Weather-affected match draws to close

Weather dictated only 92 overs could be bowled in the Hawke Cup elimination cricket match played between Wairarapa and Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin over the weekend so the result of a draw was always likely to eventuate.
Significant overnight rain allowed for only 34 overs of play on the first day with Wairarapa losing the toss and being asked to bat on a wicket whose green tinge gave the bowling side an early advantage.
A cautious start saw Wairarazpa through to 16 before Brock Price was the first to fall with the score at 16.He was caught at second slip for 8.
Fellow opener Henry Cameron and John Peters combined in a second wicket partnership of 44 which was broken when Cameron was caught behind for a patient 21.
At 60-2 Wairarapa skipper Sam Curtis came to the crease in what was his first game for the province since breaking a wrist bone at the beginning of this month and six runs later he lost Peters who was caught at first slip for 33.
An unbroken stand of 41 runs between Curtis and Steve Coleman then saw Wairarapa through to a respectable 107-3 when the umpires decided that play should be ended because of their concerns over the light.It was to prove a significant factor in the outcome of the match as it meant the last two hours of play were lost.
Making that situation seem even worse was the heavy overnight rain which stopped play from resuming until 3pm on Sunday, water having leaked under the covers.
Wairarapa were still intent on setting the home side a target for first innings points and Coleman had made 35 when he was caught behind.His partnership with Curtis had been worth a valuable 102 runs.
The loss of Coleman saw Seth Rance join Curtis and a further 64 runs were added before Wairarapa declared their innings closed at 232-4. Curtis was unbeaten on 82 and Rance on 39..
Horowhenua-Kapiti were left 233 runs to get for first innings points in 40 overs and they started with positive intent. However, two wickets fell before their score reached 20 and they crawled their way to 118-4 before play was called off. Rance was the pick of the Wairarapa bowlers with 2-30 from 13 overs while Brock Price finished with 1-13 from 6 overs and Dane Buchanan 1-12 from 8 overs.
The next outing for Wairarapa is a Chapple Cup one-day match against Hawke's Bay in Napier this coming Sunday.