Brown - no excuses

Wairarapa selector-coach Mark Brown was making no excuses for his team crashing to a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Wanganui in their Hawke Cup qualifying senior men's cricket match at Wanganui in the weekend.

The home team won by an innings and 11 runs after Wairarapa crashed to be all out for 119 in their second innings, the only signs of resistance there coming from Dean van Deventer (44) and Matt Stringfellow (23).

"It just wasn't good enough, we let ourselves down," a disappointed Brown said. "We didn't deserve any better than what we got"

Batting first on a wicket which looked full of runs Wairarapa got through to 300, thanks in the main to a fine knock of 104 by opener Jamie Holmes, supported by Peter Borren (43) and Daniel Ingham (46 not out).

Respectable as that tally might seem, Brown said the benign state of the pitch meant it was always likely to be about 100 runs short of a truly competitive total.

"I think it's fair to say that some of our batsmen didn't apply themselves well enough, they basically got themselves out," Brown said.

Wanganui closed their first innings at a healthy 430-7, with Mark Fraser making 147 and Dominic Rayner 95. They took toll on a Wairarapa attack, which struggled to maintain a consistent line and length in the 123 overs they were in the field.

The Wairarapa second innings was a disaster, with wickets falling at regular intervals. "There were a lot of tired shots played, mentally we were just not there," Brown said.

Meanwhile, Red Star and Wairarapa College both picked up 15pts for their wins when matches in the Bidwell Cup senior men's inter-club cricket series continued on Saturday.

Red Star made 110-6 after dismissing Lansdowne for 109, while Wairarapa College declared their innings closed at 121-9 and then bowled Greytown out for 63.

Points were: Red Star and Wairarapa College 15, Greytown 5, Lansdowne 3.