Burger King Red Star’s 182-run thumping of Whanganui Marist in their opening match of the Coastal Challenge at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval was overshadowed by a controversial ‘Mankad’ dismissal.
First drop, Trey Bidois was the victim of the runout in the 44th over with his score on 84, and at the non-striker’s end when he stepped out of his ground, and the bails were whipped off by bowler Connor O’Leary before he delivered the ball.
Although well within the laws, the act is considered against the spirit of the game by many in cricket, especially when it is performed without warning, and O’Leary’s action left a sour taste with the Red Star players.
“It didn’t go down very well,” Red Star captain Jeremy Anderson said.
“There was no warning or anything, and he wasn’t out by a lot either, and it was pretty close. That got everyone pretty fired up, and it was a bit heated there for a little bit.
“It was a shame, really, because he was on 84, and he was probably going to score 100, and it’s not a great way for it to happen.”
Bidois’s dismissal brought to an end an outstanding 143-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Mark Steventon, who is starting to display the potential he showed as a talented batter at Wairarapa College.
The pair came together in the 24th over with Red Star at 118–3 and were untroubled as they scored at seven an over. Bidois faced 100 balls and stroked 10 fours in his 84, while Steventon’s aggressive 85 came from just 65 balls and featured 11 fours.
“They batted brilliantly, their running between the wickets was great, and they made it look pretty easy, really, and they didn’t give any chances,” Jeremy Anderson said.
Wairarapa representatives Robbie Anderson [29] and Jake Jonas [49] had earlier given Red Star the impetus to post a big score, putting on 70 for the opening wicket in the first 12 overs.
Red Star’s total of 307–7 was always going to be a big ask, even on an Oval pitch that had flattened out to a good batting surface and the lightning-quick outfield.
After the loss of their first wicket in the first over, the Marist batters swung their bats and were going at 10 an over, but that would never last against the accurate Red Star bowling attack. Veteran Pete Sigvertsen proved particularly hard to get away, finishing with the outstanding figures of 3–4 off six overs and, along with Ethan Childs [3–34], ripped through the top order.
Jeremy Anderson admits to being a bit confused with Marist’s tactics.
“They played some stupid shots. They were going at 10 an over, and then two or three guys came out and tried to hit over the top of mid-on and mid-off, and they didn’t need to do that.”
Although the captain felt the team had performed well in the field, he was disappointed with the 30 wides bowled, which was Marist’s top score and accounted for almost a quarter of their runs.
“That was probably the only negative thing which we need to work on for next week. It was a good all-round performance and a good way to start. We did the job, and that’s the main thing.”
Red Star will travel to Whanganui on Saturday to take on Whanganui United.
BRIEF SCORES
Red Star 307-7 [Mark Steventon 85, Trey Bidois 84, Jake Jonas 49, Robbie Anderson 49] beat Whanganui Marist 125 [Pete Sigvertsen 3-4, Ethan Childs 3-34] by 182 runs.
WAIRARAPA KORUS
The Southey Sayer Wairarapa Korus’ long drive to New Plymouth came to nothing.
Steady rain on Saturday night and yesterday morning resulted in their Shrimpton Trophy, with Taranaki being abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The Korus will play Hawke’s Bay in Hastings in their penultimate round match on Sunday.
