Key players absent for Christchurch premier one-day final

It’s the clash of club cricket titans on Sunday, with T20 champions Old Boys’ Collegians taking on the unbeaten Burnside West in the men’s premier one-day final.

Both teams will be without their Canterbury representatives and go into the final off the back of tight semi-final matches.

Burnside West managed to chase down Heathcote’s batting total of 230/8 in the last over with one wicket remaining, largely due to Carl Huyser’s 53 from 50 balls and bowler Alex Tait’s late cameo (45 runs not out).

At Sydenham Park, a tidy bowling effort from OBC kept Sydenham to just 168/9, but with several players struggling to get going in OBC’s batting innings, the game was poised for an exciting finish.

OBC’s Australian import Dylan Hunter was the saviour, finishing on 86 runs from 63 balls, before William Graham and William Lintott managed to steer the side to a one-wicket win with 66 balls remaining.

OBC captain Jack Lewis said Hunter, who has been with the team since January, will be key for the final.

“He’s a hell of a batsman, it’s been great. He’s really lifted the expectations for the boys,” Lewis said.

If OBC win on Sunday, it will be the club’s premier side’s second title of the season, after they won the T20 final against Sydenham in December.

Lewis said it would be “pretty special” for the team to win the club’s first premier one-day final since the 2016/2017 season.

“You don’t often get to win two titles in a season,” he said.

But it will be a challenging ask for the Elmwood Park-based team, as they face the defending one-day format champions, which have also been unbeaten in the format for the last two seasons.

Burnside West’s player-coach Carl Huyser said while much of the team’s success is down to the depth of their players, both finalists will be challenged with the absence of key players due to Canterbury playing duties.

It will be a chance for young guns, Tim Seeto and Nick Gibb, to perform under pressure in their first season at premier level.

Both players were part of the Christ’s College 1st XI, which won the Gillette Cup in December, but have been training with the club team since October.

“We made contact with them a while ago, and they’ve been training with the squad since December. We’ve really backed them and they’ve performed really well, which is quite rare to see,” Huyser said.

Club finals on Sunday from 10.30am:
Premiership: Burnside West v Old Boys’ Collegians at Burnside Park
Championship: Merivale Papanui v OBC at Edgar McIntosh Park
Division One: Halswell v Riccarton at Halswell Domain
Division Two: East Shirley v Riccarton at Burwood Park