Second grade finalists decided

Renwick and Celtic Green will contest the Marlborough 40over second grade final after both sides cruised to semi-final wins on Saturday.

Up against the gritty Kaikoura combination at Horton Park, Renwick put a total of 235-8 on the board, then dismissed Kaikoura for 163 in the 29th over.

On the number three ground Celtic dismissed a youthful Wairau combination for 75 in the 32nd over, then battled their way to a three-wicket victory.

Wayne Young, 4-13, Luke Holdaway, 2-15, and Jaden Adams, 2-8, were the most successful Celtic bowlers, while George Burton, who scored 17 from 24 balls, was the top scorer for Wairau.

Celtic struggled for continuity during their batting effort, losing wickets regularly, with Holdaway, 12 off 13, and Edan Fitzpatrick 12 from 25, sharing equal top score.

Baxter Croad, 3-22, and Griffin Carter, 2-19, were the pick of the Wairau attack.

On the number one ground, Renwick dominated for much of the match. Keiran Gaudin was the mainstay of their batting, blasting 86 from 74, while Piers Landon-Lane, 22 from 20, and Daniel Karena, 21 from

30, lent support.

Bill Parsons, 2-37, and Thomas Bolton, 2-27, were the pick of the Cray Coasters’ attack. Their reply was based around 45 from 47 from Arunesh Attar and 38 from 36 by Gavy Kalwan but they rarely threatened to reach their target, Eden Pettigrew, 2-25, Tim May, 2-32, and Landon Lane, 2-23, setting up a 72-run victory.

College side beaten

The 2023 Gillette Cup aspirations of the Marlborough Boys’ College First XI cricket side were ended by their Nelson counterparts in Blenheim on Friday.

MBC lost by 39 runs in the 50over match, which doubled as a D’Arcy Cup and Gillette regional final qualifier.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first on a relatively-benign Horton Park wicket, reaching what proved a very-competitive total of 183 before being bowled out in the 49th over.

MBC made early inroads, opening duo Luke Pannell, 3-36 from eight, and Nathan Brooke-Taylor, 1-17 from five, helping reduce Nelson to 36-

4. Harry Restieaux, 39 from 59 balls, and Jordan Kelso, 33 from 46 began the comeback, while Liam Day, 20 from 43, and Ryan Mirfin, 21 from 29, continued the momentum. The concession of 33 extras certainly did not help MBC’s cause.

Luke Holdaway, 2-24 from 8.6 overs, was the one of seven MBC bowlers to get among the wickets.

In reply, MBC made a dashing start, openers Baxter Croad, 24 from 55, and Griffin Carter, 33 from 21, coming together for a 52-run opening partnership. However, from there things went steadily downhill for the local lads, with wickets falling regularly.

Luke Pannell, 16 from 38, and Sam Young, 20 from 66, began to steady the ship but when Pannell was the seventh batsman dismissed, victim of a messy run out with just 109 on the board, the end was nigh.

Aidan Conroy, 10 from 22, hit out towards the finish but the end came in the 43rd over as MBC were tumbled out for 144.

Spinners Lucky Singh and Ben Neale were the main wicket-takers, picking up three scalps apiece with seamer Charlie Wilson bagging a brace. Although Nelson conceded 30 extras, their generally accurate attack, coupled with energetic fielding, proved too much for MBC to handle.