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Cricket 2005

2005 Championship Standings & Tournament Team

Final 2005 Championship positions were:

1st - Victoria (played 3, won 3, 17 points)
2nd - Otago (played 3, won 2, lost 1, 13 points)
3rd - Massey Albany (played 3, won 1, lost 2, 5 points)
4th - AUT (played 3, lost 3, 1 point)

The following Tournament Team was selected based on players’ performances during the Championship - players were awarded USNZ caps to commemorate their selection:

1. Anthony Bowler (AUT)
2. Julian Brown (Victoria)
3. Nick Earl (Victoria)
4. James Hogg (Otago)
5. Stephen Murdoch (Victoria)
6. Yassar Patel (Massey Albany)
7. Julian Read (Victoria)
8. Craig Smith (Otago)
9. Will Sommerville (Otago)
10. Brad Sutherland (Otago)
11. Hamish Templeton (Victoria)

National Bank Player of the Championship - Stephen Murdoch (Victoria) - 204 runs (117* & 87*) and aggregate 6-64 over tournament.

Victoria win NZU title in thriller at Kelburn

Match 5: Otago vs Victoria, Mon 28 March, Kelburn Park, Wellington, toss won by Victoria; Otago 243?all out,?49.1 overs, J. Hogg 86, C. Smith 60, S. Murdoch 3-24, N. Earl 3-51; Victoria 244-9, 50 overs, S. Murdoch 117*, H. Templeton 24, S. Murley 3-45; Victoria won by?1 wkt.

Match 6: AUT vs Massey Albany, Mon 28 March,?Kilbirnie Park, Wellington, toss won by Massey Albany; AUT 102 all out,?29?overs,?A. O’Connor 4-27; Massey Albany 103-5,?29.2 overs, Y. Patel 32, P. Smith 24, A.Bowler 3-12;?Massey Albany?won by?5 wkts.

In the most thrilling finish possible, Victoria University’s Men’s Cricket team beat Otago by 1 wicket off the last ball of the match to capture the 2005 NZ Universities Championship. The Easter Monday match was one of the most exciting games ever witnessed at Kelburn Park - Victoria’s home ground in Wellington.

With both Otago (the defending champions) and Victoria having won their previous 2 matches against Massey Albany and AUT with maximum points the winner of the this match would win the Championship. Victoria won the toss and opted to bowl first on a damp track still drying after overnight rain and looked in pole position when they reduced Otago to 100-7 after 20 overs. An excellent innings of 86 from opener James Hogg and some aggressive hitting from Craig Smith (60) transformed the match with Otago dismissed in the final over for 243.

Victoria batted positively from the start but lost wickets at regular intervals and at 156-6 it looked as if their chance of toppling the tournament favourites had disappeared. A stunning century from the Victoria captain Stephen Murdoch (117*) helped the home team to successfully chase the 48 runs they needed off the last 5 overs, last man Julian Read scoring a single off the last ball (having just survived a very close run out 2 balls before) to see Victoria home by 1 wicket.

Murdoch, a Wellington A batsman, played a well-timed and classy innings which gave a strong indication of future higher representative honours. Following his 87 not out in the first match it meant Murdoch had scored 204 runs in the tournament without being dismissed and he added 6 wickets in the 3 matches with his useful bowling. Murdoch was nominated as the National Bank Player of the Tournament for his performances and mature captaincy.

In the other match played at Kilbirnie Park, Massey Albany earned 3rd place with a comfortable 5 wicket win over AUT. Massey won the toss and elected to bowl first, dismissing AUT for a below-par 102 in a match reduced to 40 overs per side. Massey were guided to victory by Yassar Patel and Patrick Smith and won with 10 overs to spare.

Day 2 Action from NZU Cricket Champs

Match 3: AUT vs Victoria, Sun 27 March, Kelburn Park, Wellington, toss won by Victoria; AUT 73 all out,?25.2 overs,?J. Read 5-11, S. Murdoch 3-9; Victoria 74-3,?12.4 overs, H. Templeton 40*, A. Bowler 3-26; Victoria won by 7 wkts.

