Pete Sigversten picked up six wickets in Red Star’s big win. PHOTO/FILE
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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Peter Sigvertsen snared a six-wicket bag as Burger King Red Star crushed Wairarapa Mitsubishi Greytown to make the Bidwill Cup final.
Red Star went into Saturday’s match with an outside chance of playing in next weekend’s decider. They needed to claim the maximum three bonus points, win outright, and deny Greytown any bonus points to progress.
A late decision was made to move the game to Greytown Memorial Park, with the Queen Elizabeth Park Oval pitch unfit for play.
Red Star captain Stefan Hook won the toss and had no hesitation in putting the home side into bat on a pitch that had displayed variable bounce the week before and knowing that his team’s best chances lay in dismissing Greytown and deny them any bonus points, for less than 125 runs.
Openers Mark Childs and Alastair ‘Tora’ Boyne made an aggressive start scoring 20 runs off the first two overs, but when they both went at that score and when the hard-hitting Hayden Ray went soon after, Greytown were on the back foot at 22-3.
Veteran Justin Herbert and Caleb Burling progressed the score to 54, but after Herbert was dismissed for 13, the remaining batsmen struggled against the consistent line and length of the Red Star bowlers and were all out for 76.
Sigvertsen found conditions ideal for his medium-slow bowling, and he was rewarded with six wickets for 29 runs off nine overs, while Jared Watt picked up 3-9 with his accurate medium pacers.
Burling was the best of the Greytown batsmen, finishing with 30, an innings full of aggression, coming off just 24 balls and featuring five fours.
Red Star were relatively unchallenged in chasing down the total in less than 17 overs, with Jake Jonas [25], and Richard French [22no] leading the way.
Red Star will play top qualifiers Jackson Street Lansdowne in the two-day final to be played on the Oval.
BRIEF SCORES
Wairarapa Mitsubishi Greytown 76 [Caleb Burling 30; Pete Sigvertsen 6-29, Jared Watt 3-9] lost to Burger King Red Star 77-3 [Jake Jonas 25, Richard French 22no; Byron Hegglin 2-9] by seven wickets.
PROVISIONAL POINTS
Lansdowne 11, Red Star, and Greytown 10.
