22 October Compact Country Competition October 22, 2020 By Pam Fraser Sport The leaderboard in the Country Cricket one day premiership is compacted at the top, with five teams all sharing the points. Weedons remain the only unbeaten team, having had the bye too. This weekend Southbrook were completely dominated by Darfield. They closed their innings at 105/9 with Jack Boyle the only resistance, scoring 30. Jackson Pauling enjoyed a four-wicket haul for only 20 runs. Darfield then reached the target only two wickets down, with Jesse Frew scoring 33 not out, and Liam Foulkes 28. It was a much tighter match between Sefton and Weedons, with the Ellesmere club coming out on top and winning by two wickets. Sefton had put on 149/8 off their 45 overs after a rocky start. Brent Fleming scored 29 to get things back on track, and then quick-fire contributions from Jed Roberts 36, and Nigel Grange 30, put a reasonable target on the board. Charlie Robson was the best of the Weedons bowlers claiming 3/8. Todd Inness opened the innings with a tidy 75, and Robson again contributed to his side with 31. Jed Roberts toiled hard for Sefton taking 4/41, but it wasn’t enough as Weedons reached 150/8 off 36.5 overs. In another close match, the country team from Ellesmere, Leeston Southbridge, again had the measure of their North Canterbury opponent, Oxford. Calvin Scott opened the innings for Oxford and knocked up a half century, 52, and David Fulton in the middle order also passed the fifty mark with 56. Oxford were able to get to 177/7 from their 45 overs. However, Country, and Canterbury A representative Harry Chamberlain proved difficult to get out and racked up 114 runs and ensuring Leeston Southbridge would get home 181/8. Lachie Stove picked up 4/40 for Oxford. In the battle of the two North Canterbury sides, Cheviot were all out for 131 against Ohoka. Will Smith 33, and Ted Whelan 27, got starts. Hamish Williams was the best of the Ohoka bowlers with 4/17. The target proved meagre with Ohoka, only losing Ryan Kelly, before Daniel Lyons 75 not out, and Rhys Mariu 27 not out, reached the target, 133/1. Lincoln had the bye. In the Metro High School Bowl one day competition, the Rangiora High School 1st XI met the Christs College 3rd XI at the Swannanoa Domain. Rangiora put on 239/10 off 48.2 overs, with Andrews Prain 68, and Jack Sail 46. Christ College’s Flynn Topham was the best of their bowlers with 4/34. Despite two half centuries from Ed Cochran 56, and Tom Harrison 51, Rangiora had their Christchurch opponents 222/9 in the 50th over. Charley Ward had the best bowling figures for Rangiora with 3/31 and was ably supported by Jack Sail with 2/20. Related Articles Country perform well Last week saw cricket wickets around North Canterbury host the South Island Primary Cricket Tournament featuring 14 teams, including two Canterbury Country teams, over five days. Matches were played in Rangiora at both Dudley Park and Southbrook Park, also Mandeville, Sefton, and Kaiapoi. The weather was good for much of the tournament, but it is a credit to the cricketing volunteers around the district, preparing the large number of quality pitches. In the initial rounds ... Country defeated Representative cricket was in action at Mainpower Oval on Sunday, with Canterbury Country taking on a Christchurch Metro Red selection featuring three Black Caps, in Tom Latham, Matt Henry, and Todd Astle. Metro batted first putting on 279/8 off their 50 overs, with Ken McClure top scoring with 93, Leo Carter 54, and Latham 48. The best of the Country bowlers was Daryl Mitchell with 3/35, including the scalp of McClure. The run chase ... Canterbury A&P On-Farm Competition North Canterbury exhibitors flexed their collective muscle in the Canterbury A&P On-Farm dairy competition last week. More than 90 entries were tabled for the contest, which replaced the cancelled dairy judging at the Canterbury Show in the wake of Covid-19. Instead, the exhibitors prepared their cows at home on-farm, as they would have done at the show. And, the judge – Corey Ferguson, from Otorohanga – moved between farms pointing and placing the animals between November ... Taking the girl out of the country… You can take the girl out of the country, but not the country out of the girl. Former Silver Fern captain Julie Seymour was raised on Ashgrove St, in Rangiora. Sitting down to a cup of tea on a promising Canterbury spring morning, Seymour is reflective and philosophical about her 16-year national netball career, which earned her a Member of the New Zealand Order Of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2003. This workaholic mid-courter played ... Country cricket lead changes again The Leeston Southbridge cricket team went back to the top of the Country One Day competition, with a solid win over Ohoka. Ohoka could only manage 93 from 35 overs. Harry Fitzpatrick contributing more than half of those runs with 40 not out, but nobody could stay with him. Leeston Southbridge reached the target within 15 overs, 97/2. In the match between Darfield and previous competition leaders Weedons, Darfield amassed 222/6 in their 45 overs. ... Competition and catch-ups on ice… North Canterbury’s agricultural sector is still adjusting to the news that one of their most significant annual get togethers won’t go ahead this year. The New Zealand Agricultural Show – run by the Canterbury A&P Association – was one of the last iconic events to surrender to Covid-19 last week. It’s the first time since World War II officials have had to stand down. Scheduled to run from November 11-13, the Show welcomes 100,000 annual visitors. It ...