Maungakaramea secured a berth in next weekend's Northland Cricket premier grade two-day final against City when they grabbed first-innings points over Whangarei Boys High School.
After a delayed start at Maungakaramea due to the damp ground, the schoolboys resumed batting, chasing the host's first-innings target of 179.
The visitors needed an outright
to creep past Maungakaramea into the final, so declared at 101 for six in the first innings with a view to bowling their hosts out cheaply in the second innings.
After 39.2 overs, they had Maungakaramea all out for 130, Henry Cooper the best with the ball, taking four wickets for 40 runs in his 8.2 overs, and went back into bat with ambitions of reaching the unlikely target of 209 off 27 overs to win the match.
The schoolboys had a go but lost wickets hastily. Opening batsmen Ben Williams and Bradley Kneebone were both dismissed for just five runs, and the middle order made only single figures with the exception of Cooper (25 not out), who along with Ben Smith (9 not out) batted the remaining overs.
The final will be held on Saturday and Sunday at Cobham Oval.
City were top qualifiers for the match after winning their match with Kamo outright on Saturday.
Last weekend City declared at 241-4 after dismissing Kamo for 77. Kamo returned to the crease to bat, but Rory Darkins was dangerous with the ball, taking 5-25 in five overs - adding to the four wickets he took in the first innings, while Richard Atkins snagged 4-2, in nine overs. City's efficient bowling saw Kamo all out for an uncompetitive 59 runs, after 30.1.
As top qualifiers for the final, City only need to avoid loss, while Maungakaramea need to win outright to secure the two-day championship title.
In the other match of the round, Kaipara Flats grabbed first-innings points over Onerahi Central when day two of their match was called off due to the wet pitch.
