The Sun
Friday January 19, 2018
sport
Sport
sports talk
inbrief
With Jacob Page
Baz’s blueprint goes global Make no mistake, even in retirement, Brendon McCullum still has a big impact on the highest form of the game. The former Kiwi skipper’s ballistic hitting approach at the top of the order is a trend now copied by every country in the world. The man known as ‘Baz’ perfected the art of the fast start by unsettling the bowlers with his footwork and raw power against the new ball. The tactic injects immediate momentum and eases the scoring pressure on the batsmen to come. England’s Jason Roy proved how game-changing this tactic can be when he blazed 180 in his team’s five wicket win over Australia in the
opening one-day contest against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In pursuit of 305 for victory, Roy was the aggressor as England had 87 on the board after 10 overs. While Roy continued to amass his match defining score, many openers eventually lose out of the roulette wheel that is aggressive stroke play at all costs but a rapid 40 or 50 can be just the momentum shift needed for victory. McCullum mastered it in the last three years of his career and proved a team can comfortably chase in excess of 300 these days when 15 years ago it was seen as almost an assured win for the team batting first.
Trots at Waterlea The advent of Twenty20 cricket also has a lot to do with the higher totals. Batsmen are now comfortable chasing eight to 10 runs an over in the dying stages of a run chase. Roy has sparked the tour for the English. His aggression along with that of pace bowler Mark Wood provided the blueprint for success going forward against Australia. Meet aggression with aggression, something their toothless test team didn’t do. Aggression is what McCullum used to make up for New Zealand’s short-comings on paper and turned them into world beaters. It’s changed the game as we know it.
Summer spectacular By Bill McElhinney One of the oldest and largest golf tournaments in Marlborough is on again next weekend, January 27 and 28. The Rarangi Summer Spectacular is the Rarangi Golf Club’s main summer event, a two-day competition for pairs. Defending their title will be Rarangi members Gweneth Pilling and Pat Olliver, who also won the event in 2013. “They are the oldest players in the field, and also the oldest to ever win the event,” tournament convenor Carla Heppelthwaite says. “It’s a popular tournament and we attract a good number of out of town golfers,” Carla says. Carla has been a member at the Rarangi Beach Rd club, 18 kilometres north of Blenheim, for almost 14 years. She says the event is open to
Rarangi Club golfers Gweneth Pilling, left, and Pat Olliver will defend their title at the Rarangi Summer Spectacular tournament next weekend.
all affiliated club members from around the country and the club had received 78 entries so far, and more women than men. “We usually have a lot of entries from Nelson, Christchurch and Kaikoura but the earthquake put paid to the Christchurch and Kaikoura entries last year. “But we hope to get 80 to 90
pairs. There’s still time to enter. You can phone me on 027 68 29 200 and enter right up until Sunday night.” A committee of five have been hard at work on the big event, which will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year. The men’s pairs and women’s pairs competition will see partic-
ipants compete for a $1000 prize in store vouchers, donated by Guthrie Bowron, which will go to the first person to get a hole-in-one on the sixth hole. The total prize fund of $15,000 is donated by both event sponsors and the club itself, Carla says. “It’s the generosity on the part of our main sponsors, people like Floor Pride, Kura Bay Lodge, Golf Hub Marlborough, which make this all possible,” she says. Competitors will play a four-ball best ball format on Saturday, before contesting a combined net on Sunday to determine the overall men’s and women’s winners. Lunch and dinner will be available to buy at the club and booking is advisable. “This is a popular event and is a lot of fun. We try and make sure everyone has a good time,” Carla says.
Weather makes regatta challenging By Cathie Bell Erratic winds made last weekend’s sailing challenging, with the competitors at this year’s Lawson’s Dry Hills New Year Regatta and Flying Fifteen national championships competitive. Organiser Nicky Jenkins says the three-day event, with 46 yachts, seven Flying Fifteens, and 260 crew out on the water, was a huge success. The regatta commenced with an invitation twilight race on Friday evening that enabled the skippers to put their craft and crews through their paces, she says. “With little wind on the Saturday morning, just one race took place, resulting in the crews making the most of the fantastic Marlborough weather and coast by enjoying a swim in the warm water. “The unpredictable nature of the wind in the afternoon, gusting anywhere between two to 20 knots, resulted in challenging sailing conditions and it was anyone’s
race to win.” The winds picked up mid-morning on Sunday for the final day of racing, Nicky says, and provided the steady winds for near-perfect race conditions around the Queen Charlotte Sound. After the weekend of racing, the local fleet topped the podium with a Waikawa Boating Club yacht taking first place in two out of the four regatta divisions with Crossfire III, skippered by Bryce Ecklein taking first place in division five, and That’s Amore, skippered by Ian Michel taking first place in division four. Visiting yachts, Loco from Worser Bay skippered by Jamie McDowell and Whistler III from Wellington skippered by Mike West took out division one and division two respectively. For the smaller, high performance Flying Fifteen competition, the weekend’s weather offered challenging racing conditions. Murray Gilbert skipper of the
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Enjoy a summer’s evening with family and friends at the summer festival trots at the Waterlea Racecourse this evening and again on Sunday from 9.30am. Racing action, music, free kids entertainment and fresh local fare. Pack a picnic, sit back, relax and study the race form.
