Yet Riccarton came probably the closest it has been to a two-day defeat for more than a season when it had only two wickets to spare against a gallant Burnside West-University at Hagley 3 on Saturday.
Burnside-West, which is going through difficult times with player numbers, almost toppled the champion, but a bold unbeaten 39 from talented teenager Hayden Shaw snatched victory from it.
Seeking only the modest target of 112 to win, Riccarton crashed to 53 for six against some demanding medium-pace bowling from Aaron Laraman, Mark Hastings, and Campbell Ogilvie on a deteriorating wicket.
Robbie Frew and Blair Miller added 33 for the sixth wicket but Riccarton lost another two quick wickets to be 87 for eight. Shaw, a gifted all-rounder still at Shirley Boys' High, played his natural hard-hitting game with six fours and a six to spirit the home side to success.
Earlier Burnside-West had mustered 145 in its second innings with No. 9 Kristian Nuttall showing the lead, striking four sixes and three fours in his unbeaten 40. He shared a 61-run stand with Hamish Kember which lifted Burnside from the mire at 83 for eight.
Left-arm spinner Lee Borcoski had four for 22 from eight overs until his fine figures were dented by Nuttall.
Batsmen's paradise
East-Shirley's young batsmen Michael Papps and Marcel McKenzie carried on in the same assertive manner of the previous day. Only eight runs were scored in the first half hour but in the last two hours before the innings was declared 154 was added.
Their partnership for the second wicket was 346, believed to be an East Christchurch-Shirley record. They batted in immaculate fashion until lunchtime playing shots all around the cricket compass. McKenzie batted 288 minutes for his 172 (21 fours, two sixes) and Papps 305 minutes for his 158 (17 fours, one six).
Lancaster Park-Woolston had no difficulty in saving the match. Mark Stewart and Carlos McGillivray prospered for the third wicket with a stand of 93, both scoring well-deserved half centuries.
McKenzie bowled his leg breaks but faltered in the end, his last two overs costing 26, David Grocott put a brake on the scoring with seven maidens in his 10 overs of medium pacers.
Collegians collapse
After conceding a lead of 28 in the first innings Old Collegians came back by bowling Marist out for 152 but then frittered the advantage away with a dire mid-order collapse when five wickets fell for 12 runs.
Craig McConnell held the Marist innings together with a confident 54 and David Cartwright bowled his medium pacers to good effect.
Collegians began the chase for 181 well before the innings folded. Medium-pacer Simon Grainger added to his miserly spell of bowling in Old Collegians' first innings by capturing the valuable wicket of Tim Walton.
St Albans struggle
St Albans was forced to defend grimly in the closing stages with Todd Harris making regular inroads for Sydenham at Hagley 1.
Sydenham, thanks to another classy innings from Hamish Barton, who stroked an unbeaten 86 with 14 fours, had set St Albans 167 to win in about 37 overs, but the chase was almost immediately aborted when its first three batsmen fell for ducks.
Harris worked his way through the St Albans batting and finished with the outstanding figures of six for 22.
Short scoreboards
Burnside West-University 163 and 145 lost to Riccarton 197-4 dec (A
Habib 67no) and 114-8 by two wickets;
Marist 211-8 dec and 152 (C O'Connell 54; D Cartwright 5-76) beat Old
Collegians 183 and 115 by 65 runs;
Lancaster Park-Woolston 235-7 dec and 182-3 (M Stewart 71, C
McGillivray 52no) drew with East Christchurch-Shirley 373-5 dec (M
Papps 159, M McKenzie 172);
Sydenham 192 and 172-4 dec (H Barton 86no) drew with St Albans 198-8
dec and 79-8 (T Harris 6-22).
Points after four rounds:
Riccarton 64, HSOB 28, Burnside-West 24, East-Shirley 21, Old Collegians 18, Lancaster Park-Woolston 17, Marist 16, Sydenham 5, St Albans 4.