top of the standings.
At Jubilee Park, WTTU Tigers successfully defended 196 to defeat Taylors Contracting Wanderers/Motueka Wolves by 27 runs. Lucky Singh continued his strong form with 72 from 83 balls, supported by Jon Routhan’s 44 and Chethana Dissanayake’s 29.
George Aerakis was the standout bowler for the Wolves with 4/58, while Sean Neal returned an economical 2/20 from 10 overs. Michael Olsen also impressed, conceding just 24 runs from 10 overs and taking one wicket.
The Wolves again lost wickets at crucial stages just as partnerships were beginning to develop. Opener Apoorv Singh made 60 but had six different batting partners during his innings.
Sean Neal scored 40 and, alongside Liam Hobbs (23), put on 51 runs for the eighth wicket. The recovery came too late, however, with Adam Ward wrapping up a five-wicket haul when he bowled Neal, the final wicket to fall.
Ward finished with 5/50 from 9.2 overs. Tigers skipper Jack Aldridge also bowled a miserly spell, conceding just 16 runs from his 10 overs while taking 2/16 as the Wolves were dismissed for 169 in 43.2 overs.
The Wolves' resistance denied the Tigers a bonus point.
At Horton Park in Blenheim, Dolphins picked up their first win of the competition, defeating previously unbeaten Nelson College by five wickets.
After winning the toss, Dolphins sent College in to bat and quickly reduced the students to 3/22.
Harry Wilkinson steadied the innings with 56 from 90 balls, while Oran Sim made 53 from 89 as Nelson College reached 200 before being dismissed in the 49th over.
Luke Holdaway led the Dolphins attack with 4/38, while Jaden Adams claimed 2/33 and Greg Knowles took 2/27. Dolphins lost the early wicket of Aidan Conroy but recovered through several useful partnerships, including a key 54-run stand between Holdaway and Josh Poole.
Holdaway scored 80 from 96 balls, while Poole remained unbeaten on 53 from 57 as Dolphins reached their target in the 40th over.
On the adjoining ground, Wakatu cruised to a 79-run win against Falcons.
Bryan Krammer's unbeaten 92 from 95 balls underpinned Wakatu’s total of 243/5. Daniel Baker was the pick of the Falcons bowlers with 2/15 from five overs.
Falcons were bowled out for 164 in the 42nd over in reply.
Matthew Stretch top-scored with 60 from 78 balls, while Sukh Aulakh made 20 from 23 and Sam Boyce added 21 from 52.
Noah Hassan and Dallas Kelso each took three wickets as Wakatu secured a convincing victory.
Tasman Premier League standings after Round 3 of 7
Stoke Nayland 15, Nelson College 8, ACOB 8, Wakatu 5, Wolves 5, Dolphins 5, Falcons 5, WTTU 4.
