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Greg Smith will need to get some runs on the board for United on Saturday. Photo / NZME
Property Brokers United will square up to defending champions Levin Old Boys in the second round of the Coastal Challenge Cup at Levin’s Donnelly Park on Saturday.
Meanwhile, stinging from losing to United for the first time in two seasons, Wanganui Vet Services Marist will look to right their campaign when they travel to Masterton’s Queen Elizabeth Park.
Levin won both the one-off Twenty20 and the regular 50-over Coastal Challenge titles last summer, the latter being their second championship in that format.
Old Boys defeated United at Donnelly Park in the 2019-20 final – the third of four times the Whanganui club reached the championship game but were unsuccessful.
The pitch could be more treacherous than what United had at home on Tasman Tanning (Victoria) Park last weekend, where they raised 270, including a well-constructed 106 from Daniel Burgess.
After seeing off Marist’s representative opening bowlers, taking 42 balls to score 19 runs, Burgess went on the attack through the middle portion of the innings to score another 87 runs from 73 balls and set up the match-winning total.
Down south, Levin scored only 138, thanks in no small part to representative veterans Bailey Te Tomo (38) and Dion Sanson (45), but it proved enough for a 62-run victory.
Sanson (5-19) and Ryan Taylor (3-26) ran through the Kāpiti lineup, with opening bowler Curtis Maclachlan (2-7) getting the first and last wickets to dismiss them for just 76.
As well as Burgess, fellow representative players Carter Hobbs and Greg Smith started to get some runs after an overall disappointing Furlong Cup, and more will be needed on Saturday.
For Marist, they will welcome reinforcements in the likely return of representative-level players Shaun and Hadleigh O’Leary, Nick Harding and Josh Allpress, the latter having captained Whanganui Collegiate 1st XI in the first half of the summer.
Whatever the composition of the XI who travel to Masterton, Marist must tighten up in the field, as United were able to score far too many runs off overthrows and fumbles last Saturday.
It could help that their hosts – Wairarapa’s sole remaining entrant, Burger King Red Star – might be a little short of a gallop after they took the first bye of the competition.
Red Star had only one victory in last summer’s Coastal Challenge – their opening derby game against fellow Masterton team United CC, who have withdrawn this season.
Marist’s Ross Kinnerley and Chris Stewart were in good form with the bat against United, while Fraser Kinnerley bowled very well at the death, having a chance at a hat-trick delivery in the last over.
The other game of the second round will be a Horowhenua-Kāpiti derby between Kāpiti Old Boys and Weraroa CC at Paraparaumu Domain.
All games start at noon.
Draw for January 28 Coastal Challenge Cup 50-over
After United also won the Premier 1 title in that Marist game, Cricket Whanganui will crown its next champion for the summer at Victoria Park this Saturday, as the Combined Twenty20 competition has reached the playoffs.
There will be ‘A’ semi-finals for the top four teams after the round-robin was completed last Saturday, as well as consolation ‘B’ semi-finals for the next four sides, with the ninth-placed team eliminated.
In the championship hunt, undefeated Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens will start as firm favourites.
In their 65-run victory last weekend against Wanganui Vet Services Marist 2nd XI, who only just missed the A semi-finals on points differential, Thomas Westwood smashed 121 off just 38 balls, while bowler Aaron Smith took six, including a hat-trick at the end of the game.
Saracens will face Wanganui Old Boys-Tech, who would love to win a title in their first season as an amalgamated entity.
WOB-Tech and fellow semi-finalists Property Brokers United Blue were pushed down a spot by the impressive late run from the Wanganui Renegades, who last Saturday beat United by 72 runs and then WOB-Tech by six wickets to claim second place on the points table.
The semi-finals start at noon, followed by the finals at 3.30pm.
Draw for January 28, Combined Twenty20 playoffs
A semifinals
Matt Burke Engineering Marton Saracens vs Wanganui Old Boys-Tech
Wanganui Renegades vs Property Brokers Whanganui United Blue
Winners play final at 3.30pm
B semifinals
Hunterville Hackers vs Kaitoke Knight Riders
Wanganui Vet Services Marist 2nd XI vs Wicket Warriors Whanganui
Winners play final at 3.30pm
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The plaque will be unveiled at 5.30pm on Saturday at Cooks Gardens.