7 December Country cricket lead changes again December 7, 2020 By Pam Fraser Sport 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. Jesse Frew and Henry Chamberlain led the scoring in the top order with 73 and 52 respectively. Arnav Deb was the best of the Weedons bowlers taking 4/41. In the run chase, Weedons lost wickets early and never gained enough momentum. James Richards top scored with 59, but they were all out for 143. In Duckworth Lewis effected match, Cheviot were beaten by Sefton. Archie Redfern top scored for Cheviot with 63 not out. But Chris Warners 58 not out was enough to see Sefton meet their rain effected target. Southbrook were left to default to Lincoln due to player shortages. Oxford-Rangiora had the bye. Points: Leeston Southbridge 48, Weedons 40, Sefton 40, Darfield 32, Ohoka 32, Cheviot 24, Oxford-Rangiora 20, Lincoln 8, Southbrook 4 The Rangiora High School 1st XI had an emphatic win over the Selwyn Districts XI. Selwyn could only manage 114/10, with Charley Ward doing most of the damage taking 4/12. The target looked simple when Archie Prain smashed 84 not out, and they took the win in the 17th over, 115/1. Related Articles Joint leaders again Weedons and Sefton joined Leeston Southbridge at the top of the Country cricket leaderboard this weekend. Sefton won by default as Southbrook were again forced to default. Batting first, Weedons heaped on the runs to finish their 45 overs at 274/7. Brad Nightingale opened the innings with a steady 65, with Charlie Robson 61, and Devon Nightingale 45 not out, adding to the impressive total. Ohoka got a number of starts including openers Nick Burnett ... 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 ... Compact Country Competition 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 ... 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 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 Country defeated The Canterbury Country cricket team have been defeated by their first Hawke Cup challengers, Nelson, at Mainpower Oval. Nelson posted a mammoth 365 first innings total with centuries from both Nic Clark (172) and Joey O’Connor (120). The best of the Canterbury Country bowlers was Zac Foulkes who picked up 6/88. In reply, Canterbury Country were struggling at 162-8, with four of their top order not making double figures. However, a gritty 117-run partnership between numbers ...