Cricket: Heroic bowling efforts not enough

Joseph O'Sullivan was given out during Saturday's Dargaville Shield match between Mid Western and Whangarei North. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Not even an incredible seven wickets for 20 runs from Whangarei North's Ben Hyde was enough to see his side claim the Dargaville Shield, with it instead being retained by Mid Western by the slimmest of margins.

Mid Western sneaked home by nine runs in their rain-effected match at Kensington Park, thanks largely to an all-round performance from Cody Andrews.

The quick bowling Andrews scored 38 runs with the bat as his side posted a meagre 103 all out after the match was shortened to a 55-over encounter to ensure a winner was found on Saturday.

Andrews followed up his crucial 38-run knock with four wickets for 30 with the ball.

Baked in sunshine on a beautiful Northland spring day, Mid Western batted first as Hyde caused all sorts of havoc with the ball - with Andrews the only player putting up any real resistance.

In response Whangarei North stuttered their way to 94 as the Westerners prevailed in what was a tense finish.

Regardless of which team you support, the result is seen as a victory for the reinstated format of the Dargaville Shield.

The motivation behind reinstating the old school format of the Dargaville Shield was to see more competitive games at the start of the season. And it is fair to say that was achieved in Saturday's 'final'.

In the weekend's other Dargaville Shield match, Rodney drew with Whangarei South as both teams scored near the 200-run mark.

Rodney's Mike O'Flaherty top scored for the match with 79 runs - which included 10 fours and two sixes - but was closely followed by Whangarei's Chamodh Peiris who picked up a patient 69.

Rodney's Kyran Dill also produced a solid nudge in scoring 52 from 56 deliveries.

Northland Cricket Association's competitions manager Neal Parlane, who also plays for Mid Western, felt the revamp had worked well.

"It definitely has served its purpose," he commented. "I think it has worked well, some very good cricket has been played."

Northland Cricket general manager Warren Marr was glad to see the return of the sub-union competition, saying it should build a more competitive start to the year and in turn help preparations for the Northland men's team.

"The start of last season was pretty uninspiring, to be fair, in terms of the level of cricket on display, with university students away it makes it tough.

"Our Northland men have a huge season with trying to win the Hawke Cup, which is our main focus, and on November 1 and 2 they have a hard game against Bay of Plenty down there and they need some good cricket before then."

Marr added that while preparing the flagship team - the Northland men - was a contributing reason for the sub-union competition, a main goal was to have a default free competition.

Mid Western: 103 (Cody Andrews 38; Ben Hyde 7-20); Whangarei North: 94 (Andrews 4-30)