St Albans 99/9 from 29 overs. White 24, Van Grunsven 2/20, Cartmell 3/27, Mendis 3/25 lost to BBS Timbers Merivale Papanui 102/9 from 28 overs. Hume 34, Dearsley 25* Hill 4/22, Mason 3/28.
Merivale Papanui won the toss at Bishopdale Park and skipper, Petros instantly asked St Albans to bat on a wet wicket. (Don’t know why it was wet, possibly an invisible cloud). Wickets fell regularly on the difficult pitch and when Wellsy pulled up with a strained calf, only 9 wickets were required. Merivale caught well and with some accurate bowling from all the bowlers, St Albans got to 99/9, White was the only player to pass 20, reaching 24. Pickle, miserly as ever picked up 2/20, Steve Cartmell 3/27 and Kelum Mendis 3/25.
In reply, Merivale wickets fell quicker than the St Albans ones, and at 68/9, only Mark Hume showed any real resistance with a solid 34, hitting 6 boundaries. However, at that stage, Petros Kapralos joined Paul Dearsley and together they crept closer to the target. With 10 needed Paul Dearsley hit Norm Davis for 3 fours in his second over and Merivale had the win. Paul Dearsley ended with 25 not out and Petros Kapralos with 9 not out. The St Albans left armers did most of the damage with Hill taking 4/22 and Mason 3/28.
It was a competitive, high-quality game which could have gone either way, right until the last ball. Just a pity about the pitch.
Teams hung around after the game and enjoyed refreshments and with just two Saturdays of cricket left, we could feel that slight chill in the air an indication the season is nearing its end.
