Wellington Firebirds Plunket Shield captain Stephen Murdoch smashed 162 not out to lead Karori to victory over Eastern Suburbs and into the Ewen Chatfield Cup One-Day final against Easts on 27 January.
Murdoch made his 162 off 142 balls to lift Karori to 310 for 7 and in reply, Easts, who booked their place in the final before the Christmas break, needed nine off the last two balls but lost wickets on both deliveries and finished short on 302.
In the other top four game, Onslow batted first making 219 for 9 with Andrew Fletcher scoring 102. Taita then lost six wickets getting the runs. Henry Walsh, with an unbeaten 78, steered them home
University defeated Petone-Eastbourne in their sudden death match to book fifth place in the forthcoming Wilkinson Pearce Cup. Petone-Eastbourne made 139 and were bowled out inside 32 overs. The students then scored the runs in 32.1 overs to clinch their Pearce Cup place.
Wellington Collegians secured sixth place despite losing to Naenae Old Boys. Collegians scored 160, Craig James taking 4 for 27. Naenae got the runs in 27.4 overs, Adam Williams making 69 not out
Johnsonville needed a bonus point win over Upper Hutt to have any chance of making the Pearce Cup but were bowled in 18.1 overs for just 52. Ollie Newton was the chief destroyer, taking 6 for 17 from 9.1 overs while Jason McKenzie took 4 for 32. Upper Hutt then scored the runs in 11.5 overs, losing four wickets in the process.
North City scored 168 against Hutt District, Neeraj Chawla top scoring with 64 not out. Hutt then scored the runs in 41.3 overs to win by 7 wickets.
Sunday’s match between Wainuiomata and the Wellington U20s was abandoned due to poor weather.
The Pearce Cup and Hazlett Trophy two-day cricket competitions start this coming weekend.
Final points from the 10-round Ewen Chatfield Cup One-Day competition:
Top Four : Eastern Suburbs 40; Karori 30; Taita 29; Onslow 25
Repechage Section: University 29; Collegians 26; Petone-Eastbourne and Under 20 s 25; Johnsonville 21; Hutt District 20; Upper Hutyt & Naenae 16; North City 14; Wainuiomata 4
Final: Eastern Suburbs v Karori 27 January
Short scorecards:
Karori 310-7 (S Murdoch 162*, H Boam 46; R Joseph 2-50) beat Eastern Suburbs 302 (S McLauchlan 51, N Naguleswaran 47; L Edwards 3-48) by 8 runs
Upper Hutt 53-4 (S Rance 4-12) beat Johnsonville 52 (O Newton 6-17, J McKenzie 4-31) by 6 wickets
University 143-6 (C Hawkins 43; M Hewson 2-26) beat Petone-Eastbourne 139 (N Ward 43; A Clarke 3-18) by 4 wickets
Taita 220-6 (Henry Walsh 78*) beat Onslow 219-9 (A Fletcher 102) by 4 wickets
Naenae Old Boys 161-6 (A Williams 69*) beat Wellington Collegians 160 (C James 4-27) by 4 wickets
Hutt District 169-7 beat North City 168 (N Chawla 64*) by 3 wickets