Red Star’s Nathan Elliott on the way to scoring 19. PHOTO/JADE CVETKOV
CRICKET
STEVE RENDLE
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Squally wind and rain didn’t make for great conditions for cricket, or a great result for Red Star in the Coastal Challenge Cup on Saturday, as the side went down to Watson’s Technical of Whanganui at Masterton’s Queen Elizabeth Park.
Rain restricted the game to 29 overs, and delayed the start by three hours.
Burger King Red Star elected to bat first after winning the toss.
Their total of 141 all out was always going to be a struggle to defend, and a strong batting performance by Technical saw them polish off the runs for the loss of only two wickets after 19 overs.
Red Star made a positive start but things began to go awry after they lost their first wicket with the score at 32.
Wickets fell regularly, and at 72-6 it appeared a competitive score was getting out of reach.
Coming in at No. 7 Jeremy Osborne steadied the ship somewhat and was eventually the last man out, with the team’s high score of 28 off 39 balls, in the 28th over.
The big destroyer for Technical was Akhl Kumar who took 4-22 in his six overs.
In response, Technical got off to a rollicking start reaching 57 without loss, but two wickets without any further scoreboard progress gave Red Star some cause for optimism.
Technical No. 3 Dom Lock, however, was in no mood to muck about, smashing 53 unbeaten runs from 36 balls and seeing the side home without any further loss of wickets.
Red Star captain Peter Sigversten said conditions were not easy.
“We decided to bat because the outfield was still pretty wet and we didn’t want to bowl with a wet ball,” he said.
“We were actually pretty pleased with 141 after being 72-6.
“We probably thought we were 20-30 runs short, but looking at how they batted, we were probably actually 80 runs short.”
In the other match on Saturday, United beat Weraroa [scores not available].
The Coastal Challenge Cup resumes on November 24.
Scores
Red Star 141 all out [JO Osborne 28, N Elliott 19; A Kumar 4-22, B Hunter 2-23, H Mann 2-25] lost to Watson’s Technical 142-2 [D Lock 53, A Kumar 29; JO Osborne 1-13].
