SESSIONS: PAPATOETOE FIGHT FOR FIRST INNINGS

December 2, 2018. On Saturday, rain delayed a lot of cricket. On Sunday, it did not. In fact, with a bit of sun around, bowling conditions quickly turned into batting conditions. After a slightly rushed and late start to a hectic morning – I made my way to Te Atatu Park before taking in the afternoon session at Shore Road. Here’s Sessions – a quick look at a session rather than the six that makes up a two-day fixture.

Morning Session – Waitakere vs. Grafton. Te Atatu Park. Tom Hellaby.

Waitakere lost the toss on Day One in bowler friendly conditions and Gratfton did not hesitate in putting them in to bat. The hosts were quickly in trouble at 31/3 before Brad Nash and Jared Challis threatened a middle order revival. It didn’t take long for Ariyan Hassan, Parth Patel and Carl de Beer to snuff out the revival. Waitakere were eventually rolled for 104.

I arrived fractionally late to a Ben Lister bouncer. It was a sign of things to come as Lister and Robert Evans tested Grafton with some short-pitched venom. Grafton negotiated a rather uneventful first hour relatively comfortably.

The odd ball went past the outside edge and Patel was lucky to escape a couple well-directed bouncers. On drinks, Todd Wannan snuck a yorker under the bat of Patel and the umpire was quick to raise his finger upon appeal. The ball shot legside, but Patel did appear to move across his crease.

Michael Ruffell pounced on two Jack Henderson dragged-down looseners before Blake Robinson entered the attack. The left-arm spinner started by cramping the batsmen for room as he searched for the right pace for the wicket. With first innings points in sight, Ruffell pulled Henderson to a vacant midwicket boundary. Olly Westbury was in a similar mood cutting back-to-back boundaries either side of point to edge Grafton closer.

The plan to get a lead before lunch became obvious when Westbury advanced towards Robinson. He was beaten and Ethan Challis calmly took off the bails. Jack Parsons didn’t take long to slog-sweep Robinson out of the attack and continued his onslaught when JChallis was thrown the ball. Ruffell maturely went about his business as others built the lead. Upon reaching his half-century and deciding to join the party, he was caught ten metres inside the mid-wicket boundary.

In pursuit of quick runs, Parsons was caught just prior to lunch for a destructive 46 off 35 balls. It was selfless batting at its best. Waitakere could be accused of being a bit slow to realise what was going on. Slips were in and boundaries unprotected while the hit was on. It allowed Grafton a 36-run lead at lunch.

Grafton would declare. Waitakere would blast 224/5 off 38 overs to set Grafton 189 with 27 overs remaining in the day. JChallis warmed up for this week’s T20 with 94 off 63, while Brad Nash took his time in getting 56. Evans rocked Grafton early removing both openers. Despite another quick-fire 59 from Parsons and a few middle order 20s, a tight final six overs kept Waitakere in the hunt. In the end, both sides ran out of overs to get the job done.

Afternoon Session – Parnell vs. Papatoetoe. Shore Road. Hedley Howarth.

Parnell had found themselves in deep trouble on Saturday. 67/5. Papatoetoe had blown the top order away. Ben Horne, Ollie Pringle and Aniket Parikh lifted Parnell through to 180 on Day Two. I was fortunate enough to arrive at both grounds with fresh innings having just started or about to get underway. Like the Papatoetoe batsmen, I too would have to access the conditions.

Pringle looked ready to test the Papatoetoe openers. He settled on hard line and length going past the outside edge on several occasions. Henry King was unlucky not to strike in his first over when Josh Plummer edged an attempt at a wild drive. The ball flew quickly towards first slip only for keeper Harry Miller to dive to his left and spill the chance. It was the start Parnell would have wanted and Plummer was a little more circumspect after his reprieve.

Runs weren’t freeflowing, but they didn’t need to be for Papatoetoe. Time was on their side. Henry King would change ends and get his reward for charging in in the humidity. First Brad Rodden would take a one-handed screamer high above and behind his head to remove Harshal Vyas. It was a spectacular catch tracking back with the breeze keeping it in reach. Nobody expected Rodden to come up with it, but the all-rounder managed to hold on. A rising King bouncer caused issues for Plummer. The tall left-hander wasn’t convinced that he had gloved it through to the keeper, but the umpire was and King was on a hat-trick. Having been split by an over, it was a moment that past me by. It wasn’t to be for King, but he had dragged Parnell right back into the match.

There appeared to be a little in the wicket and the scores suggested it wasn’t an easy pitch to get in on. Even when a player was in, there was still enough happening to keep them from complacency. It was described as a tough wicket to play square on. With the pitch stopping, playing straight wasn’t so easy either.

Skipper Brad Rodden benefitted from the inside edge of Stephen Money and he followed it up several overs later by claiming a return catch. Papatoetoe had lost 4/34 and the game was in the balance. Parnell would have hoped to make further inroads, but Dilpreet Singh and Navi Doel knuckled down before the tea break. The game was evenly poised at 83/4. Parnell were the old adage – put a couple wickets on the scoreboard – away from a real sniff. They would have to come after tea.

Papatoetoe would lose Doel with the score at 111. Navdeep Aujla would join DSingh for a significant 59-run partnership taking Papaptoetoe to the brink of victory. Two late wickets may have made the final few runs tense, but DSingh was there at the end on 54* to guide his side to first innings points.