Absences can't halt Lansdowne

A depleted Flight Centre Lansdowne team maintained their unbeaten record in the Wairarapa Cricket Association's Bidwell Cup competition with a surprisingly convincing 62-run win over Red Star at the Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton on Saturday.
Missing several of their leading players who were on duty with Wairarapa in their Hawke Cup elimination game with Manawatu in Palmerston North, Lansdowne were expected to find the going tough against a close to full strength Red Star combination but, as it happened, they won in a virtual canter.
It was promoted third grader Hamish Eglinton who proved the thorn in the side of Red Star when Lansdowne batted first on a pitch being used for the first time this season. Coming in at No8, he struck five fours and one six in his 48 and while not all of his shots were exactly out of the text book they were generally very effective.
The other knock of substance in the Lansdowne total of 184 came from Gunveer Singh who came to the wicket with his team struggling at 36-3 and got through to 42 before caught out. He hit six fours and, like Eglington, was quick to despatch any loose delivery to the boundary. That, too, was the strength of Brock Price and Choi Jackson in their cameos, Price slamming four fours in his 22 and Jackson two sixes and a four in his 18.
Medium pacer Nik Karaitiana did a sterling job at the bowling crease for Red Star, finishing with 5-52 from his 13 overs. Spinner Shay O'Gorman started with three maidens and maintained an impressive line and length in taking 2-30 from his nine overs and Sean Jarvis took 2-26 from eight overs.
Red Star gave themselves a good chance of victory early in their innings when they reached 71-2 but the dismissals of Richard French for 25 (two fours) and Robbie Anderson for 31 (four fours) saw them capitulate to be all out for 122. Karaitiana did, however, complete a handy all-round effort by making 20 in the middle order.
Leighton Calkin and Nathan Robinson both picked up three wickets for Lansdowne, Calkin taking 3-32 from 10.1 overs and Robinson 3-22 from seven.
Opening bowler Brock Price also did well to finish with 2-19 from nine overs and Jason Herbert managed two wickets for just the one run in the solitary over he had.
Red Star skipper O'Gorman was "extremely disappointed" with his team's loss.
The other Bidwell Cup match saw Rathkeale College defeat a Greytown side which, like Lansdowne, was seriously depleted by representative commitments.
Duncan Didsbury with 47 was the only Greytown batsmen to get amongst the runs when they batted first and were out for 108.
Josh Mann took 3-17 for Rathkeale.The college then reached their target for the loss of six wickets, with Ben Foster making 34. Nash Patel had figures of 4-32 for Greytown.