Despite Play HQ — a scoring system that remains woefully ill-equipped to handle anything that remotely deviates from the norm — suggesting otherwise, there were results in all three games.
Uni-Grange 87 lost
to NEV 88/4 by six wickets
Will Hamilton produced the bowling figures of the day to guide North East Valley to a rout at Bishopscourt.
Hamilton led the charge for the North East Valley attack with a brutal spell of six for 18 off 8.1 overs as University-Grange crumbled for 87 inside 29 overs.
Three of his scalps were bowled and two adjudged leg before wicket as he proved almost unplayable.
Jeremy Smith added two for six runs off four overs for the Swans.
It was a deflating collapse for the Spartans, who had got a decent start from opener Jacob Cumming (40 off 68 balls, including four fours and a six) and No3 Vinay Chandrappa (20 off 27, including four boundaries).
Otago Volts batter Thorn Parkes went cheaply in reply but fellow Valley opener Sebastian Lauderdale-Smith did not muck around.
Lauderdale-Smith belted an unbeaten 53 off 42 balls (11 fours) as victory was achieved in the 14th over.
Green Island 170 lost
to Taieri 172/6 by four wickets
Young guns Cameron Elliott and Samuel Duff were in the runs as Taieri resumed the season in impressive form at Logan Park.
Needing 171 to beat Green Island, Taieri lost Toby Hart off the second ball of their innings, and were soon teetering at 36 for three.
Elliott steadied the ship with a patient knock of 61 off 114 balls, hitting six fours and a six.
He received useful support from Duff, fresh off national under-19 tournament duties, who made an even 50 off 63 balls, smashing two sixes and seven fours and adding 70 with Elliott for the fifth wicket.
Hunter Shore added a bright 25 not out off 30 overs as Taieri sailed to victory in the 49th over.
Green Island had done reasonably well to post a competitive total after plunging to 11 for two.
Jake Gibson and Yuvraj Khara, both of whom scored 24, started the recovery, and Joel Meade contributed a handy knock of 41 off 42 balls (seven fours).
Hart, Beckham Wheeler-Greenall and Kyle Hastie each grabbed two wickets in a balanced Taieri bowling attack.
Albion 226 beat
CDK 138 by 88 runs
Tommy Clout was the all-round star as Albion completed a dominant win at Tonga Park.
Clout led the Albion innings with a hard-hitting 60 off 59 balls, and returned to help destroy the CDK top order with three wickets.
Lewis Garden (23), Dylan Fletcher (21), Connor Macleod (35) and Kurt Johnston (35) made useful starts for Albion, before Clout picked up the pace and drove the Eagles to a compelling score.
He smacked four sixes and two fours, adding 100 for the sixth wicket with Johnston.
Play HQ insisted he was called "Fill-in" but the best bowler for CDK was Praise Joseph, who returned the exceptional figures of four for 35 from 12 overs, and got handy support from Rhys Milmine (three for 33).
CDK’s response had a disastrous start as the top five batters fell for scores of 4, 0, 0, 8 and 2, both Clout and Patrick Arnold (four for 24) proving in fine nick.
Under the circumstances, Henry Scott’s knock of 69 off 70 balls (nine fours, two sixes) was borderline heroic as he dragged CDK back into the fight.
Jordan Gain added 20 before Clout, Arnold and Ollie Ritchie (three for 20) put the game away.
