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Week Two Review - 14 October 2024

What Happened in Bay of Plenty Cricket Last Week

It was a busy weekend for the Baywide premier players who played two rounds of the Venture Developments T20 series - and the Bay of Plenty Women's side who had four matches in a ND pre-season competition hit-out.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui sit at the top of the T20 standings with three straight victories, while Eves Realty Greerton lurk just behind with two wins from their two completed encounters.

The early round on the second day of the new season, saw Mount Maunganui defend 162 for the loss of nine wickets, against Papamoa. Gagandeep Singh Samra, batting at the top of the innings, finished with his sides top score of 36.

Element IMF Cadets posted the first of their two wins of the day when they chased down Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians target of 167. The combined teams skipper, Jeff Simmons, was the best of their batters reaching 71 from only 34 balls.

Cadets Marcel Collett, finished his turn at bat on 99 not out, when the Western Bay side reached the required runs for the loss of seven wickets. Craig's Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College and Generation Homes Lake Taupo also collected the win points of offer, in round three.

Big hitting Greerton opening batsman, Tom MacRury, was another to get within touching distance of a century, against Lake Taupo. The visitors posted a solid 160/5 with the Western Bay team reaching their target with seven wickets in hand.

Papamoa grabbed their first victory of the competition after they chased down Flying Mullet Te Puke's 145 for eight wickets. Xavier Lee anchored the Papamoa run chase with a hard fought 61 runs.

Cadets notched up their second win with a 33 run victory against Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City with Mount Maunganui beating Central Indians.

BOPCA Venture Developments Baywide T20 - 7 October 2023

Round Three

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 146/6 (Caleb Bates 54, Michael Mitchell 37) defeated Flying Mullet Te Puke 128 (Ben Roborgh 34, Ben Vyver 31; Nadis Shikha 3/42)

Craig's Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College 233 (Seb Heath 105, Luke Scrimgeour 73) defeated Craig's Investment Partners Geyser City 163

Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians 166/7 (Jeff Simmons 71, Mitch Kane 37; Jean Roux 3/37) lost to Element IMF Cadets 169/7 (Marcel Collett 99no; Jack Rowe 3/15)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 162/9 (GS Samra 36) defeated Papamoa

Eves Realty Greerton the bye

Round Four

Lake Taupo 160/5 (Nafis Shaikh 64, Caleb Batesb45) lost to Greerton 163/2 (Tom MacRury 95, Luke Spargo 31no)

Cadets 180/7 (Andrew Mascall 45, Sam Clegg 40, Jamie Coombe 34no) defeated Geyser City 147/6 (GS Brar 36, Scott McKnight 35no)

Mount Maunganui 130/9 (Peter Drysdale 30, Carl Brungar 30no) defeated Central Indians

Te Puke 145/8 (Keegan Russell 43, Stephen Crossan 36; Mathew Rees 3/13) lost to Papamoa 147/7 (Xavier Lee 61)

Tauranga Boys College the bye

The Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Women's team, had a very successful four game pre-season hit-out in the National Women's Club T20 title tournament, played at Napier over the weekend.

Playing by invitation, the Bay side fine tuned their cricket skills with four straight victories. First up they gave the host side a cricket lesson, posting 140/9, then restricting their opponents to 32/9. The Bay of Plenty individual stars were Nensi Patel with 56 runs and Mayelan Opperman who took three wickets for four runs on debut.

Saturdays two T20 matches, against Parnell and Upper Hutt both produced positive results, with Tash Wakelin top scoring in both games, with 67 and 51 runs in the scorebook.

Sundays playoff against Napier Cricket Club resulted in one-way traffic with a six wicket win. Napier were removed for 46 with Bay of Plenty getting home for the loss of just four wickets.