Cycling time trial Results from the Red Devils Cycling Club summer night series two-up 15km time trial: Neils van Antwerpen and Gerard van Antwerpen , 24.04; Nick Batt, 24.50; Sam Spencer and Dylan Hodson, 24.54; Adam Bidwell and Andrew Bidwell, 25.33; Jess Spencer and Katie Batt, 30.14; Jess Johnstone and Mel Jones, 32.06; Shanay Harley and Colin McMahon, 32.32; Rhonda Murphy and Hayley Hampton , 41.34.
Blenheim Golf results Wed. 10th, womens stableford: 0-29: Jane Ingram 35. 30+ Shirley Godsiff 43, Jenny Evans 41, Jenny Adams 39. Sat. 13th: Ray Herd +9, Warren Ingram +7, Percy Noblett +6, Jenny Evans +6, James Brunell +6, Brian Brown +6, Trent Davies +5, Jenny Adams +5,Bob Tapp +5, Ted Collier +4, Sanga Grupp +4, Neil Gibbs +4, Dave Menzies +4, Phil Starkey +4, Peter Carter +4, Ross Agnew +4, Arnold Newman +3, Clive Drummond +3, Patrick Norton +3, Dave Lammond +3.Fairweather prize 6/15: Murray Belk. 9/18: Judith Batty. Trent Davies eagle on 11. Sun. 14th stableford: Brian Yarrall 40, Phil Starkey 35, Desz Campbell 35. Mon. 15th 9 hole stableford, men: Gary Blake 25, Bob Tapp 22, George Mitchinson 22, Neil Gibbs 21, Andy Wills 20, Alf Woolley 20, Ian Hatcher 19, Ross Agnew 18, Ivan Neame 18, Peter Olding 18. Women: Colleen McLeod 22, Jacqui Hurcomb 20, Marg Ogier 18, Jane Ingram 18, Jenny Evans 18, Bernice Arnold 17. Thurs. 25th: Mens stableford 5th round of Max Stephens Memorial. Fri. 26th: Twilight 9 hole stableford 6pm. Mon. 29th: 9 Hole stableford 10am. Weds.31st: Womens 5th stableford.
Flying Fifteen National Championship Results
Flying Fifteens first place winner, sail number 3840, and second place, sail number 3091. Photo by Steve Hodren.
winning Ffrenetic, congratulates the Waikawa Boating Club on organising a great regatta. “The race management was excellent and the support from the local and national sponsors was
amazing. With testing race conditions of the Friday and Saturday, Sunday was a ‘champagne’ sailing day and showcased what a perfect location this is for race sailing.”
1. Ffrenetic - Royal Akarnie Yacht Club 2. Fflorin - Napier Sailing Club 3. Femme Fatale - Waikawa Boating Club 4. The Godfather - Royal Akarnie Yacht Club 5. lff - Royal Akarnie Yacht Club 6. Snaffler - Napier Sailing Club 7. Business – Napier Sailing Club Lawson’s Dry Hills New Year Regatta 2018 Results Division One: 1. Loco; 2. Satellite Spy; 3. Jive Talkin; 4. Simply Irresistible; 5. High Voltage; 6. Honk n Jack. Division Two: 1. Whistler III; 2. Acquiesce; 3. Legacy 2; 4. 88% Proof; 5. Nimrod; 6. Slingshot. Division Four: 1. That’s Amore; 2. Northern Rebel; 3. Excel; 4. High Society; 5. Khamsin; 6. Joint Effort. Division Five: 1. Crossfire III; 2. Fame; 3. Findhorn; 4. Settimio; 5. Satu; 6. Rival.