Cricket: Taylor stakes claim for recall

Whangarei Boys' High School batsman Fletcher Coutts was one of the top contributors at Saturday's Oxford Trust two-day premier cricket competition. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Matt Taylor's eight-wicket haul saw him pushing for a Northland recall on Saturday as the Kaipara Flats pace bowler put in a winning performance in the Oxford Trust two-day premier cricket competition.

Onerahi-Central and Kaipara Flats started the day on level terms after OC's first innings lead of 18 was reached without loss before stumps on the first day's play.

A good bowling and fielding effort saw Kaipara dismissed for only 180, with only a fine knock of 89 by Brad Wilson allowing his side to post a defendable total. Henry Cooper spearheaded the attack with a five-wicket bag, while Junaid Kahn took four wickets.

Onerahi were confident of reaching the 162 runs they needed but didn't gamble on the form of the Kaipara paceman, who tore them apart.

The Onerahi batsmen struggled to 90 before Taylor performed the coup de grace, finishing with eight wickets for 30-odd runs.

"He bowled bloody well," Onerahi's Barry Cooper said. "He's certainly pushing for a Northland recall with the way he bowled. He's just got to wait for his chance."

A big-hitting century by Neal Parlane propelled Maungakaramea to victory against Kamo and up the ladder of the competition. Parlane punished the Kamo bowlers after playing himself in on the first day of the two-day match and was the only batsman to really score highly in the match at the Maungakaramea Domain. He notched up 124 from 120 balls, cutting loose at the end of his innings in particular, to finish with six sixes and nine fours in all.

Maungakaramea declared at 213/4 with Parlane's ton backing up Nick Stobart's bowling effort of 5/33 in the first innings, as Kamo were rolled for just 69.

Kamo's Curtis Cherrington scored 48 not out after being put back in to bat at the end of the first day but he was unable to return to play on Saturday, leaving Kamo starting the day effectively at 88/3. Solid play by Brandon Gilmour (50) and Atif Qureshi (32) gave Kamo a glimmer of hope in the first session but their dismissals saw the side struggle to put together another strong partnership, with only Shane Burton (29) scoring runs in the tail as Kamo were dismissed for 198.

Josh Lee finished with excellent figures of 6/41 off 17.3 overs

Bert Horner (34no) and Joe O'Donnell (12no) took Maungakaramea to a 10-wicket win and a big haul of points toward the coveted trophy.

At Cobham Oval City completed another outright win in a much closer game over Whangarei Boys' High School.

After City took first-innings points with a 50-run lead, Chamodh Peiris (44), Fletcher Coutts (28) and Dante Mitchell (25) were the top contributors in a good all-round effort, the side reaching 200 all out and giving themselves a shot at victory.

The innings started well for the students with Ben Smith caught behind off Matthew Lobb for just two runs, and City lost a couple more wickets before captain Ian Page steadied the ship and guided his side home with an unbeaten 73 to take a four-wicket win.