Second win for Green Island

Brad Wilson
Brad Wilson
Chase 350. No worries. Green Island clinched a second consecutive win at the national club championships in Auckland yesterday.

Its latest scalp was a five-wicket win against Greerton.

The Dunedin club was set a target of 350 which sounds a lot worse than it was. The No3 ground at Cornwall Park is tiny - ridiculously so.

But you still need to put together a decent partnership or two and Green Island was certainly well-served on that score.

Veteran campaigner Ant Harris and retiring Otago first-class player Brad Wilson posted 208 for the second wicket.

Harris slapped 110 from 109 balls, while Wilson was even more aggressive with 118 from 89 deliveries.

They did the bulk of the work but Otago all-rounder Christi Viljoen also played a crucial innings at the death.

It started to get a little tight at the end. But Viljoen made sure their good work was converted into a victory with a hard-hit knock of 64 not out from 33 balls.

Most of the bowlers got hammered but Green Island left-arm pace bowler Blair Soper was a notable exception.

He was operating without his usual new-ball partner Dion Lobb. The veteran medium-pacer injured a hamstring in the opening game and sat out the encounter.

Soper was excellent in his absence, though. He took three for 34 from 8.5 overs. But perhaps the most impressive part was his economy of 3.85 on a day when staying under six was an heroic achievement.

The defending champions Napier Technical Old Boys dispatched Eastern Suburbs by eight wickets and remain unbeaten. In the other game, St Albans beat Parnell by 110 runs to make it two wins from two games.

Green Island will play Eastern Suburbs today.

Add a Comment

OUTSTREAM