Stall tactics deny Wairarapa

What could have been an exciting finish petered out to a tame draw when Wairarapa and Wanganui locked horns in a Hawke Cup qualifying cricket match at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton on Saturday and Sunday.
A seven-run first innings lead did give Wairarapa some chance of securing the outright win they required to have any chance of earning themselves a Cup challenge but for that to happen they needed to not only score quick runs in their second "dig" but to offer Wanganui a reasonable target for victory themselves.
And both those objectives were achieved, Wairarapa declaring their second innings closed at 213 for 7, thereby leaving Wanganui 220 runs to get in 40 overs, hardly an impossible mission considering the short boundaries and quickness of the outfield.
Unfortunately for Wairarapa, however, Wanganui showed only brief signs of urgency when they batted a second time and with a draw clearly set to be the end result, stumps were drawn early with their score standing at 119-2.
Wairarapa selector Mark Brown was "pretty disappointed" with the lack of intent shown by Wanganui in their run chase. "It was a gettable target but they didn't seem interested in going for it," he said. "It was hard to figure out why, it was a game which was there to win for both of us."
Batting first on a pitch which provided typical variable bounce, Wairarapa set themselves to bat for at least 100 overs and they fell 30 short in being dismissed for 235. Several of the batsmen got starts without going to make a big score, Jamie Holmes making 20, Tim Lucas 37, Henry Cameron 48, Sam Curtis 41 and, batting at No9, Dean Van Deventer an unbeaten 49.
"There were a few too many rash shots, too many players got themselves in and then got themselves out," Brown said.
Wanganui's prospects of picking up first innings points seemed bright when they were only 70 runs in arrears at the end of the first day's play with six wickets in hand and even better when they reached 215-5.
However, it was then the rot set in with the last five wickets falling for only eight runs, the last two being clean bowled by Central Stag paceman Seth Rance who finished with 4-23. Other wicket takers were Van Deventer (1-39), Daniel Ingham (1-37), Holmes (2-49) and Curtis (1-10).
An aggressive 68 by Cameron highlighted the Wairarapa's second innings of 213-7. He found the boundary on numerous occasions. Other handy contributions came from Holmes (20) and Lucas (23).
Wairarapa's opening bowlers Rance and Van Deventer gave it their all when Wanganui started their second innings but despite beating the bat several times and having a number of likely looking lbw appeals turned down, they were unable to get the early breakthrough the home team desperately needed.
Medium pacer Ingham did manage to pick up two wickets when he came on but batting out a draw was always the Wanganui mindset and it was no surprise that stumps were drawn early with the score at 119-2.
The result meant Hawke's Bay will be the zone challengers for the Hawke Cup this season, but while selector Brown was disappointed Wairarapa's Hawke Cup campaign had ended in such a tame manner, he was delighted with the overall improvement made from the previous season.
"We definitely stepped things up a notch or two, the self belief was a lot better," he said. "We weren't relying on just one or two guys to score runs or take wickets, everybody did their bit".
Wairarapa will end their 2010-11 representative season when they play Manawatu in a Chapple Cup one-day fixture next weekend and with Van Deventer, Ingham and Curtis all unavailable some new faces are certain to come into the starting line-up.
On the club front on Saturday Greytown scored a five-wicket win over Wairarapa College in their Umpire's Cup match. Semifinalists in the Umpire's Cup are Lansdowne (12 points), Greytown (12), Wairarapa College (4) and Rathkeale College (4).