Cricket: Kamo pair star with bat and ball

Kamo's Atif Qureshi and Richie Macpherson have plenty to be satisfied with as the duo played massive parts in their side's first win in the Lion Red Cup.

Bowling first, Macpherson led from the front as the captain picked up a respectable four for 29 from his 10 overs - helping restrict Zest Insurance Whangarei Boys' High School to 167 for nine.

Picking up the wickets of Matthew Lobb, Chamodh Peiris, Fletcher Coutts, and Tim Osbaldiston, Macpherson was happy with his side's efforts in gaining their first win after losing their opening two games by close margins.

Supporting Macpherson with the ball was Shane Burton who picked up three for 29 from seven overs, along with Curtis Cherrington with two for 11 from eight overs.

For Boys' High, Peiris showed the most grit as he top-scored with 29 runs from 69 balls in 102 minutes on Saturday.

Leading the way for Kamo with bat was Qureshi, who looked solid in notching up an unbeaten 75 from 88 balls, including seven fours and two sixes.

However, Qureshi wasn't alone in his innings as he combined with Cherrington (32) for an 85-run partnership to essentially put the game beyond Boys' High - claiming the win by six wickets.

The pick of the bowlers for Boys' High was Lobb, who managed two for 40 from his full complement.

Macpherson said after the game he was happy with the result, however he felt they needed to lift the intensity in the field at times.

Meanwhile, a five-wicket haul from Maungakaramea's Mike Harris wasn't enough to get his side the win over Kaipara on Saturday.

Harris claimed five for 42 as Kaipara won by 49 runs in extremely windy conditions at Bourne Dean Domain in Kaipara.

Led by scores of 42 and 40, from Mike O'Flaherty and Jas Williams, Kaipara's 181 for eight was enough for them to pick up their second win in a row.

In response, Maungakaramea were rolled for 132 thanks to a strong showing from Matt Taylor with four for 25.

Maungakaramea's Mike O'Sullivan said they were their own enemies, struggling to put together partnerships and build pressure.

"In something like 40 years of being involved with cricket it's one of the most horrible windy days of cricket I've been involved with," O'Sullivan commented.

In the weekend's other game, Onerahi Central beat City by 111 runs as Onerahi's Junaid Khan top-scored in the match with 54.

The pick of the bowlers from both teams was Tom Smith, who took three wickets for two runs from the 11 balls he bowled.

Lion Red Cup round 3

Boys' High: 167/9 (C Peiris 29; R Macpherson 4/29, S Burton 3/29); Kamo: 169/4: (A Qureshi 75*; M Lobb 2/40)

Kaipara: 181/8 (M O'Flaherty 42, J Williams 40, N Roberts 35; M Harris 5/42); Maungakaramea: 132 (B Horner 23; M Taylor 4/25)

Onerahi Central: 213 (Junaid Khan 54, E Benny 44; K Nelson 3/28, S Morris 3/43); City: 102: (S Kumar 32; T Smith 3/2, Marc Lezar 3/28)