Exciting matches were held in the T20 domestic cricket semi-finals over the weekend, with the top bets in both the men’s and women’s competitions failing to advance to the finals.

Newcomers Matavera will face defending champions Nikao Black Wolves in the 2024 Cookie Sadaraka Cup T20 men’s grand final this Saturday, while Turangi will battle Takuvaine in the women’s.

Against the odds, Matavera pushed their way through to the final after upsetting the previously unbeaten Arorangi Redbacks in the men’s competition.

In the women’s competition, the previously unbeaten Arorangi Red Hotbabes lost to Takuvaine at home.

The Redbacks versus the Matavera clash at Raemaru Park was an intense affair that went down to the wire.

The home side batted first, with their openers contributing 43 and 33 runs respectively. However, the Redbacks struggled to maintain a high scoring rate and were ultimately restricted to 100 runs for nine wickets in their 20 overs.

Matavera bowled exceptionally well, led by Arun Kumar, who grabbed four wickets, while Kannan Mathukkalai and Moni Uini collecting two wickets each.

In reply, Matavera struggled after losing their openers cheaply but had to rely on their middle order batsmen to steer them to victory, reaching the target in 18.3 overs for four to record a six-wicket win.

In the other men’s semifinal, defending champions Nikao Black Wolves thumped Tupapa Young Rookies by nine wickets.

The Young Rookies batted first and were all out for 93 runs in 12 overs. The Nikao Black Wolves chased the target and reached it in 15 overs, winning by nine wickets.

In the women’s semi-finals, favourites Arorangi Red Hotbabes went down to Takuvaine while Turangi defeated Nikao Honey Wolves.

Takuvaine batted first and scored 110 runs for the loss of nine wickets from 19 overs. In reply, the Hotbabes struggled, with five batters dismissed without scoring any runs. The side managed only 65 runs in 13.2 overs, resulting in a 45-run win for Takuvaine.

In the other semifinal, Turangi scored a massive 190 runs for two in their 20 overs. In reply, the Honey Wolves were all out for 173, handing Turangi a comfortable eight-wicket victory and a place in the final.

Cook Islands Cricket Association (CICA) president Grant Walker said that after many weeks of round robin matches, “broken up by wildly exciting” Cook Islands Games T10 competition, the association and the clubs decided in early December to move the knockout rounds and finals to January 2025.

Walker said that under the new playoff format, eight out of the 10 teams in the men’s competition advanced to the knockout phase in a seeded order.

The new playoff format meant all eight finalists had a shot at glory and the Cup. Similarly, six of the seven women entered the knockouts.

“However, this was no easy task as the seeding was set with the higher seeds playing the lowest in the first round in 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5 matches.”

Meanwhile, Walker said this was a very important year for CICA with multiple events, initiative and programmes.

“We will be focusing heavily on rebuilding our umpiring programme in 2025, as well as making an effort in integrating electronic scoring, and improved facilities,” he said.

“We also plan our second season of the Men’s Super-Slam slated for a late March start.”

Fixture

Saturday: Nikao Field – 12 noon Turangi Women will play TKV; 3pm Nikao Black Wolves versus Matavera men.