National Women's Club T20 Championship - Napier 13-15 October 2023

Round One - Bay of Plenty 140/9 (Nensi Patel 56) defeated Napier CC 32/9 (Mayelan Opperman 3-4)

Round Two - Bay of Plenty 132/3 (Tash Wakelin 67) defeated Parnell CC 195/8 (Nensi Patel 3/15)

Round Three - Upper Hutt 96/9 lost to Bay of Plenty 97.5 (Tash Wakelin 51)

Playoffs - Napier 47 lost to Bay of Plenty 50/4

SEVERAL BATSMEN LOOK TO CONTINUE THEIR BIG STARTS IN THE BAYWIDE T20 TITLE RACE

Several batsmen will look to continue their big starts in the Venture Developments Baywide T20 championship this Saturday (14 October 2023), after posting big numbers on the start of the new season last weekend.

Element IMF Cadets skipper, Andrew Mascall smashed the first century of the new premier season, in posting 106 against Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College. Mascall smacked his big total off only 52 balls in a innings that included eight big shots over the boundary ropes. However his big score counted for nothing, with the round four match rained out, after the Cadets turn at bat.

This Saturday Cadets will meet Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians and Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City, in the next two stanzas of the Baywide T20 competition. Tauranga Boys College will engage in hostilities with Geyser City before sitting out the bye in round four.

Few premier batsmen hit the ball harder and further than Eves Realty Greerton, Tom MacRury. MacRury was in top form in round one last Saturday with 59 from 26 balls in his side defeat of Geyser City.

The other batter to make big inroads against the opposition bowlers with his willow weapon was Generation Homes Lake Taupo, Michael Mitchell, who posted 62 not out in his sides upset of Cadets.

The likely biggest showdown of the weekend will come when Greerton take on the team from the Great Lake region, with both teams, putting their unbeaten start to the T20 title race on the line.

Four time Baywide T20 titleholders Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, made a winning start to their fifth T20 title chase, and will square off with Papamoa on the showcase Alice Johnson Oval, before meeting Central Indians.

Flying Mullet Te Puke, who can date their club history back to 1886, have round three and four appointments with Lake Taupo CC and Papamoa.

BOPCA Venture Developments Baywide T20 -  Points Table

Eves Realty Greerton 9

Generation Homes Lake Taupo CC 9

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 9

Flying Mullet Te Puke 6

Element IMF Cadets 3

Papamoa 3

Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College 3

Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians 3

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City.

BOPCA Venture Developments Baywide T20 Draw 14 October 2023 (All Games Alice Johnson Oval/Gordon Spratt Reserve)

Round Three

Generation Homes Lake Taupo CC v Flying Mullet Te Puke, Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City v Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College, Papamoa v Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians v Element IMF Cadets, Eves Realty Greerton the bye.

Round Four

Eves Realty Greerton v Generation Homes Lake Taupo CC, Element IMF Cadets v Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City, Bond & Co Mount Maunganui v Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians, Papamoa v Flying Mullet Te Puke, Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College the bye.

“What Happened in Bay of Plenty Cricket Last Week”

Week One - Week Ending 7 October 2023

With dark clouds hovering, the opening round of the BOPCA Venture Developments Baywide T20 was completed, before the Western Bay weather ended proceedings half way through the second stanza.

The first century of the new 2023-24 Bay of Plenty Cricket season counted for nothing, when Element IMF Cadets second-up encounter with Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College was rained off.

Cadets skipper Andrew Mascall hammered 106 runs off just 52 balls at a strike rate of 203 (per one hundred balls). Mascall belted eight 4's and another eight balls over the boundary ropes, in his quickfire innings.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo, showed that they will be a competitive force in Baywide premier cricket this season, in beating Cadets by 38 runs in the early action at Blake Park.

Michael Mitchell batting at four led the way with an unbeaten 62 as his side reached 169 for the loss of just four wickets. The Taupo sides wickets were shared around, with the bowlers restricting the Western Bay side to 131/8.

Eves Realty Greerton spinner James Boyd did plenty of damage with the ball, taking four wickets at a cost of 21 runs, as Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City were limited to 103 with a solitary wicket remaining. Tom MacRury smacked 59 off 26 balls to carry Greerton to a six wicket victory.

