Canterbury Kiwis have close tussle

Game two of the Canterbury Kiwis Emerging Players tour to New South Wales was a 50-over match against Grafton and proved to be a game chock full of pressure.

The Kiwis won the toss and batted first. They got away to a solid start, reaching 51/0 off eight overs before losing opener Shannon Dunnett (16) and then number three batsman Iain Robertson (0) at this total. This became the pattern, as players got established but were unable to kick on to make a big score.

The Kiwis ended their innings all out for 223 in the 49th over. The main contributors were Bernhard Ballin with 48, Michael Jones (39), James Biddick (33) and Scott Bermingham (22).

Grafton went about chasing the total aggressively, putting pressure on both bowlers and fielders. While wickets were taken at regular intervals, Grafton were in a wining position at 203/7. The Kiwis however stuck to their task and the game hung in the balance with Grafton at 221/9 in the 47th over.

Ballin was reintroduced to the attack and with the first ball of the 48th over the ball was hit low to Chris Sowden who took a fine catch and the game was won by the Canterbury Kiwis by three runs.

Best bowlers for the Kiwis were Ballin (3-38), David Hay (3-54), Robertson (2-43) and Brandon Hiini with 1-11 off six overs.

The team now travels to Armidale for the third game of the tour.