By PETER PUSAL
Wesram Taora (109-10) needed nothing less than a victory over KCC (150-10) to keep their slim finals hopes alive on Saturday but failed by 41 runs in another low scoring encounter at Amini Park.
In the Saturday Motu-Koita local derby KCC took home the points as well as any hope Wesram had of squeezing into the final four with a typical psych-out game when they bowled out Wesram for a paltry 109 chasing only 151 for victory.
KCC won the toss and elected to bat. Eava Lamond played a solid innings of 40 until caught out at deep mid-on attempting a slog sweep. William Harry (28) was also handy with the bat before edging one to Wesram keeper Ipi Morea who had an impressive game with the gloves.
Wesram bowlers plied themselves well with Oala Agonia 3-23 and Sam Idau 3-24 doing the most damage.
The Wesram chase was always going to be a tough ask especially with the vocal Koita crowd egging their players on. Rarua Ipi (24) was the only Taora batsman to offer some fight in an otherwise disappointing end to their semi-final hopes.
For KCC the talismanic and hugely talented William Harry made his presence felt by pulling off two super catches. The best of which was a ripper at mid-off to dismiss Loa Sisia in the 18th over.
KCC are the ultimate confidence team because they thrive on crowd support and seem to grow an extra arm and leg in this atmosphere.
For KCC the win has all but cemented a top four berth and carried on by raucous supporters they will definitely flourish in the big match atmosphere of the finals.
In other results over the weekend the Poreporena vs. United match was called off due to time however the result will not affect either team’s finals chances. The Pom Cricket board will decide the outcome of that match during the week.