Match 4: Massey Albany vs Otago, Sun 27 March, Karori Park, Wellington, toss won by Otago; Otago 165-8, 25 overs, B. Sutherland 33, P. Smith 2-26, G. Warren 2-27, A. O’Connor 2-34; Massey Albany 93, 21 overs, Y. Patel 32, C. Herbert 4-7, S. Murley 2-12; Otago won by 72 runs.

Otago and Victoria meet on Easter Monday at Kelburn Park in Wellington with the winners taking the 2005 NZU Cricket crown after both teams cruised to victory over Massey Albany and Auckland University of Technology respectively today.

Damp pitch conditions at Kelburn Park delayed Victoria’s match with AUT by an hour but the home team had still completed victory by just after 2pm. Julian Read (5-11) was the star as Victoria dismissed AUT for 73 before chasing down the target for the loss of 3 wickets in just 13 overs.

Play at Karori Park was even further delayed and didn’t get underway until 2pm. With the match reduced to 25 overs per side Otago raced to 165-8 with Brad Sutherland top scoring with 33. Yassar Patel was in excellent form for Massey Albany, top scoring with 32 in their response although Chris Herbert’s amazing spell of 4-7 in 2 overs derailed their response ending 93 all out in 21 overs.

Day 1 Action from NZU Champs

Match 1: AUT vs Otago, Sat 26 March, Anderson Park, Wellington, toss won by AUT; Otago 252 all out, 36.3 overs, W. Sommerville 68*, B. Sutherland 66,?S. Beare 49, A. Bowler 3-28; AUT 99 all out, 23.5 overs, M. Harvie 4-12; Otago won by 153 runs.

Match 2: Massey Albany vs Victoria, Sat 26 March,?Kelburn Park, Wellington, toss won by Victoria; Massey Albany 138-8, 50 overs, Y. Patel 35, N. Earl 4-11; Victoria 139-5, 36 overs, S. Murdoch 87*, A. O’Connor 2-23; Victoria won by 5 wkts.

Overnight rain delayed the start of both matches on Day 1 of the 2005 NZ Universities Cricket Championship in Wellington.

When play got under way at Anderson Park, Otago batted aggressively against the Auckland University of Technology to post an intimidating total of 252 (all out) off only 36 overs. AUT in reply were dismissed for 99 with Otago Volts player Mat Harvie taking 4-12. Otago’s man of the match was another Volts player Will Sommerville who top-scored with 68* (inc 6 sixes) before taking 1-18.

On a damp Kelburn Park pitch, Massey Albany scored 138-8 off their 50 overs, opener Yasser Patel top-scoring with 35 with Victoria’s Nick Earl taking 4-11. The home team eased to victory in the 36th over for the loss of 5 wickets, mainly thanks to 87 not out from Stephen Murdoch.

NZU Cricket Championship - Draw Announced

The NZU Men’s Cricket Championship 2005 will be contested by 4 Universities - AUT, Massey Albany, defending champions Otago and hosts Victoria. Auckland and Canterbury were unable to field sides as had been indicated previously.
The Championship will be determined by a round robin league with 6 matches played over 3 days of the Easter weekend - Saturday 26 - Monday 28 March.
Matches will be played at Kelburn, Karori and Anderson Parks in Wellington as follows:

Saturday 26 March:
Massey Albany vs Victoria (Kelburn Park)
AUT vs Otago (Anderson Park)

Sunday 27 March:
AUT vs Victoria (Kelburn Park)
Massey Albany vs Otago (Karori Park)

Monday 28 March:
AUT vs Massey Albany (Anderson Park)
Otago vs Victoria (Kelburn Park)

Download Tournament Regulations (.pdf 138k)

NZU Cricket is Back!

2005 marks the return of the annual NZU Men’s Cricket Championship which will be held on Saturday 26 - Monday 28 April 2005. The tournament will be staged by USNZ in Wellington in association with the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) and the University Cricket Club (VUWCC).

It is hoped that between 6-8 Universities will compete at the Championship, last staged in 2002. Otago University are the defending champions.

Only USNZ member Universities may participate in this event and players must be current students of that University or have graduated in 2004. If you are interested in competing in the NZU Cricket Championship, please contact your University Campus Sports Coordinator.

USNZ is investigating staging a Women’s Cricket Championship which is likely to be staged for the first time in conjunction with the next men’s event in 2006.

For further information contact the USNZ Office - admin@universitysport.org.nz - or 04 499 3550