The biggest win of the day was posted by Flying Mullet Te Puke in beating Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians by 78 runs. Te Puke won the toss and posted 171 runs for seven wickets. The Te Puke bowlers strangled the Rotorua sides reply in removing them for just 93.

Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College, struggled with the intensity of the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui bowlers to restrict the school side to 107/6. Mount Maunganui cruised to a seven wicket win with team veteran Peter Drysdale top scoring with 46 runs.

BOPCA Venture Developments Baywide T20 - 7 October 2023

Round One

Flying Mullet Te Puke 171/7 (Iman Nahal 66no, Josh Earle 37) defeated Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians 93 (Ben Roborgh 3/21)

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 169/4 (Michael Mitchell 62no, Archie Harrison 43, Nafis Shaikh 30) defeated Element IMF Cadets 131/8 (Blake Pentecost 39)

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 103/9 (James Boyd 4/21) lost to Eves Realty Greerton 105/4 (Tom MacRury 59)

Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College 107/6 (Aryan Aryal 34) lost to Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 108/3 (Peter Drysdale 46)

Papamoa the bye

 

Round Two (All games abandoned)

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 121/2 (Archie Harrison 45no) – Bond & Co Mount Maunganui

Element IMF Cadets 189/3 (Andrew Mascall 106, Sam Clode 51no) - Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College

Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians 164/8 (Stephen Nicholls 47) - Eves Realty Greerton 0/30

Papamoa v Craig Investment Partners Geyser City

Flying Mullet Te Puke the bye

BOPCA BAYWIDE PREMIER PREVIEW 2023-24

The two Bay of Plenty Cricket premier teams that held aloft Baywide trophies in triumph last season have re-appointed the same team leadership for the 2023-24 season.

Element IMF Cadets won the big prize in Baywide premier cricket, beating Bond & Co  Mount Maunganui by two wickets in the 2022-23 Versatile Williams Cup title decider. Andrew Mascall, will captain the team based at the Tauranga Domain for the fourth year in succession, with Cadets club coach Sam Owen, mentoring the premier troops.

Eves Realty Greerton, have again appointed Anish Desai to the dual role of leading his team on the field and tutoring the finer points of the game in the nets. The 2022-23 season was a vintage year for the Greerton premiers who won both the Bay of Plenty Cup and the Baywide T20 competition.

Consistency over the three Baywide competition was rewarded with the Hart Family Trophy Champion of Champions award, being presented to Bond & Co Mount Maunganui at the annual prize giving.

Current Bay of Plenty Representative team skipper, Ben Pomare, will guide  Mount Maunganui as they endeavour to add to their 11 Hart Family Trophy titles. Experience in spades on the field of play has seen Ben Musgrave move into the premier coach’s role at Blake Park. The new Mount mentor played 64 games in the Bay representative strip including skippering the side for two seasons.

Rotorua Baywide contenders Sandford Wall Lawyers Central Indians finished last season with a flourish. in taking out the Williams Cup Plate. Jeff Simmons returns to the combined premier team to captain and mentor the side which has had little change from last year's representatives.

Long-time Flying Mullet Te Puke coach Pete Swan is sure to have his troops well prepared to build on last season’s solid performances. Te Puke were denied the opportunity to lift aloft the Baywide T20 trophy when rain blighted both the semi-final and title decider. They were awarded second place in the twenty over per team competition after finishing second on the ladder in the regular season play. Mikare Leef and Iman Nahal will co-captain the oldest Bay of Plenty premier club team.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo, who made their Baywide entrance in 2016, will look to build on their first Baywide top four finish, after reaching the Williams Cup semi-finals. Habib Malik retains the captaincy, with Nafis Shaikh and Archie Harrison bringing impressive credentials from Derbyshire in the UK.

