Ethan Childs [pictured] and his twin, Quinn, took Red Star to brink of a major upset. PHOTO/FILE
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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Burger King Red Star were one ball away from beating the defending national club champions before losing their qualifying match in a Super Over.
Napier Technical Old Boys went into the T20 match at Greytown on Sunday as the hottest of favourites, with former Black Cap Jesse Ryder, Central Stag Christian Leopard and hard-hitting Hawke’s Bay wicketkeeper Matt Edmondson in their line-up.
Scoring was always going to be difficult on the low slow pitch, with Napier Tech struggling to 100 all out in 18.5 overs.
Ryder was typically aggressive, scoring 35 off 26 balls, including six fours, before he was caught by Stefan Hook off the bowling of Peter Sigvertsen.
Kurtis Weeks [22] and Hunter Lowe [10] added 31 for the sixth wicket and gave the visitors some hope of setting a reasonable target, but once Weeks was dismissed, the remaining four wickets fell for seven runs.
Red Star were in early trouble at 13-3, before Brock Price [32] and Nathan Elliott [16] added 44 for the fourth wicket.
Ethan Childs [17] and Quinn Childs [14] took Red Star to the brink of victory in the final over.
Needing 12 runs to win off the last over, Quinn Childs cleared the boundary for a six off medium pacer Liam McCarthy’s first delivery.
A dot ball followed by a three gave Ethan Childs the strike, only for him to be out, caught, leaving Red Star to score three runs off two balls.
Quinn Childs scored two to level the scores, but he was caught off the last ball, sending the match into the winners take all Super Over.
Red Star could manage only five runs from their six balls, a target that Napier Tech passed in two balls.
Napier Tech now move into the Central Districts’ playoffs to be held in Palmerston North next month.
The national club championship, which is held annually in April at the Cornwall Club in Auckland, has changed to a T20 format having previously been a one-day tournament.
BRIEF SCORES
Napier Technical Old Boys 100 [Jesse Ryder 35, Kurtis Weeks 22; Ethan Childs 3-21, Peter Sigvertsen 2-18] beat Burger King Red Star 100 [Brock Price 32; Bronson Meehan 4-17, Liam McCarthy 3-17, Himalaya Patel 2-11] in the Super Over.
