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Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Ashburton Guardian 21
In brief
■ HOCKEY
Tournament team View or purchase photos online
Following the South Island weight grade rugby tournament in Dunedin earlier this month Mid Canterbury had two players, Temaiharoa Waaka and Liam McCormack, named in the under 65kg tournament team. Mid Canterbury under 65kg finished seventh at the tournament while the 48kg side were also seventh in their grade.
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Big week on the turf
Hatch Cup The Mid Canterbury Primary A boys finished 17th equal at the Hatch Cup national hockey tournament in Hamilton. Mid Canterbury drew 1-1 with Horowhenua in their final match with a goal from Michael Baker on Saturday. In pool play Mid Canterbury had losses to North Harbour, Otago, Manawatu, Counties Manukau and a 1-1 draw with Wairarapa. They then beat Southland 6-0, Mid Canterbury’s first win at the tournament since 2011, and Central Otago 3-0 but had to settle for a draw in their final match against Horowhenua. Harrison Davies finished with seven goals from the tournament including hat-tricks against Southland and Central Otago while Angus Haugh had three goals and Ryan Bradley two.
Mid Canterbury’s Sam Fitzgerald makes a run up the wing against Central Otago in the Festival of Hockey on Saturday. After winning their semi-final on strokes against Nelson on Friday night, Mid Canterbury Primary B had a 1-1 draw with Central Otago to finish the festival tied for fifth place in the South Island Tournament. Canterbury Development beat the Canterbury Development training squad 2-0 in the final completing a big seven days on the Ashburton hockey turf. Earlier in the week the Mid Canterbury boys had finished ninth in the boys’ tournament. PHOTO DONNA WYLIE 121013-DW-022
Collier Trophy
■ CRICKET
Test result has its upside If you look at it one way, the recently completed first test against Bangladesh was one of the dullest sporting spectacles in recent history. Viewed through another prism, five days of slog on a Chittagong wicket with less life than a cemetery could be seen as a triumph of the human spirit. We’re sure there’s worse ways of spending a Saturday evening than watching 2m Peter Fulton patting half-volleys back down the wicket; they just haven’t been discovered yet. So, in the spirit of optimism with which this is intended, here are five reasons to be cheerful about Chittagong. 1: Loss avoided It’s a different type of cricket, but in 2010 a draw would have been welcomed as New Zealand were trounced 4-0 by the locals. Given New Zealand’s last two
five-day outings also ended in big defeats, perhaps it was the height of arrogance to go to Bangladesh and expect a win as of right. 2: Kane more than able Williamson will have tougher days at the office than the fourand-a-half hours it took him to post a century on day one. He already has, in fact, like when he denied the might of South Africa on the way to a matchsaving century at the Basin Reserve in 2012. Fact is, he has scored four test centuries in quicker time than it took the great MD Crowe, with three of them coming on the subcontinent. There’s still a stack of improvement in the 23-year-old who now stands 20th equal on New Zealand’s all-time century-makers’ list. We’re picking by the end of the New Zealand summer, Williamson will have
just eight players in front of him. 3: Wagging tail Neither has been credited with using their cerebral cortex much with the willow in hand, but Doug Bracewell (29) and Trent Boult (52 not out) gave an inkling of the potential of New Zealand’s tail to add valuable runs. Bracewell has always had batting ability but Boult looks an improved product. 4: Question answered After the first two home tests against England last year, fans asked how it had taken until Bruce Martin’s 33rd year before he got a run in the national team. Now we know exactly why. After two tests he had nine wickets for 263 runs. After five tests, including this poor performance (0-113 and 2-62), he has 12 wickets for 646. Ish Sodhi’s accuracy shortcomings
could be put down in part to first-test nerves and inexperience, Martin’s could not. Kane Williamson now shapes as New Zealand’s most viable spin option. 5: Stats all folks Much was made of Sohag Gazi’s unprecedented double of a test century and a hat-trick in the same match, but don’t overlook BJ Watling’s statistical oddity. Watling became just the ninth New Zealander to score a century and a duck in the same test, behind Graham Dowling, Brian Hastings, Martin Crowe, who did it twice, John Wright, Craig McMillan, Stephen Fleming, Martin Guptill and Dean Brownlie. While both Crowe and Wright scored second-ballers, we believe Watling is the first to rack up a century and a golden duck. - NZH
Rain interrupts first round of local cricket BY JONATHAN LEASK
JONATHAN.L@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
It was a rain interrupted start to the Mid Canterbury senior cricket season on Saturday. The senior cricket season opened with the first round of the twenty20 competition, and all seven teams got one game in
before the rain arrived. The five-time defending champions Tech Sharks got off to a winning start beating Coldstream by 37 runs. The Sharks put 190/7 on the board and although unable to dismiss Coldstream made the scoring hard work to have them 153/3 after 20 overs.
In the other first round game at the Ashburton Domain Allenton beat the Tech Stags by 24 runs after making 167/8 off their 20 overs and then restricted the Stags to 143/8. The second round of action had the Tech Sharks meet Allenton and Coldstream’s clash with the Tech Stags, but the
rain set in shortly after they started and play never resumed. Lauriston posted 191/6 on the artificial in Methven and then held the hosts to 78/9 in the two sides’ only game of the day. Rounds three and four are both in Ashburton this Saturday.
A 2-2 draw with Eastern Southland had the Mid Canterbury Primary A girls finish 19th equal at the Collier Trophy national hockey tournament in Wellington. Mid Canterbury had lost to Eastern Southland 1-3 in pool play but two goals from Jaidyn Busch ensured a 2-2 draw on Saturday. In pool play Mid Canterbury lost to Waikato 0-3, Eastern Southland, Central Otago 2-5, Tauranga 0-2 and Hawkes Bay 0-2. They bounced back in crossover play beating Wairarapa Bush 1-0 before a 1-2 loss to Taranaki and then the draw with Eastern Southland. Busch finished with four goals while Tayla Love and Erin Connelly-Wythe also found the back of the net at the tournament.
Good finish for U13s The Canterbury Country under 13 girls recorded the best finish of the new regional amalgamation at a National Basketball Championships coming in eighth in Dunedin. The Country girls, featuring eight Mid Canterbury players, finished the tournament with a 48-60 loss to Tauranga City but the eight place finish was still the best out of the combined North-MidSouth Canterbury sides at the nationals in the first year under the new regional format. Wins over Auckland, Gisborne and Tasman they progressed to the top eight. The Canterbury Country boys finished 15th.
Tennis correction The Guardian incorrectly reported the scores of the Allenton-Tinwald A grade tennis match in Monday’s paper. Neil McCann and Poppy Sparrow beat Don Lake and Aidan Mitchell 6-2, 6-3, James Wild and Sarah Hayman beat Isaac Langley and Bradley Chisnall 6-4, 7-6 and in the only completed singles match McCann beat Lake 6-0, 6-0. Full results in tomorrow’s Guardian.