Horowhenua-Kapiti players celebrate an early Wairarapa wicket. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV.
Horowhenua-Kapiti take advantage as hosts collapse in first dig
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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Highmark Homes Wairarapa fell to an outright loss to Horowhenua-Kapiti in a Furlong Cup two-day match at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval over the weekend.
In a match of changing fortunes, Wairarapa had their chances to take valuable first innings points, but for a batting collapse to restrict their first innings total, and then dropped catches helping the visitors in a lower order resurgence.
Wairarapa started solidly after being put in to bat on a pitch offering early assistance to the seam bowlers.
After the loss of openers John McKenzie [13] and then Robbie Anderson [40] with the score at 57, Jared van Deventer and Andy Dodd combined for the outstanding partnership of the game.
The experienced pair showed that patience and the ability to put away the bad ball was crucial on the sporting pitch, adding 114 runs before Dodd was caught at first slip off a peach of a delivery from Carter Andrews for 46.
Van Deventer fell five overs later for a classy 90 off 141 balls, an innings which featured 15 fours, including two classic cover drives.
After van Deventer’s dismissal, there was little resistance from Wairarapa’s middle and lower order. The remaining seven wickets fell for just 51 runs, leaving the home side 40 to 50 runs shorts of a competitive total.
The hard-hitting Ajay Kashyap [37] and Dion Sanson [16] put on 54 in eight overs for the visitors before they both fell to the bowling of Stefan Hook.
Consistent bowling had the visitors stumble to 149-7 and in danger of conceding a big first innings lead, however, the lower order, led by teenager Blake de Burgh, who scored a gritty 52, added 96 runs for the final three wickets, and a nine-run lead.
Wairarapa’s second innings was all about setting a testing target off 40 to 45 overs, but the regular loss of wickets saw the home side restricted to 160.
Anderson again shone, smashing 61 off 43 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, and wicketkeeper Jack Forrester contributed a watchful 37.
That left Horowhenua-Kapiti a target of 152 off 41 overs, and again Kashyap [35] and Sanson [42] gave them a flying start with 57 runs coming off nine overs.
Kashyap was particularly brutal on any loose bowling, dispatching four sixes, including one that cleared the grandstand.
Wairarapa’s prospects were dealt a severe blow in the sixth over when their bowling spearhead Hook badly dislocated a finger when diving to save a boundary and will now miss four to six weeks of cricket.
Although the remaining bowlers toiled hard, the target was never enough, and Horowhenua-Kapiti cruised to victory with eight overs to spare.
BRIEF SCORES
Wairarapa 236 [Jared van Deventer 90, Andy Dodd 46, Robbie Anderson 40] and 160 [Anderson 61, Jack Forrester 37; Daemon Kennett 3-55, Jaedyn Dawson 4-16] lost outright to Horowhenua-Kapiti 245 [Blake de Burgh 52, Matthew Good 46, Ajay Kashyap 37; Stefan Hook 5-62] and 152-4 [Kashyap 35, Dion Sanson 42, Bailey Te Tomo 34no] by six wickets.
