Hawke’s Bay v Canterbury Country: Day 3

DAY 3 WRAP UP

After a game that stayed relatively close throughout, Hawke's Bay have held onto the Hawke Cup. Canterbury Country had their moments, fought hard and were worthy challengers, but the twists and turns that came through the match seemed to drive them towards even odds. They never quite got their noses in front during the game, and Hawke's Bay absorbed pressure situations many times through the three days to ensure that was the case.

Baylee Foote deserves huge plaudits for his composed century. In a team heavily populated by current or former Central Stags players, Foote stood tall and rarely put a foot wrong in his knock. For a young batter, only just learning the ropes of opening the batting, it's promising. Praise should also go to Will Clark and Bayley Wiggins who both absorbed plenty of pressure on Day 2, and Angus Schaw who played a classic Hawke Cup captain's knock to get his team to within a stone's throw of a win.

For Canterbury Country, Sam Chamberlain was the standout bowler. Doing it on one knee, after an injury sustained while batting, Chamberlain bowled 33 overs on a cocktail of painkillers and adrenalin and rarely offered a poor ball. While Rhys Mariu bowled well in parts, and others like George Gunn and Robbie Foulkes looked good at times, they just weren't able to create enough pressure or chances on a very good batting track.

Hawke's Bay's team will likely change again for their last Challenge, in two weeks against South Canterbury, depending on Central Districts availability and injury recoveries. They will also want to work on staying disciplined with the ball, with a few errant periods during Canterbury Country's knock. With only one challenge until they hold over the winter, there will be no shortage of motivation to get those things right.

For Canterbury Country, it now means focusing on earning another challenge next season, and plugging a couple of gaps in their team. With Canterbury Ford Trophy players unavailable, and others not quite finding rhythm on the day (the highly rated Callum Cameron, for instance, struggled and bowled 8 no-balls), they will no doubt feel they're a great chance of beating anyone next summer with a few more cards falling their way.