By Gary Caffell
Oh the pain!
The jubilation of dominating the first day’s play quickly turned to frustration on the second for Wairarapa in their Hawke Cup qualifying round cricket with Hawke’s Bay at Ongaonga over the weekend.
Led by top order batsman Liam Burling with a superb unbeaten 116 Wairarapa were on good terms with themselves on Saturday night when they had 313 runs on the board and Hawke’s Bay tottering at 83-2, having lost their openers at 71 and 78.
Sunday, however, was an entirely different story.
The entrée for Hawke’s Bay was a 93-run partnership for the third wicket between wicketkeeper Matt Edmondson and Richard Young but the main course came when Young was dismissed, caught Burling off the bowling of Robbie Speers, for 36.
In came former Auckland A representative Brad Schmulian and with Edmondson still going great guns they went on the rampage in a boundary-studded partnership worth a massive 398 runs.
It was Edmondson who finally went, caught Dean van Deventer bowled Ethan Childs, for 229 made in 250 minutes from 193 balls and including 27 fours and seven sixes.
There was some joy for the 16-year-old Childs in that it was his first-ever wicket for Wairarapa at senior level but it came at a cost, 50 runs off just 4.5 overs.
The loss of Edmondson also meant Hawke’s Bay declaring their first innings closed at 469-4 with Schmulian unbeaten on 118.
He was at the crease for 144 minutes and from the 117 balls he faced he struck 15 fours.
To say it was tough going for the Wairarapa bowlers would be the understatement of the year.
About the only one who could feel some satisfaction with his figures was Jared Watt who finished with 2-39 from his 12 overs although Dean van Deventer was, in the circumstances, economical enough in conceding 66 runs from his 18 overs.
Having conceded first innings points the question now was whether Wairarapa could avoid the ignominy of an outright loss and the loss of their first wicket at seven, the second and third at 13 and the fourth and fifth at 28 had them very much on the ropes.
If ever the lower order had to come to the rescue it was now and come it did in the form of skipper Gordon Reisima and Dean van Deventer, who put on exactly 100 runs for the sixth wicket.
Reisima was at the crease for 74 minutes and cracked seven fours in his 40 made from 60 balls and not long after he was out van Deventer went for 58 made from 72 balls in 78 minutes.
Typcally aggressive in intent he hit 12 fours.
At 143-7 Wairarapa still had work to do to keep Hawke’s Bay at bay but Paul Lyttle (16 not out in 43 minutes) and Jack Forrester (7 not out in 36 minutes) kept their cool and they were 158-7 when stumps were pulled.
