Grand final spots up for grabs in Bidwell Cup

Grand final spots will be up for grabs in two of the three matches being played in the last qualifying round of the Wairarapa Cricket Association's Bidwell Cup senior inter-club competition tomorrow and Sunday.
Desperately seeking enough points to take them through to the decider will be the Rathkeale Cricket Academy and Greytown, who actually play each other at Rathkeale Oval, and Masterton Red Star, who are up against Lansdowne at the Pugh Sports Bowl.
Out of the reckoning for major honours are the two college sides, Rathkeale and Wairarapa, but their match at the Queen Elizabeth Park Oval will also have plenty riding on it with the McBride-Peterson trophy up for grabs there.
The current points list for the Bidwell Cup sees Academy on top with 34, Greytown second on 29.5 and Masterton Red Star third on 28, a situation which highlights the deficiencies of a points system which has a side winning by default being awarded the full 10 points for an outright win.
Greytown got that luxury when Rathkeale College were unable to fulfil their commitments over the last two weeks and with the two other Bidwell Cup games ending in first innings wins it was enough to see them move from third to second on the competition table.
Having said that, however, it can be fairly argued too that the maximum points ruling is, in fact, the fairest of a number of unsatisfactory options with the winning side simply being drawn in the right place at the right time.
Academy certainly deserve to start favourites against Greytown this weekend because they have been the most consistent performer of all the senior sides this season. They have depth in both the batting and bowling departments although it will be interesting to see how their batsmen cope against a Greytown attack led by the district's leading wicket-taker by a country mile in Seth Rance.
This is the sort of game which will bring out the best in Rance and his pace is sure to cause at least a ripple or two of nervousness amongst the Academy players, especially if he has Hayden Spierling providing similar fire at the other end.
There is no question, of course, who Greytown will see as the danger man in the opposition line-up, not only with the bat but with the ball as well. Chad Yates has been a revelation with his all-round skills on both the club and representative scene this season and, like Rance, the pressure of the big occasion is likely to bring out the best in him too.
Masterton Red Star won't be taking anything for granted against Lansdowne because the latter gave them a good old-fashioned thumping when they met in an Umpires Cup limited-overs fixture a couple of weeks back.
Lansdowne have been benefiting hugely from the aggressive batting of Brock Price, a century maker at his last appearance against Wairarapa College, and it will be interesting to see the strategies of the Masterton Red Star attack when confronted by him. Anything pitched too short or too wide is sure to be despatched to the boundary post haste.
A key player for Masterton Red Star will be Brad Edwards, whose solidity at the top of the batting order is always a plus and who is no mean performer in the spin department either.
The McBride-Peterson trophy match between the two colleges is always a keenly contested affair and this weekend's should be no exception.
Both teams contain many youngsters who have the potential to develop into very worthwhile contributors on the provincial scene, players like Rathkeale's Dean van Deventer, Matthew Stingfellow and Jamie Holmes and Wairarapa's Daniel Ingham, Robbie Anderson, Alec Treseder, and Richard Irons.
If the form book counts for anything Wairarapa College should have the edge for they seem to have the greater depth in batting and bowling but in Central Districts age group representative van Deventer, Rathkeale have a player who has the all-round skills to be labelled a potential match winner in both departments. Should he have a good weekend at the office Wairarapa College could be in trouble.