Cricket: Pāpāmoa win McNaughton Trophy

Cricket

Pāpāmoa have claimed the McNaughton Trophy in front of one of the biggest crowds seen at a club cricket match in Western Bay of Plenty.

They beat Greerton Sikh XI by 29 runs under lights at the Bay Oval on Thursday night.

The McNaughton Trophy is effectively the Baywide Reserve Grade Championship, open to all Bay of Plenty Reserve and B Grade teams throughout the region.

Pāpāmoa won the toss and immediately elected to bat in the day/nighter, the first game of Bay of Plenty club cricket played out under the lights. Openers Mark Divehall and Aaron Barbour got their side away to a flyer, blasting 39 without loss in the first five overs.

Divehall was the first to go for 51. Enter Andrew Goldsmith who smashed a half-century off just 37 balls, in a knock that included six 4s and two 6s.

The dismissal of Goldsmith in the 32nd over saw the Sikh bowlers apply the brakes a little to the Pāpāmoa attempts to hit out. It was left to Aaron Barbour to anchor his side's total, of 213 for the loss of three wickets, with the Pāpāmoa opening batsmen carrying his bat to 67 not out off 119 balls.

The Greerton batsmen strode to the wicket with real purpose, needing 5.35 runs an over to win the Baywide trophy. While they were in front of the required run rate, they lost their first wicket at the 14-run mark and when opener Raghav Solgotra went for 26, they were two down for 48 which quickly became 3/52.

Amrit Singh took up the challenge to belt 54, at a tad over a run a ball, before the Pāpāmoa bowlers tightened the screws, to dismiss the Singh XI for 185 with four overs to spare. Aaron Barbour backed up his batting heroics to take three wickets for 38 runs, sitting on a hat-trick at one stage in his eight overs.

There was little discussion required for the Man of the Match award - being presented to Barbour, who top scored for his team and took three vital wickets which swung the game in Pāpāmoa's favour.

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McNaughton Trophy Final

Pāpāmoa 214/3 (Aaron Barbour 67no, Mark Divehall 51, Andrew Goldsmith 50) beat Greerton Sikh XI 185 (Amrit Singh 54, Raghav Solgotra 16; Aaron Barber 3/38).