Nelson century allows bowlers freedom to take control

St Peter’s won the toss and chose to bowl under cloudy skies with rain threatening to interrupt the morning session. King’s staggered as the opening attack landed quick blows to have both opening batters, Charles Knight and Oliver Kittle back in the sheds in the 3^rd over. James Nelson joined Morgan Tapper to salvage the innings which they gradually did with tenacity and a bit of luck as the first 11 overs of the opening pace attack, provided a stern test of their ability to grind it out and see them off.

At 32/2 by the end of the 11^th over, respite came in the form of the change bowlers and the run rate, which was below three, slowly crept up. Tapper took 12 balls to get off the mark but when he finally got going, he was efficient in rotating the strike and complementing Nelson’s style of batting. As the ball got older, batting became much easier with the 3^rd and 4^th wicket partnerships allowing King’s to build the foundation towards a challenging total.

After reaching an 83-run partnership, Tapper lost his wicket, as he was over-eager in upping the run rate. James Bamford joined Nelson and were constructing a decent partnership when the former threw away his wicket, playing a poor shot. With the score on 120/4 in the 32^nd over, King’s still had hopes of breaching the 230-run target but the middle order capitulated as Liam Denny, Samar Singh, Justin Nori and Scott Illerbrun contributed 14 runs amongst themselves and King’s were sitting precariously at 156/8 in the 40^th over, with the possibility of being bowled out before using their full quota.

Fortunately, Nelson continued to dominate the bowlers and realised the need to not throw away his wicket with the job being incomplete. He found an able ally in Tim Hamilton who helped construct a healthy 42-run partnership, adding some respectability to the total. In the company of Hamilton, Nelson reached a well-deserved century, his second for the 1^st XI, with a six in the 46^th over. This was the first century of the season for King’s and the first one since Karl Wallace’s magnificent effort against St Kentigern College, a year ago.

 After lunch, King’s pace attack took on the task of having first crack at the St Peter’s batters. The visitors were gifted runs in wides with no runs came off the bat for the first five overs, bowled by Finn Priddy, Liam Denny and Tim Hamilton. Hamilton was brought into the attack in the 5^th over to replace Priddy who was struggling with his line. Spin, in the shape of James Nelson was introduced in the 10^th over, in the hope of making an inroad into the stoic St Peter’s batters.

The first wicket fell in the 15^th over, courtesy of Justin Nori who ended up with a memorable haul of 4 wickets for 26 runs in his full allotment of overs. Although spin dominated the proceedings for most of the middle period of this innings, the pace bowlers came back into the attack at various junctures with Denny picking up three wickets and Priddy and Hamilton, one each. King’s were frustrated with the visitors lack of intent and were made to work hard for their wickets. This was a good dress rehearsal for an intense period of four matches over the next 12 days, starting with the T20 final against Takapuna Grammar at Melville Park on Wednesday 22 March, followed by 50-over matches against three of the top teams in the competition – MAGS, AGS and St Kentigern College, thereafter. 

 King’s win by 79 runs

Samar Singh was awarded his baggy on Saturday by King's Old Boy, PJ Cairns