Greytown seek revenge

Revenge will be very much on the minds of Greytown when they play Red Star in a Wairarapa Cricket Association Umpires Cup limited-overs fixture at Greytown tomorrow.
It was only three weeks ago when these two sides met in a Bidwell Cup two-day fixture, also at Greytown, and Red Star won outright in a match which saw Greytown struggle to rack up 100 runs in two complete innings.
That effort reflected poorly on a Greytown side which, in reality, is the best-equipped bowling side in senior inter-club play and well removed from the "mug" category in the batting department as well.
But, judging by the ease of their outright win over Lansdowne in their following Bidwell Cup match, it was a blessing in disguise with complacency now being a thing of the past.
That effort reflected poorly on a Greytown side which, in reality, is the best-equipped bowling side in senior inter-club play and well removed from the "mug" category in the batting department as well.
Having said that, Red Star will probably be fancying their chances of a second successive win over Greytown as they are in the midst of a solid run of form themselves and their strengths are well suited to the limited-overs game.
They have a number of bowlers capable of restricting runs and an equally good number of batsmen prepared to go for their shots.
It would not surprise to see the toss having a big effect on the result of this match, as with the likes of Seth Rance, Ed Taylor and Hayden Spierling in their ranks, Greytown have a pace attack which can be lethal when the ball is nipping around.
So it follows that if they get to bowl first their chances of victory could be considerably enhanced.
Academy have been the most consistent of all the senior teams so far this season and their golden run will be expected to continue when they take on Lansdowne at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval.
It won't surprise, however, if this match proves to be closer than most pundits predict as the Oval pitch will be in use for the first time this season and, in Robin James and Choi Jackson, Lansdowne have a couple of medium pacers with the skills to exploit any tricks it may have.
In fact, the state of the pitch promises to be the most intriguing feature of this game with an eye to the representative matches to be played at the park in the weeks ahead.
It is normal, of course, for wickets to take a few matches to be at their best but the Oval strip doesn't have that luxury and so tomorrow's action will be viewed with special interest.
The make-up of the two
teams is likely to have a big
say in who wins the Battle
of the Colleges at Rathkeale
in the third of the Umpires
Cup games. Exam commitments can mean disruptions at this time of the year and the result here could depend on which of the Rathkeale and Wairarapa College sides is least affected in that respect.
Results to date would suggest a Wairarapa College side with the likes of Sam Curtis, Daniel Ingham, Robbie Anderson and Richard Irons leading the charge would ordinarily start favourites but the all-round skills of Rathkeale's Dean van Deventer are such that he too could have a very big influence on proceedings.