CRICKET: Lesser lights show skills

With the Northland cricket squad away on representative duties, the focus of weekend's premier competition was on the first round of the Mark Cromie 50-over matches.

Scheduled to run when the rep players are away, the Mark Cromie is a chance for younger players to experience a higher level of cricket or to push for selection once the Northland players return to their club.

Regular Northland player Henry Cooper would normally be with the rep squad, but NCEA exams took precedence and he returned to his best form with a dominant 87 not-out in Whangarei Boys' High School's innings of 187 runs for four wickets against Maungakaramea.

Batting throughout the 50-overs, Cooper hit nine fours and shared an 83-run stand for the first wicket with Jordan Antunovich (29). Cooper lost the strike towards the latter part of the innings and some tidy bowling from Nic Stobart and Mike Harris also helped to limit the students from a bigger total.

Despite some wayward early bowling, Tom Herman got the key wicket of John Child for 16 and thereafter Maungakaramea never really looked like chasing down the target. Pick of the bowlers was left-arm spinner David Armitt who took 3 for 13 off his 10 overs and seamer Ben Smith with 3 for 18.

Batting first against Kamo, City were in early trouble at 24 for 4. Chris Lambly (35) and Bert Horner (23) got starts but it was another disappointing innings from City as they struggled to muster 140. Logan Miller, Sean Daniels and Eden Crawford were among the wickets for Kamo. Steady batting from opener Dylan Clark (43) and Dean Williams (29) saw Kamo through to a relatively easy victory in the 44th over. Kamo have now won their last three games and their return to winning cricket must be pleasing to the Kamo faithful and a credit to their development programme.

In the other game, the unbeaten Kaipara Flats had another comfortable win with an eight-wicket victory against Onerahi. Kaipara Flats chased their 160 target down in the 41st over for the loss of only two wickets with Joe Robbins and Michael O'Flaherty the main contributors. Kaipara Flats have already won the Twenty20 championship, lead in the Lion Red and now lead in the Mark Cromie and they remain the benchmark team in Northland cricket.

In reserve grade, WBHS Second X1 have once again proved giant killers. In successive weeks, Boys' High have beaten the winners of both of last year's one-day competitions in Dargaville and Kamo High School. WBHS cricket master Russell Smith is understandably chuffed.