Craig's Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College, has provided a springboard of future success for the multitude of graduates of the TBC cricket pathway. New player coach Scott Curtis, is joined by Nina Parmar from Japan and a new batch of First XI players from the TBC pathway. Sebastian Heath has earned the captain's role for the new cricket year.

Papamoa made their first appearance on a top-four competition leader board six months ago, winning two Williams Cup Plate encounters, to meet Central Indians in the final of the competition. The team that call the Alice Johnson Oval in Papamoa home, will be co-captained by Nikhil Vishwanath and Edward Sclater and coached by Simon Herbst.

Craig Investment Partners Geyser City have a policy of promoting and developing young cricket talent in the Rotorua region. There have been few changes from last season's young lineup. Alexander Roy and Ravi Yarwood-Paintal will travel from the UK to join the team. Alexander Roy, who will captain and coach the Geyser City premiers, brings impressive credentials of representing The Netherlands.

The new premier cricket season kicks of with two weeks of the Baywide T20 competition. Players and fans alike will be hoping for better weather than twelve months ago when the semi-finals and the final were rained out, with the title being awarded to Greerton. who finished as the top qualifier in preliminary play.

Bay of Plenty Cricket Premier Team Details 2023-24

Element IMF Cadets

Home Ground: Tauranga Domain

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: Williams Cup Champions, 3rd = Baywide T20

2023/24 Captain: Andrew Mascall

Player Gains: Sam Clode, Logan Murray, Sam Clegg, Francios Potgietor

Player Losses: Carson Wills

Coach: Sam Owen

 

Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians

Home Ground: Smallbone Park/Boord Park

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: Williams Cup Plate Winners.

2023/24 Captain: Jeff Simmons

Player Gains: Ben Holt, Jeff Simmons

Player Losses: Nil

Coach: Jeff Simmons

 

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City Cricket

Home Ground: Smallbone/Boord Park

2023/24 Captain: Alexander Roy

Player Gains: Alexander Roy (UK) Ravi Yarwood-Paintal (UK) Magan Vashisht (Central Indians)

Player Losses: Tyler McGladdery (UK)

Coach: Alexander Roy

 

Eves Realty Greerton

Home Ground: Pemberton Park

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: Bay of Plenty Cup Champions; Baywide T20 Champions, 3rd = Williams Cup Plate

2023/24 Captain: Anish Desai

Player Gains: Loughie Keaney, Andrew Friskney, Billy Syme, Tim Clarke, Josh Espitalier (Tauranga Boys College) Luca Adsett,  Blair McKenzie

Player Losses: Nick O’Sullivan, Brandan Laurenzi, Shane Wineti, Harrsion Perry

Coach: Anish Desai

 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo CC

Home Ground: Owen Delaney Park

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: 3rd = Williams Cup

2023/24 Captain: Habib Malik

Player Gains: Nafir Shaikh, Archie Harrison (Derbyshire UK)

 

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui

Home Ground: Blake Park

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: Baywide Champion of Champions, Williams Cup runner-up, 3rd = Bay of Plenty Cup, 3rd = Baywide T20

2023/24 Captain: Ben Pomare

Player Gains: Carl Brungar (Auckland A experience)

Player Losses: Kade Smit, Riley Brady, Andrew Halbert

Coach: Ben Musgrave

 

Papamoa

Home Ground: Alice Johnson Oval @ Gordon Spratt Reserve

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: Williams Cup Plate runner-up.

2023/24 Co-Captains: Nikhil Vishwanath, Edward Sclater

Player Gains: Kade Smit, Mathew Rees, Allan Arora

Player Losses: Rohit Sardarjoshi, Reece Sheldon

Coach: Simon L Herbst

 

Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College

Home Ground: Nicholson Field

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: Bay of Plenty Cup runner-up, 3rd = Williams Cup Plate

2023/24 Captain: Seb Heath

Player Gains: Scott Curtis (Player/Coach) Nihar Parma (Japan), Jake Stott, Oliver Norwood, Reuben Swanepoel, Billy Ramsden, Sam Cross, Aryan Aryal (TBC Pathway).

