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3 April, 2019

North Shore Cricket Club wins promotion

Flagstaff Team

Congratulations all round after Shore win

The North Shore Premier cricket side has gained promotion to Auckland’s top league after seven years in the lower division.

But as are the vagaries of cricket it all came down to the last match.

North Shore edged out Eden Roskill by six points to win the Tom Hellaby Championship last weekend. Although Shore had a handy lead at the tail end of the season, Eden Roskill threw everything into its last match against Ellerslie, making Shore fight all the way for the championship win.

Champagne flows… North Shore cricket premiers won promotion to the top Auckland division last weekend after an absence of seven years

At Te Atatu Park against Waitakere, North Shore made the runs they needed to pick up a first-innings win and immediately declared at lunch. Then Waitakere went out and, in a session, clocked up 192/4. They then declared ahead of the final session, looking for an upset.

North Shore’s Stephen Baard wasn’t going to let a chance like that get away. Along with Graeme Beghin, the pair went after the total hammer and tongs.

They needed to. When Baard was caught off Tony Wannan for 90, North Shore needed 31 more runs and could not afford to slow down. Beghin stepped up his scoring rate, and in the 32nd over, he sent the ball to the boundary for four runs, an eight-wicket win, and the Tom Hellaby Championship.

North Shore’s Tom Hellaby Championship winning team:

  • Stephen Baard
  • Ben Wall
  • Graeme Beghin
  • Mike Olsen
  • Carl Brungar
  • Simon Keene
  • Ronnie Hira
  • Tendai Chitongo
  • Sam Hinds
  • Tim Duncraft
  • Asiri Wickramanayake
  • Coach: Chris Reid
Top knock … Stephen Baard (left) and Graeme Beghin acknowledge Baard’s 50 last weekend

This article originally appeared in the April 5 edition of the Devonport Flagstaff. Download PDF.