Emphatic T20 win to Te Au O Tonga

The Vaka Te Au O Tonga cricket team were crowned the Turtles Twenty20 Domestic League III champions on Friday night after an emphatic win over defending champions Puaikura-Titikaveka.

Despite an early hiccup in the Te Au O Tonga batting when they lost Hamish Weir in the second over with the score on 5 runs, Vaka Te Au O Tonga’s momentum with the bat carried on throughout their innings to score 172 against Puaikura-Titikaveka’s total of 116 runs.

Te Au O Tonga were squarely on the front foot for the majority of the match.

Young under 19 Puaikura-Titikaveka bowler Tuaine Mamanu continued to prove why he is considered a rising talent as the left armer provided another consistent quality performance with the ball taking 2 wickets, for just 21 runs off his 4 over’s.

Te Au O Tonga batsmen Patiamai Ataela returned to winning form as he played anchor man in the batting line up to score 29 while Turtles III leading run scorer Toara ‘the tank’ Teinaki continued his brilliant form with the bat injecting flavour into the Te Au O Tonga batting to blaze 65 runs.

Wicket keeper and batsman Parker Daniel also added plenty of spice as he scored a quick fire 20, at a strike rate of 250 percent, including knocking two balls out of the ground.

Facing down the second largest total posted in a Twenty20 Domestic League III match, Puaikura-Titikaveka found tough competition in bowlers Jonathan Rowe and Brendon Fiebig. Rowe bowled with real pace taking three wickets for 32 off his four overs including a spectacular diving caught and bowled while Fiebig was the most economical of the Te Au O Tonga bowlers going for just 12 runs off his four overs, collecting two wickets in the process.

On receiving the Turtles D-League trophy Te-Au-O-Tonga captain Wayken Punga said that as a national player the Turtles Domestic League provides a fantastic opportunity for players to develop their skills and he thanked Chris McKinley and his team at Turtles for their invaluable support.

Punga acknowledged the efforts of his team mates and gave special mention to the three under 19 players in his team to continue their passion for the game and to stay focused in realising their dream to play for the national team.