Player Losses: Sam Clode, Loughie Keaney, Andrew Friskney, Billy Syme, Josh Espitalier, Luke Spargo, Logan Murray.

Coach: Scott Curtis

 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke

Home Ground: Te Puke Domain

2022/23 Top-Four Baywide Finishes: 3rd = Williams Cup, 3rd = Bay of Plenty Cup, Baywide T20 runner-up.

2023/24 Co-Captains: Mikaere Leef and Iman Nahal

Player Gains: Pip Thickpenny, Fynn Williamson, Sachith Muthukumarana.

Player Losses: Blair McKenzie

Coach: Pete Swan

BAY OF PLENTY COACH DANIEL FLYNN TAKES UP NEW ROLE AT NDCA

Bay of Plenty coach Daniel Flynn, has been appointed as the new Performance and Talent Coach at Northern Districts Cricket Association, leaving his role as head coach of the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Cricket Senior Mens Team.

BOPCA Chair, Emma Talbot, has expressed her excitement for Flynn's new role, saying "This is a fantastic opportunity for Dan, and we are very excited for him and this next part of his coaching journey. We are very grateful for all his hard work with our Bay men's team over the past two years."

Flynn also expressed his gratitude to Bay of Plenty Cricket for the opportunity to coach the men's side, stating "It’s a talented group of players that have worked hard and I have no doubt will enjoy some success over the coming seasons."

Flynn will take up his new role in the coming weeks, and Bay of Plenty Cricket Association will begin the process of finding a replacement for the head coach position.

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNER SENIOR MENS 2022/2023 SEASON RECAP

The Craigs Investment Partners Senior Mens cricket season started with a Two Day match against Northland. Northland won the toss and opted to bat. Where they scored 251/10 (86.1), with Iman Singh taking 3-29 off his 12 overs and Josh Earle taking 2-38. 

Bay of Plenty responded with 302/5 in 86 overs. Fergus Lellman scored 119 where he faced 186 balls. While Ben Pomare scored 55 not out and Marcel Collett scored at a steady rate with 51 runs from 152 balls. 

Bay of Plenty came away with their first win of the season. Winning on the first innings.

 

Round two was a bye, while round three against Counties Manukau in a One Day match at Mountfort Park was abandoned due to weather conditions.

 

In round four, Bay of Plenty won the toss and elected to bat in a One Day match against Hamilton at Bay Oval. Bay of Plenty scored 158 after being bowled all out in 47.3 overs. M Collett scored 48 off 94 balls and Blair McKenzie scoring the next best of 29. 

Hamilton responded with 159/6 (42.2), after both bowling 9 overs Liam Collett had the best bowling figures as took he 2 wickets for 30 runs and Craig Baldry in a close second as he took 2-33. 

Although it wasn’t quite enough for Bay of Plenty, Hamilton won by 4 wickets.

 

Round five to nine were part of a T20 Competition called Northern Brave Smash. 

 

In round five and the first game of T20’s against Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty won the toss and elected to bowl due to the condition of the grounds. 

Counties Manukau scored 117/6 (13), with Dominic Crombie taking 3 wickets for 34 runs in 3 overs and Tom Macrury taking 2 wickets for 5 runs in his 2 overs. 

In response, Bay of Plenty scored 118/4 in a short 11.1 overs. With Pomare scoring 51 (29), Lellman scoring 27 (12), and McKenzie (27*) contributing an unbeaten 27 runs in 17 balls. 

Adding another win, Bay of Plenty won by 6 wickets according to the DLS.

 

Taking on Waikato Valley, Bay of Plenty was put to bat after losing the toss. Where they lost 8 wickets and put 178 on the board after batting the full 20 overs. Andrew Mascall top scored with 61 runs, while both McKenzie and Ollie Curtis scored 27 runs. Fortunately for Bay of Plenty, Waikato Valley fell short by 8 runs, scoring 170/7 after their 20 overs. Crombie picked up 2 wickets restricting Waikato Valley to 19 runs off his bowling. Earle bowled 4 overs where he picked his figures of 2-44 up.

