Brad Fleming

The Union Senior team once again proved its fighting quality beating Eastern by 12 runs in a low scoring encounter at the Waikouaiti Sports Ground.

With the game being moved from the Mill Reserve in Palmerston due to wet conditions, both teams had to battle against a lush outfield that made scoring along the ground difficult. The game was effectively a dead rubber for Union, however there was still plenty of feeling in the game as Eastern required a win to qualify for the semi's next week, and Union were looking to keep their undefeated record intact.

Eastern won the toss and elected to field which proved to be a good decision as they bowled the opposition out for 116 in the 44th over. The Union innings was characterised by no significant partnerships being formed with only the 5th wicket of Sean Conlan (23) and Jason Todd (19) making a good contribution to their teams total. For Eastern Matt McLelland was the best of the bowlers taking 4-28, while spinner Oliver McLelland bowled well for his 3-16. Cameron Grubb was also in the wickets with 2-12, as all bowlers returned economical figures.

Union soon had the early wickets which it needed to stay within the game with the home side 2-2 after two overs. Six overs later they had them 4-21 as they started to make some inroads into the Eastern batting. Cameron Grubb and a stoic innings from Brown soon brought their side back into the game combining for 59 for the 5th wicket and with Eastern 4-80 it looked like they were about to pull of a needed upset victory. However when Grubb was caught by Brad Fleming this started a collapse that saw 6 wickets fall for 24 runs. Veteran Geoff McLelland was the last to go, caught by Sean Conlan in the slips of the bowling of Jason Todd, Eastern falling sort by 12 runs. The Eastern batting scorecard saw Cameron Grubb the only player to score 20 runs or more with 39, while Brown finished with 17 runs of 130 balls. For Union, opening bowlers Matt Lilley (3-23) and Glynn Cameron (3-11) got three wickets each, while Brad Fleming finished with 2-21.

Union will now play Valley in the Borton Cup semi-finals this coming Saturday, looking to continue their unbeaten run and a 5th Borton Cup Championship in 6 seasons.

Player Pages:
Glynn Cameron | Sean Conlan | Brad Fleming | Jason Todd |

Union 116 ( S. Conlan 23, J. Todd 19, J. Shields 12, M. McLelland 4-28, O. McLelland 3-16, C. Grubb 2-12 )
Eastern 104 ( C. Grubb 39, A. Brown 17, A. Grubb 13, G. Cameron 3-11, M. Lilley 3-23, B. Fleming 2-21 )
Union won by 12 runs
Full scorecard for the match