Post Office Hotel Wairarapa captain Robbie Anderson was “very proud” of his team’s effort in taking first innings honours over Manawatū in their rain-affected two-day Furlong Cup match at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval over the weekend.
Prospects of pushing for an outright result looked slim after overnight rain on Saturday. When play finally did resume at 1.45 pm on Sunday, there were 79 overs left in the day, but when the rain eventually settled in just before 4 pm with Manawatū 61–3 in their second innings, any chance of an outright disappeared.
Having won the toss, Anderson’s decision to bowl on a green pitch paid off, with the visitors slumping to 60–6 and eventually being dismissed for 130, with pace bowlers Ethan Childs and James Church to the fore, capturing four wickets each as Manawatū failed to adapt to the tricky conditions.
Both had plenty to play for. Ethan Childs, who had missed the first-round loss to Taranaki due to a shoulder injury suffered while batting, was a late inclusion for the injured Jaco Vorster, while Church was fired up to prove a point after missing selection for the Central Districts under-19 side. Ethan Childs then took 2–16 in Manawatū second dig.
“Ethan is the spearhead of our attack, and it’s nice to see him getting wickets again. Obviously, his shoulder held up, which is the main thing and Churchie, I feel a bit sorry for him missing out on that CD team, knowing how hard he’s worked, so it’s nice to see him rub it in the CD selectors face,” said Anderson, who felt his players adapted to the conditions better than their opponents.
“It wasn’t easy to bat on; there was good pace in the wicket, but there was a lot of sideways movement, the bounce was pretty consistent, and you could play shots on it, but you just had to stay really straight.
“They were just arrogant in the first innings and thought they could come out and blast us like they normally do and just play shots that probably weren’t there to play.
“We hit really good lengths too. They bowled too short and too full a lot of the time, and our boys were pretty consistent with their length, which was the main thing on that wicket.”
Anderson was to the fore in Wairarapa’s only turn at bat, top-scoring with 66, as the home side built a 97-run lead, although he said it was hard work.
“I was playing and missing a lot, but it was just due to the sideways movement, and there was generally too much to nick you off. It wasn’t a dog of a wicket; I’ve batted on a lot worse, and there was good pace, and you could play your shots, but you just had to accept that you were getting beaten probably once an over just with the sideways movement.”
Coach Mark Childs echoed Anderson’s views but also had plenty of praise for his skipper’s contribution.
“Chook’s captaincy was on the money with field settings, and with the bat, you have to take your hat off to Robbie again – he’s probably batting the best I’ve seen him bat, and he’s really worked out his game and where his strengths are, and he doesn’t try and be someone he’s not,” Mark Childs said.
“Jake Jonas [26 runs] played a valuable knock, and he soaked up a lot of deliveries, and we went out there and showed them how to really apply yourself on the wicket, whereas they were quite reckless in their approach, I thought.”
The most pleasing aspect for the coach, though, was that the players applied the blowtorch when Manawatu were under the pump.
“It’s that old foot on the throat thing. Again, it’s talked about a lot that when we’re in a dominant position, we’ve got to make them pay, and we did make them pay, which is really pleasing to see, with good quality bowling and taking our chances.
“They did everything I asked them to do or wanted from them with regard to mental toughness and just playing hard cricket and not giving your wicket away.
“I’ve been making a theme around what it means to wear the baggy, and when you put the top on, it means something, and they’re really proud to play for Wairarapa, and they’re a tight group, so just getting that culture right and making sure they’re disciplined in their cricket and we don’t throw our wickets away, and that’s where we fell down in New Plymouth.”
The first innings win lifted Wairarapa to fourth on a congested Furlong Cup points table. Their 15 points are just four behind leaders Hawke Cup holders and leaders Hawke’s Bay, and more importantly, just two behind Taranaki and Manawatu.
With second place possibly enough to earn a challenge for the Hawke Cup, Wairarapa are well-placed to mount a serious push, with the struggling Whanganui to play in three weeks and close rivals Horowhenua-Kapiti and Hawke’s Bay in January.
Brief Scores:
Manawatu 130 [Thomas Kugeleijn 61no; James Church 4–22, Ethan Childs 4–40] and 61-3 [Jerome Robinson 34; Ethan Childs 2-16] lost on first innings to Wairarapa 227 [Robbie Anderson 66, Quinn Childs 49, Jake Jonas 26; Bevan Small 4–48, Thomas Kirk 3–38, Arana Noema-Barnett 3–61].
Furlong Cup points:
Hawke’s Bay 19; Taranaki, Manawatu 17; Wairarapa 15; Horowhenua-Kapiti 13; Whanganui 3. they could come out and blast us like they normally do and just play shots that probably weren’t there to play.
“We hit really good lengths too. They bowled too short and too full a lot of the time, and our boys were pretty consistent with their length, which was the main thing on that wicket.”
Anderson was to the fore in Wairarapa’s only turn at bat, top-scoring with 66, as the home side built a 97-run lead, although he said it was hard work.
“I was playing and missing a lot, but it was just due to the sideways movement, and there was generally too much to nick you off. It wasn’t a dog of a wicket; I’ve batted on a lot worse, and there was good pace, and you could play your shots, but you just had to accept that you were getting beaten probably once an over just with the sideways movement.”
Coach Mark Childs echoed Anderson’s views but also had plenty of praise for his skipper’s contribution.
“Chook’s captaincy was on the money with field settings, and with the bat, you have to take your hat off to Robbie again – he’s probably batting the best I’ve seen him bat, and he’s really worked out his game and where his strengths are, and he doesn’t try and be someone he’s not,” Mark Childs said.
“Jake Jonas [26 runs] played a valuable knock, and he soaked up a lot of deliveries, and we went out there and showed them how to really apply yourself on the wicket, whereas they were quite reckless in their approach, I thought.”
The most pleasing aspect for the coach, though, was that the players applied the blowtorch when Manawatū were under the pump.
“It’s that old foot on the throat thing. Again, it’s talked about a lot that when we’re in a dominant position, we’ve got to make them pay, and we did make them pay, which is really pleasing to see, with good quality bowling and taking our chances.
“They did everything I asked them to do or wanted from them with regard to mental toughness and just playing hard cricket and not giving your wicket away.
“I’ve been making a theme around what it means to wear the baggy, and when you put the top on, it means something, and they’re really proud to play for Wairarapa, and they’re a tight group, so just getting that culture right and making sure they’re disciplined in their cricket and we don’t throw our wickets away, and that’s where we fell down in New Plymouth.”
The first innings win lifted Wairarapa to fourth on a congested Furlong Cup points table. Their 15 points are just four behind leaders Hawke Cup holders and leaders Hawke’s Bay, and more importantly, just two behind Taranaki and Manawatū.
With second place possibly enough to earn a challenge for the Hawke Cup, Wairarapa are well-placed to mount a serious push, with the struggling Whanganui to play in three weeks and close rivals Horowhenua-Kapiti and Hawke’s Bay in January.
Brief Scores:
Manawatū 130 [Thomas Kugeleijn 61no; James Church 4–22, Ethan Childs 4–40] and 61-3 [Jerome Robinson 34; Ethan Childs 2-16] lost on first innings to Wairarapa 227 [Robbie Anderson 66, Quinn Childs 49, Jake Jonas 26; Bevan Small 4–48, Thomas Kirk 3–38, Arana Noema-Barnett 3–61].
Furlong Cup points:
Hawke’s Bay 19; Taranaki, Manawatū 17; Wairarapa 15; Horowhenua-Kapiti 13; Whanganui 3.
