Williams Cup Preview 21st January

Posted: Thursday, 19 January 2017

Element IMF Cadets And Carrus Mount Maunganui Sit At The Top Of The Williams Cup Standings

Element IMF Cadets and Carrus Mount Maunganui, who sit at the top of the Williams Cup standings, are the only undefeated sides after the opening two rounds of the 2017 fifty over per side competition.

The introduction of the white ball to the Baywide championship for the first time, has given the title race a new twist, with sides having to adapt to less swing from the ball.

This Saturday (21 January 2017) Cadets will play defending Williams Cup title holders New World Te Puke, at the Tauranga Domain. Cadets all-rounder Ben Christensen has been in sizzling form with both bat and ball in the last two weeks. A five wicket bag in round one was followed up with his sides top score of 73 not out last weekend.

Te Puke have made a slow start to their title defence, with two losses and need to win at the Tauranga Domain to keep the competition leaders within their sights. Te Puke bowler Calem Taylor started the second half of the season with a bang, taking five wickets for 23 runs in round one.

Mount Maunganui, have been the front-runner in the Bay of Plenty Cricket championship in the last decade, winning the Baywide big prize on four occasions. The Mount are at home against Bayleys Central Indians with the form book suggesting that they should continue their unbeaten run of form.

The top two spots in the current Williams Cup batting stakes are held down by the Mount Maunganui opening pair of Brenton Thompson and Nick Smith. Thompson sits at the top of the list with 162 runs, with a best score of 97, with Smith having posted 104 runs in his first two 2017 Williams Cup outings.

Central Indians unlocked their potential in the opening game of the Williams Cup defeating current title holders Te Puke. The Rotorua side have a pair of match winning bowlers in Himesh Gosai and Andrew Gibbs, with Gosai sitting in top equal on the wicket taking ladder with five bowling scalps.

Eve's Realty Greerton and Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College meet at Greerton HQ at Pemberton Park. Both sides have a genuine match winner with the bat. Usual Greerton opener Tom MacRury blasted his side to victory against Central Indians last weekend, smashing 76 off just 53 balls, batting at three.
Tauranga Boys joint mentor Charles Williams knows plenty about Pemberton Park have previously played for Greerton. A fighting knock of 70 not out put his team right in the game against Cadets last Saturday, with Williams who is a big striker of the ball, capable of putting Fraser Street under attack in round three.

BOPCA Williams Cup Draw 21 January 2017
Carrus Mount Maunganui v Bayleys Central Indians, Blake1; Element IMF Cadets v New World Te Puke, Tauranga Domain; Eves Realty Greerton v Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College, Pemberton Park.

Williams Cup Points Table: Carrus Mount Maunganui 12, Element IMF Cadets12, Bayleys Central Indians 6, Eves Realty Greerton 6, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College 0, New World Te Puke 0.

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