Blake James

A depleted Union Senior side lost to Oamaru by 90 runs yesterday.

With Union missing more than half the regular side due to various commitments, Oamaru won the toss and elected to bat first. They got of to an aggressive start with former North Otago rep Jamie Ferris notching up 49 of only 21 balls. Union fought back restricting Oamaru to 147/8 but a 76 run 9th wicket partnership put Oamaru back in a dominate position. When Backhouse was caught by Dan Conlan of the bowling of Matt Lilley they had scored a formidable 251 of 44.5 overs, the highest total against Union this season. Captain Matt Murphy (58) put in a valuable contribution while Regan George was scored 22. Blake James, in his debut at senior level for Union, was the best of the bowlers taking 4-33 while Matt Lilley (3-35), and Dan Conlan (2-57) were the other wicket takers.

Starting its chase Union had 38 on the board before the loss of its first wicket, Christian Westergaard for 23. Jake Greenslade and Ryan Whitburn combined for a 33 run fourth wicket partnership however with the wicket of Greenslade for 32, this started a collapse that effectively put the game out of reach for Union. Five wickets fell for the loss of 15 runs before Conlan and Lilley added some respectability to the total with some hard hitting play. The two combined for 41 runs for the ninth wicket before Conlan was bowled for 25. Lilley was not out at the end of the innings with 26, Union all out for 161, a win to Oamaru by 90 runs.

Player Pages:
Daniel Conlan | Blake James | Mathew Lilley | Christian Westergaard |

Oamaru 251 ( M. Murphy 58, J. Ferris 49, J. Backhouse 49, R. George 22, B. James 4-33, M. Lilley 3-34, D. Conlan 2-57 )
Union 162 ( J. Greenslade 32, M. Lilley 26no, D. Conlan 25, C. Westergaard 23, P. Johnston 11, M. Murphy 4-27, J. Ferris 2-30, J. Gutsell 2-42 )
Oamaru won by 90 runs
Full scorecard for the match