Maungakaramea gets final reward

Maungakaramea clinched not only Northland Cricket's Premier Grade two-day championship but also Club of the Year honours when they won first innings points against Onerahi Central during the final at Cobham Oval yesterday.
"It was a really satisfying way to end the season, especially after we made three of the finals, and we have finally won one," Maungakaramea club captain James Merry said.
After winning the toss on Saturday morning, Maungakaramea sent Onerahi into bat, and their bowlers Jason Morgan and Craig Davie-Martin set about dismantling the top order. Morgan dismissed opening batsman Jamie Matthews for a duck, and Craig Russell for 12, while Davie-Martin snatched the pivotal wicket of Onerahi skipper Andy McDowell for just 10 runs, and Aaron Bradley for eight.
Onerahi's saving grace was middle order batsman Josh Matthews, who clocked up 33 before Merry claimed his first of three wickets (for 61 runs in his 14 overs), and Nic Breslin, who patiently chipped away to reach 75 and help Onerahi reach a more respectable first innings total of 235.
Maungakaramea began their chase on Saturday afternoon, and were 123/4 at stumps, with Joe O'Sullivan and John Child not out on 45 and 16 respectively.
When play resumed yesterday, O'Sullivan was dismissed lbw for 49, while Child stuck around at the crease, contributing 39. It was the huge effort from Craig Gurr's century (101 not out) however, that swayed the first innings points Maungakaramea's way, with the side reaching 278.
Merry said he was particularly pleased with how the batsmen performed during the first innings. "We batted for 106 overs and every single person who occupied the crease did the job they were required to, there was no collapse. Craig Gurr was batting at No7 and got an outstanding ton, and the tailenders stuck around to get the runs," he said.
Onerahi changed the order of their batsmen slightly in the second innings, bringing Bradley into bat first with Russell but efficient bowling by Maungakaramea and a solid fielding performance restricted the batsmen to low totals. McDowell batted at No5 and was the major contributor for Onerahi, hitting 39.
With nine men down, Onerahi declared at 143, giving them a lead of 100 as the Maungakaramea returned to bat for their second stint.
As they only needed to prevent Onerahi from getting an outright win to claim the Club of the Year title,  Maungakaramea played without urgency in their second innings, and were four wickets down for 46 runs at the end of day two. They claimed the championship with first innings points only, as they were top qualifiers heading into the match.