That was the signal for Scott Tallott and Udall to take the attack to the bowlers on a flat track. They put on 101 runs before Tallott was caught by Hayes off Tayla Hollis for 62. He scored his runs off 49 balls and hit 11 fours.
“I should have gone on and scored a ton,” said Tallott, who was dismissed with 20 overs remaining.
Udall and Kumar advanced the score to 149 before Udall became Hollis’s second victim, caught by Ryan Nepe for 48. Half of those runs came from boundaries (six fours).
“It was pleasing to see Glen get among the runs,” said Scott Tallott.
“He’s our most experienced player and a great clubman.”
Kumar (32 off 25 balls) and Renouf (41 off 32) continued the assault. After the classy Kumar was trapped leg before wicket by Hollis to make it 170-4, Renouf and Needham shared a 35-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Renouf was eventually caught by Dan Torrie. It was the first of three wickets for Sam Patterson.
Needham finished unbeaten on 26 runs off 31 deliveries, and Ryan Majstrovic chipped in with 11 not out.
Pirates lost their first batsman, Hayden Fenn, bowled by Scott Tallott for eight with the score at 25. Nepe followed 16 runs later, caught by Udall off Kumar.
Despite the loss of wickets, Pirates were on target, scoring at six runs an over.
When Hayes and Reynolds were in the middle, Pirates were in a strong position. They put on 48 runs, with Hayes the main aggressor.
But when Reynolds was caught and bowled by Gagan Dhinga with the score at 89-3 and Hayes fell, caught by Udall off the bowling of Majstrovic for 39 with the total at 92, it was the beginning of the end for Pirates. They were dismissed for 141.
Apart from an unbeaten 29 off 31 balls from Patterson, wickets fell at regular intervals, with spinners Majstrovic (left arm) bagging 4-38 off 9.4 overs and Dhinga taking 3-38 off eight.
“We’ll take the win and enjoy it but, remember, Pirates were without three regulars — Dane Thompson and the Needham brothers Richie and Tom — so we’re not reading too much into this result other than it was another good fielding effort for the boys,” Tallott said.
“I’m pleased with the progress in that area.”
Horouta dismissed Boys’ High for 103 with only captain Drew Scott (28) and Jack Faulkner (26) showing any resistance.
Man of the match Billy Morse, who took 5-12, and Mel Knight (3-21) were the chief destroyers.
Tusha Balat (29 not out), Bick Chand (20) and Amit Vyas (14) made sure Horouta took the points.
“A win is always a good start to the competition,” Horouta club captain Greg Taylor said.
OBR’s Arun Kurup ripped through the Campion batting to finish with six wickets for eight runs off six overs as the students were rolled for 41 in 19.4 overs.
OBR, chasing the treble after winning the Doleman Cup and the Walker Shield, cruised to victory with Kurup (20no) and Craig Christophers (18no) bringing up the runs.
HSOB 249-7 (Scott Tallott 62, G Udall 48, J Renouf 41, AJ Kumar 32, O Needham 26no; T Hollis 3-48, S Patterson 3-49) def Pirates 141 (T Hayes 39; R Majstrovic 4-48, G Dhinga 3-38).
Horouta 104-4 (T Balat 29no, B Chand 20; Z Paige 2-32) def GBHS 103 (D Scott 28, J Faulkner 26; B Morse 5-12, M Knight 3-21).
OBR 43-0 (A Kurup 20no, C Christophers 18no) def Campion 40 (A Kurup 6-8).
