Huge victory for J’ville cricketers

By Frank Neill

Johnsonville’s first I cricket team cruised to a stunning victory over Upper Hutt at Alex Moore Park on 11 ebruary.

The visitors batted first and were all out for 20 runs. Johnsonville lost just one wicket in overhauling that total, finishing with 212 runs.

Coming in to bat after the one wicket fell, Gareth Severin severely punished the Upper Hutt attack, finishing with 7 not out from just 0 deliveries he faced.

pener Devan Vishvaka also amassed a big total, finishing the day on 75 not out from 100 deliveries, while Nick Kelly added 2 runs. ive Johnsonville bowlers took wickets.

Rakitha Weerasundara had the highest number of scalps with three wickets. He conceded just 34 runs from his .2 overs.

Three bowlers took two wickets each – Zac Ringrose, Ben Hilder and Sean Wakelin – and Maximus Petrie took the wicket of Upper Hutt opener Thomas Jones.

With the victory, Johnsonville ensured it retained second place on the Wellington Division ne table. It also ensured it retained the Ewen Chatfield Trophy, which was up for grabs in the match.

Johnsonville’s second I also notched up a victory with a narrow two-run win over Coffee Box at Petone Recreation Ground.

Batting first in their division three match, Johnsonville was all out for 171.

Janakan Karunaharan was the top scorer for Johnsonville, reaching his half century before he was run out for 56.

Andrew Moir had the second highest score with 23, while Brett McBride was not out on 1 when the innings ended.

Callan Holgate made a massive contribution to the team’s win when he took five wickets, along with Niki Zivkovic with three wickets and Sandeep Rana with two wickets. nslow also lost its divisio n two match against North City in a closely contested encounter at Narinville Park.

Karori did not have such a good day in its first division match, losing to Hutt District at the Hutt Recreation Ground.

Batting first, Hutt District scored 322 for the loss of six wickets. In reply Karori was all out for 234.

North City batted first and was all out for 205. nslow fell just six runs short when they were all out for 1.