Cameron heroics not enough

A fine batting double by Henry Cameron wasn't enough to stop Wairarapa from finishing on the wrong side of the ledger in their Hawke Cup two-day and Chapple Cup one-day cricket matches with Hawke's Bay at Nelson Park, Hastings over the weekend.
Cameron, who has been in excellent form on the local club scene, was second top scorer behind skipper Sam Curtis (56) when he made 48 in his team's only turn at bat in the Hawke Cup fixture which ended with Hawke's Bay taking first innings points.
Then in the limited-overs match which Hawke's Bay won by five wickets Cameron top- scored with 77.
Rain actually delayed the start of play on the opening day of the Hawke Cup encounter until 2pm and Wairarapa looked to have the home team in strife at 137-6.
However, a fine knock of 110 by Central Stag Brad Patton and some determined resistance from a lower order headed by Mitch McClenaghan, who was 50 not out when the last wicket fell, saw them through to a healthy 305.
For Patton his century was his second against Wairarapa in as many seasons, having chalked up three figures in their Chapple Cup clash in 2009-10.
Medium pacers Daniel Ingham and Nik Karaitiana were the main wicket takers for Wairarapa, Ingham finishing with 3-74 from his 22 overs and Karaitiana 3-25 from 11 overs.
Sam Curtis, Daniel Haxton and Mark Scully all picked up one wicket apiece.
Wairarapa lost their first wicket without a run on the board and their second at 4 but an 81-run partnership between Curtis and Cameron provided hope of a major revival.
Once they went, however, things went from bad to worse and they were all out for 155.
Surprisingly with 70 overs still left to be bowled Hawke's Bay decided to bat a second time rather than enforce the follow on and had reached 86-2 when stumps were drawn.
Wairarapa selector-coach Mark Brown admitted the decision by Hawke's Bay not to go all out for an outright win was a "little strange", especially since they had spent just 61 overs in the field compared to Wairarapa's 91 earlier on.
Brown labelled his team's bowling effort as good in some patches and not-so-good in others with three dropped catches not helping their cause.
Batting-wise he considered some of the more inexperienced players may have paid too much respect to the reputation of their opposition rather than simply playing each ball on its merits.
Wairarapa batted first in the Chapple Cup one-dayer and while their score of 227-9 was nothing out of the ordinary they did at least bat through the full 50 overs. Cameron's 77 was the highlight and there were other handy knocks from Tim Lucas (55) and Sam Curtis (37).
The capturing of Patton's wicket without him troubling the scorers gave Wairarapa cause for jubilation when Hawke's Bay batted but with S Pinn making 84 and Jamie De Terte 58 they still cruised to victory with five wickets in hand. Bowling for Wairarapa, Mark Scully took 2-47 from 9 overs, Matthew Stringfellow 1-50 from 10 overs and Steve Coleman 2-28 from 10 overs.