Steven Anderson was last man out in the Te Awamutu innings for two.
Te Awamutu Sports drop-in pitch proved tricky for batsmen in the sixth round of the Waikato Valley B Grade competition’s 40-over Peter Bennett Cup on Saturday with only Waitete opener Jamie Maarhuis showing any form.
Waitete, responding to Te Awamutu Gold’s 148 all out in 39.3 overs, snuck home with 149/9 in 34.1 overs with Maarhuis hitting the day’s top score of 49.
Te Awamutu Gold won the toss and elected to bat which seemed a good decision as Mike Aitken and Tuwhakaiti Winsor got through to 42 in nine overs.
Aitken was bowled for 20 by Josh Reid and from there the Waitete bowlers successfully chipped away.
When Stephen Donker fell at 124-9 after 33.1 overs in a hotly-contested catching decision, it looked as if Te Awamutu’s decision to bat was the wrong one.
Waitete wicketkeeper Mark Brown celebrates catching Te Awamutu’s Stephen Donker, caught behind for four.
They managed to get through to 148 with five balls left to go and all-rounder AJ Mittal stranded on 21.
Mark Anderson was Waitete’s best bowler with 3/10 of three overs.
Maarhuis was Mr Steady hitting five fours from 68 balls as the run chase ticked nicely alone.
He fell at 82-3 and the scramble for runs began.
An unlikely Te Awamutu victory seemed on the cards when Patrick Hannay and Mark Anderson fell to consecutive balls off Mittal’s bowling with four runs needed for the victory and one wicket remaining.
But the winning runs came soon after.
Te Awamutu’s best bowling was Mittal’s 4/16 off eight overs which included two maidens.
All-rounder AJ Mittal had a solid day with bat and ball.
