Curtis leads the way in magnificent outright win

Skipper Sam Curtis led from the front as Wairarapa recovered from a massive 172-run first innings deficit to score a magnificent outright win over Taranaki in their Chapple Cup elimination senior men's cricket match played at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval in Masterton on Friday and Saturday.
Curtis was 120 not out when victory was achieved in the very last over and it was entirely appropriate that with eight runs needed it should be Curtis who struck the six and then the four which created huge jubilation in the Wairarapa camp, and amongst their loyal band of supporters.
Not surprisingly Curtis was "over the moon" with the result, which apparently leaves Wairarapa sharing the lead with Hawke's Bay in their Hawke Cup zone with the just the match against Horowhenua-Kapiti in Levin next weekend to come, and the huge part he had played in it. Usually an opener he placed himself at No.4 in a Wairarapa batting order which was rejigged from the first innings with the idea of quickening the scoring rate early in proceedings.
Chasing 270 in 53 overs for outright points by a Taranaki side looking for a maximum return themselves, Wairarapa had the mortification of losing Henry Cameron with just seven runs on the board but Brad Edwards (37) and Robin James (29) put on a 56-run partnership before James was out. He struck five fours while Edwards had registered six fours and one six when he went 31 runs later.
Curtis gave notice of his attentions with his first scoring shots being a six and a four and he continued to adopt an attacking stance until Taranaki realised the danger he posed them, and posted most of their fielders on the boundary while he was on strike.
What that meant in essence was that Curtis had to change tack and concentrate on picking up singles from practically every ball and he did that superbly, thereby keeping the score ticking over in a fashion which ensured Wairarapa's target was always in sight.
It was important, however, for the Wairarapa cause that Curtis also had the staunch support of his the middle and lower order batsmen and things did not look particularly bright in that respect when Seth Rance, Alex Treseder and Simon Butler all fell relatively cheaply.
However, that trend was halted when Wairarapa College's Robbie Anderson joined his captain and his 30 runs, which included three timely fours, were vital.
Anderson's dismissal brought Dane Buchanan to the wicket and he was run out soon after having got off the mark and the odds seemed to again be turning Taranaki's way.
But Wairarapa wicketkeeper Duncan Didsbury had other ideas and while he was just nine when Curtis hit the winning runs his knock was worth much more than that in terms of the end result.
That Curtis's 120 was a mix of aggressive and patience was showed by his scoring chart. There were four sixes and five fours but also eight twos so exactly half of his runs came from singles.
For Curtis it was his third hundred for Wairarapa and the most important in the context of a game. He said he felt comfortable all the way through with his thoughts often turning to the former Australian middle order batsman Michael Bevan, who was renowned for his ability to expertly time a run chase.
"I kept thinking that I had to do the job that Bevan used to do, that there was no need to panic while the runs were coming along at a steady rate," Curtis said. "It was just a matter of staying focused and doing nothing silly, and fortunately I was able to do that."
The Hawke Cup win was not, however, anything like a complete performance from the Wairarapa side. The number of catching opportunities they put down over the two days ran into double figures with most of them coming in Taranaki's first innings. which closed at a healthy 362-9. Opener Peter Ingram top scored with 98 but gave at least four chances, the first of them when he was on 15.
The lack of support given them in the field reflected on the Wairarapa bowling performance with too many boundary balls being delivered as their frustrations grew. Ingram smashed 16 fours while E.Bolstad hammered nine fours and two sixes in his 76.
The most successful of the Wairarapa bowlers was Seth Rance who finished with 3-81 but the pick of them for accuracy was Robin James although he only had the one wicket to show for his efforts.
Wairarapa's batting performance in the first innings was hardly anything to write home about either. Opener Brad Edwards continued his solid of run with 47 (six fours) and Sam Curtis (24), Robin James (34 not out) and Seth Rance (27) were handy contributors but too many wickets were lost by poor shot judgement on a pitch which was batter-friendly. To score just 189 was a disappointing effort. Taranaki closed their second innings at 96-2 with Ingram completing a fine double by reaching 54 not out (five fours and on six). Again Robin James was the best of the Wairarapa bowlers used and again he did get the rewards he deserved.
With first innings points well and truly gone Wairarapa had little alternative but to chase the 270 runs needed for victory but considering what had gone on before their prospects seemed remote at best.
Appearances can be deceiving though&.just ask Sam Curtis if you want verification of that!
