Cricket: Renegades undefeated at the top of the pool in Premier 2 Twenty20

Wanganui Renegades managed to sit comfortably on Pool 1 after two of the second rounds of the Premier 2 Twenty20 tournament on Saturday.

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Opening player Libin Cherian scored 39 goals for Warriors, while Libin Varghese finished 22nd.

Ryan Donaldson took 3-34 of his four rounds.

In response, Renegades ’opening players Josh Trillo (22) and Jack Donaldson (42) got off to a good start to the running yachts, which Adam Heap (26) and Matt Deighton (18no) continued to finish with a quick win.

In the second Pool 1 match, Kaitoke Knight Riders bounced off their first loss and won four points to the last ball of Wanganui United Thirds.

United defended a defensive 115-4 on the back of Sundeep Pulin (34) and midfielder Daniel Oosthuizen (57).

Mafua Tongote took 2-21 to Kaitoke, and then his team made it to 116-6 and made 10 runs from the final.

Merrick Slade (33) hit until the end of the 19th round with Cameron Anderson (24) and Daniel Campbell (27) before Darren Whetton (8 no) saw his team home in the final set.

Steve Meredith was selected from United bowlers 2-11 out of four moves.

In Pool 2, Treadwell Gordon United Second XI played after winning their first game and defeating Tech Old Boys, and the club’s strong Joe Gray celebrated his birthday by scoring United’s best goal.

A double round will be played on Saturday and then the final on February 5 to determine the two finalists.

Children under 15 years of age

Cricket Wanganui saw a lot of promising signs for the future from representatives under the age of 15 after a two-week tournament.

Coach Steve Meredith first took the under-15 development team to Hawke’s Bay for an invitational tournament, where they finished with four wins and a tie in five games.

Nick Burroughs made the runs in each game, helping his team set defensive goals, then bowlers Harrison Richmond, Max Comrie and Josh Keenan took care of the rest.

Wanganui’s under-15 team took part in the Central Districts tournament in Levin last week and finished fourth out of eight association teams with three wins and a tie in five games.

Tim O’Leary was the MVP of the club with the bat and the ball.

Connor Rees and Mickey Peacock were selected from the batsmen, while the bowling contingent was led by Luke Bullock, Jimmy Lithgow and Ryan Meredith – who were among the top five wicket players.

“From game to game, how they grew into cricketers – their bowling and punching,” Meredith said.

After five years working with this game team, Meredith said the next season looked exciting at the under-17 level, as there were now a greater number of talents fighting for rankings on the top side.