The notion of a one-horse race in Mid Canterbury’s open grade may need to be revised after the league leaders were overturned.

Team Babolat clinched a 7-2 win over the previously unbeaten Wilson, to close in on the local pacemakers’ lead on top of the table.

It cuts Wilson’s lead down to five points following the upset win, which handed the outfit a total of nine points following the day’s play.

Yonex meanwhile claimed their second club win of the season, taking out a 6-3 win over Team Head.

A six-match landslide in the singles was the catalyst for Babolat’s club win as the Wilson clan were caught on the hop.

Tyler Leonard was superb in claiming a comprehensive straight sets win over Jason Feutz in the big singles showdown of the meet.

Elsewhere, Lee Gilbert, Ollie Bubb, Jayden Cromie, Phil Crozier and Holly Jayne-Feutz got in on the act in their respective singles encounters to ensure only one result was possible.

Wilson got two matches back in the doubles, but it was not enough to deny their opponents, who were too polished throughout the afternoon.

Yonex’s win in the other matchup on court came off the back of 4-2 and 2-1 results in the singles and doubles respectively.

Rhys Cromie looked the goods against Connor Brosnahan, running away to a 6-3 6-0 victory.

Aidan Watt, Pete Kirwan and Josh Jones also notched up singles wins.

Lachlan Adam and Angel Spooner kept Team Head in the hunt with wins, however the outcome was eventually certified once Yonex claimed two wins in the doubles.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 2 December 2020

Ryan Bell swapped the Tech colours for the Mid Canterbury green and gold on the weekend and was in good form, claiming five wickets in a massive 30-over effort. Photo supplied.A rain-interrupted Hawke Cup match in Invercargill might not have fallen Mid Canterbury’s way on the weekend, but there was still plenty to smile about.

The baggy green and golds travelled south with high hopes of coming home with points to kick off their Hawke Cup campaign, but it was the hosts who took first innings honours in a match that ebbed and flowed like the weather that surrounded it.

Mid Canterbury’s first success came when they won the toss and chose to wield the willow, a positive outcome which didn’t look quite as attractive when both opening batsmen were back in the shed within the first 10 overs.

Then things began to turn.

An 89-run third wicket stand between Ben Innes and Des Kruger steadied the ship, and when Innes fell for 31 nearly 30 overs later, things looked a lot brighter.

The departure of Innes brought Mid Canterbury captain William Southby to the crease, and he picked up where Innes left off as he and Kruger put together a strong partnership of 88, in which Kruger buried some recent demons and raised his bat, scoring 112 before he was dismissed in the 63rd over.

Kruger, just a few weeks ago, scored 99 and 93 respectively in the same weekend, and then backed that up the following week with a 49, so breaking past the 90s barrier was a great relief for the talented middle-order batsman.

Kruger’s 112 came from 163 balls, with 10 fours and five sixes.

Southby continued to dig in, producing a solid captain’s knock before he was eventually out for 50.

Ryan Bell wagged the Mid Canterbury tail to score 23, as Mid Canterbury were eventually all out for 279 after 92 overs of play.

With runs on the board, Mid Canterbury needed wickets to put themselves in the match.

Shaun Stagg put them right in contention when he snared both opening batsmen for minimal runs, and when Southland limped through to 122 for six, the game was very much Mid Canterbury’s for the taking.

However, a 176-run seventh wicket stand turned the match on its head as Southland’s Benji Culhane and Finn Hurley took it to the Mid Canterbury bowling attack.

Culhane was eventually removed for 105, and Hurley on 81, but the damage had already been done.

Ryan Bell was in sublime form with the ball, claiming 5-160 in his massive 30-over stretch at the bowling crease, while Stagg and Tom Innes both grabbed a brace of wickets each for their efforts as Southland made it through to 330-9, before the match was eventually closed out due to the weather.

In such a good position to power through and claim first innings points, Mid Canterbury came home on Sunday night disappointed at a missed opportunity – but showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the Hawke Cup as they now turn their attention to a home match against Otago Country in 11 days.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 1 December 2020

It was a tough week at the office for the Aorangi golf men’s side at the hotly contested New Zealand Interprovincial tournament on the weekend.

Up against some red hot teams from around the country, the Aorangi team featured four Mid Canterbury based players; Cameron Grant, Josh Smith, Ryan Cockburn and Jeff Hewitt.

They started in promising fashion with a 3-2 victory over Northland in the opening of seven rounds of play at Whitford Park, near Auckland.

Grant and Smith were both victorious in their head-to-head clashes.

That result was to be the best for the Aorangi side however, because despite some solid performances, they were unable to head off another side during the week, finishing in 14th position of 15 teams.

The result could have been significantly better if close matches between Otago and Tasman had fallen their way, with the Otago game seeing them go down 2-3 and the Tasman game resulting with two all-square ties and one win from the five matches.

Smith was the best of the local players for the week, picking up two head-to-head wins and tying another from their six matches, but Tim Leonard was Aorangi’s player of the tournament, winning three of his matches and tying another.

Yesterday, the Aorangi women’s side kicked off their campaign in the equivalent tournament on the Akarana Course.

Rachel Eder, Sharon Bradford and Pauline Bell feature in the team with Angela Mowbray acting as manager.

By Matt Markham - © The Ashburton Guardian - 1 December 2020