SHORT SCOREBOARDS:-
TARANAKI 362-9dec (Ingram 98, Johnston 35, Ebrahim 11, Fleming 4, E. Bolstad 76, Stewart 25, Davidson 19, Watkins 45, Mason 3, Dombroski 30 not out, D.Bolstad 0 not out; extras 13; Rance 17-2-81-3, James 19-0-61-1, Ingham 10-0-39-2, Bracewell 11-0-49-1, Buchanan 13-0-54-2, Edwards 11-0-47-0, Cameron 3-0-18-0) and 96-2dec (Ingram 54 not out, Johnston 3, Ebrahim 15, Fleming 18 not out, extras 6; Rance 5-0-25-1, James 7-0-36-0, Ingham 3-0-18-1, Buchanan 1-0-11-0 lost to WAIRARAPA 189 (Edwards 57, Curtis 24, Treseder 4, Buchanan 0, Butler 2, Cameron 7, Anderson 11, James 34 not out, Rance 27, Didsbury 4, Bracewell 0, extras 11; D.Bolstad 14.5-3-57-2, Wales 16-3-47-2, Dombroski 15-4-37-4, Watkins 16-13 5-1, Mason 8-4-23-1, E.Bolstad 2-1-4-0.) and 273-8 (Cameron 1 Edwards 37, James 29, Curtis 120 not out, Rance 10, Treseder 9, Butler 1, Anderson 30, Buchanan 1, Didsbury 9 not out, extras 26; Wales 6-0-32-1, Bolstad 5-0-33-1, Watkins 18.3-0-93-3, Dombroski 3-0-24-0, l Johnston 6-1-22-0, Mason 13-0-50-2).
CHAPPLE CUP
A blazing 147 by Zimbabwean international Daniel Ebriham laid the foundations for a commanding 174-run win to Taranaki over Wairarapa in the Chapple Cup limited-overs fixture played at the park oval yesterday.
Ebriham struck 10 fours and one six after coming to the wicket with Taranaki at 51-1 and he was largely responsible for them reaching a hefty 353-8. Openers Peter Ingram (40) and L.Johnston (35) and middle order batsman E.Bolstad (34) also got amongst the runs.
With Robin James being rested after suffering a blow to the shin in the Hawke Cup match he was replaced by Lansdowne clubmate Brock Price Wairarapa's bowling resources were stretched and the most successful of them was spinner Brad Edwards who took 3-49 from his 10 overs.
The only two knocks of any note in Wairarapa's 179 were those of opener Henry Cameron who hit four fours and one six in his 35 and Seth Rance, who came in at No.6 and smashed nine fours and three sixes in an attractive 69.
Scoreboards:-
TARANAKI 353 8( Ingram 40, Johnston 35, Ebriham 147 not out , Weston 9, Fleming 23, Bolstad 34, Davidson 13, Watkins 14, Mason 25, Dombroski 0 not out, extras 13; Rance 10-0-74-1, Price 8-0-61-1, Ingham 10-0-82-2, Bracewell 7-1-36-1, Edwards 10-0-49-3, Buchanan 5-0-40-0), WAIRARAPA 179 (Cameron 35, Edwards 0, Price 0, Curtis 7, Butler 10, Rance 69, Treseder 7, Anderson 8, Ingham 0, Buchanan 11 not out, Didsbury 16, extras 18; Wales 5-1-23-3, Dombroski 7-0-45-1, Bolstad 3-0-27-0, Mason 10-2-28-2, Watkins 10-2-55-3, Davidson 0.2-0-2-1.
UMPIRES CUP
Just the one Umpires Cup senior men's inter-club cricket match was played in Wairarapa on Saturday with Red Star scoring an 18-run win over joint competition leaders Flight Centre Lansdowne.
A hard-hitting 76 by Troy Burling, which included 13 fours and one six, highlighted Red Star's total of 260-9 when they batted first. Chris Wenden hit six fours in his 41 and other useful contributions came from Joe Hull (28) and Sean Jarvis (27). Bowling for Lansdowne, Mark Scully took 3-53 from 10 movers and Joe Macklin 3-49.
Lansdowne, who had six players on representative duty, made 242 in reply with Tim Butler (48), Brock Price (35), G.Singh (43) and N.Robinson (55) the leading scorers. Bowling for Red Star, Pete Sigvertsen took 5-32 and C.Stoneley 3-46.