Jono Friend bowling to a Red Star batsman in Greytown’s easy win. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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Wairarapa Mitsubishi Greytown qualified for the Umpires Cup final against Rathkeale with an easy seven-wicket defeat of Red Star in Saturday’s 40-over semifinal.
Red Star, sent in to bat, struggled to get any momentum in their innings on the Queen Elizabeth Park Oval and were dismissed for 133 in the 35th over.
Only number four batsman Swapnil Patel managed to get on top of the Greytown bowlers.
His 57 came from just 41 balls and featured six fours and two sixes. After Patel was the fourth wicket to fall with the score at 98, the remaining Red Star wickets fell cheaply, leaving Greytown a straightforward target to make their second consecutive final.
Hamish Cunliffe was the best of the Greytown bowlers, taking four wickets for 11 runs, and Roshan Sugathan picked up 2-18.
Sugathan completed a good double, scoring a superb 62, and combining with veteran Alastair ‘Tora’ Boyne [21] in an opening partnership of 64. Sugathan faced 47 balls, hitting 10 fours before Patrick Wootton
ran him out.
Greytown chased down the total in 20 overs to set up a repeat of last year’s final.
Rathkeale, who are unbeaten for two years in the competition, will host the decider on Saturday.
Bottom-placed Carterton will play the Rathkeale Second XI, the winners of the second-tier Times-Age Cup, in a promotion-relegation match.
The Rathkeale Second X1 secured the trophy with a 231-run trouncing of Pope and Gray Greytown on Saturday.
Opener Jack Sorrell [55] and Charlie Matthews [69] led the way for the students in amassing their total of 275-7. Medium-pacer Will Summerfield nabbed 4-17 as Greytown were bundled out for 44 in 13 overs.
BRIEF SCORES
Red Star 133 [Swapnil Patel 57; Hamish Cunliffe 4-11, Roshan Sugathan 2-18] lost to Wairarapa Mitsubishi Greytown 135-3 [Sugathan 62] by seven wickets.
Rathkeale Second XI 275 [Jack Sorrell 55, Charlie Matthews 69, Sam Loder 39; Ed Read 3-46] beat Pope and Gray Greytown 44 [Will Summerfield 4-17] by 231 runs.
