Reserve Grade First Round champions, the Greerton Sikh XI, maintained their championship unbeaten start albeit with a battle of attrition with Mount Maunganui.

The Greerton side batted first and were removed for what looked to be a modest 139.

Sunil Gaur smacked a half century, with Mount bowler Nathan Walker grabbing five Sikh wickets.

Led by LS Bhatti who took four wickets at a cost of just 6 runs and Nikhil Verma (3/10), the Greerton front-runners restricted their opponents to 62/9, to claim an extremely hard fought victory.

Whakatane United, showed that they are likely to be a real force in the Reserve Grade Championship, when they bowled the Greerton second team out for 99 and got home with five wickets in hand. Individual match honours belonged to Eastern Bay of Plenty bowler Tamati Stringer returning 5/26 and Tom Yates with 37 runs.

Katikati made light of their early season form slump, setting Tauranga Boys College a big target after reaching 252/9. Andrew Mascall (53) and Colin Chase (49) anchored the Katikati innings. Andrew Templer top scored with 32 runs, as Tauranga Boys were dismissed for 137, to give Katikati a 115 run win.

Te Puke Reserve Grade side got their first win of the Reserve Championship, in emphatic style. Te Puke blazed away to post an impressive 252/9 against Cadets at Fergusson Park. Ben Hunter led the way with an unbeaten half century, with Andrew Randrup and Scott Struiksma both reaching the forties.

Paddy Kulaar weaved plenty of magic with the ball for Te Puke, as he took five wickets for just 19 runs, with Cadets bowled out for 99 to give the Te Puke second XI a impressive 157 run win.

Western Bay of Plenty Reserve Grade Championship Results – 27 January 2018

Katikati 252/9 (Colin Chase 49, Andrew Mascall 53, Martin Brandso 37) defeated Tauranga Boys College 137 (Andrew Templer 32, Sam Harrison 3/23, Kushwarran Joshi 3/33)

Greerton Sikh XI 139 (Sunil Gaur 55, Nathan Walker 5/55, Kyle Dovey 3/38) defeated Mount Maunganui 62/9 (LS Bhatti 4/6, Nikhil Verma 3/10)

Greerton 99 (Tamati Stringer 5/26, Hamish Wilde 3/13) lost to Whakatane United 100/5 (Tom Yates 37)

Te Puke 252/9 (Ben Hunter 50no, Andrew Randrup 48, Scott Struiksma 45, Michael Barbeau 3/27) defeated Cadets 95 (Sam Owen 44, Paddy Kulaar 5/19)

Points Table (Provisional) Greerton Sikh XI 4, Katikati 26, Whakatane United 26, Te Puke 25, Mount Maunganui 25, Greerton 23, Albion Singh XI 20, Cadets 20, Tauranga Boys College 12, Aquinas College 8. (Albion Singh XI and Aquinas College a game in hand)