Bay of Plenty won by 8 runs and picked up their third win for the season. 

 

In the seventh round against Northland, our Bay of Plenty men's team lost the toss, and Northland chose to bat first. Northland scored 153/4 in their 20 overs, with Baldry taking 2-22 and Ollie Curtis taking 1-22. Bay of Plenty's response was 150/8 in 20 overs, with Lellman making 52 off 35 balls and Tom Macrury contributing 36 off 31 balls. Unfortunately, Bay of Plenty’s efforts were not enough, and Northland won by 6 wickets.

 

Round eight and nine against Hamilton and Northern Districts U19 respectively, were cancelled. Bay of Plenty had a bye in round 10.

Bay of Plenty's men's cricket team faced a mixed bag of results in their recent matches. 

 

In round eleven against Waikato Valley, played at Te Puke Domain, Waikato won the toss and elected to bowl. Bay of Plenty put up a strong total of 283/9 off 50 overs, with Bharat Popli scoring 60 off 75 balls, McKenzie scoring 55 and Pomare contributing 41 runs off just 35 balls. Waikato Valley could only manage 134/10 off 25.3 overs in response, with Iman Singh taking 4-28 off 5.3 overs, Baldry took 3-55 off 4 overs, and Earle taking 2-14. 

Bay of Plenty won by a convincing 149 runs under DLS.

 

Unfortunately, the following matches didn't go as planned for Bay of Plenty. Round twelve, a Two Day match against Hamilton at Galloway Park, and round thirteen, a One Day match against Northland at Bourne Dean Park, were abandoned due to flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle. 

 

Bay of Plenty faced Waikato Valley in a two-day match at St Pauls Collegiate. Waikato won the toss and decided to bat first, setting a total of 344 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 100.3 overs. Pete Drysdale took 5 wickets for 80 runs in 24.3 overs, while Baldry took 2 wickets for 91 runs in his 30 over spell.

In response, Bay of Plenty Cricket team scored 222 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 88.4 overs. M Collett scored 58 runs off 127 balls, Singh scored 48 runs and Earle (31*) remained unbeaten at 31 runs off 76 balls. In the second innings, Bay of Plenty scored 56 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 13 overs, with Pete Drysdale top score with 25 runs off 35 balls. Waikato Valley won on the first innings.

 

In their final match of the season, Bay of Plenty Cricket team faced Counties Manukau at Bay Oval in a two-day match. Counties won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 224 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 88 overs. Baldry took 5 wickets for 76 runs in 39 overs, while Earle took 3 wickets for 37 runs. In reply, Bay of Plenty were all out for 188. A strong performance from Ben Pomare (95) and Blair McKenzie (56) was the highlight of the innings forming a 145 run partnership for the 3rdwicket.

 

With 50 overs left in the day, both sides attempted to force an outright result. Bay of Plenty restricted Counties Manukau to 142 for 9 (declared) off 33 overs. Craig Baldry continued his first innings form claiming 4 further wickets to his match total whilst Iman Singh picked up 4 wickets also. With a target of 178 runs in 17 overs, the chase was a tough ask for the Bay of Plenty side as they managed 120 for 6 off their 17 overs. Marcel Collet was unbeaten on 43* whilst Niven Dovey scored a quick fire 29 off 12 balls.

However, their efforts and luck wasn’t quite there. Counties Manukau won on the first innings.

BAY OF PLENTY SENIOR WOMENS 2022/2023

Women's cricket is an incredibly exciting and dynamic sport that provides an excellent platform for female athletes to showcase their talent and skills. Having a women's representative team is a significant milestone in promoting gender equality in sports and providing opportunities for female players to compete at a higher level. It's awesome to see these talented women pushing boundaries and challenging stereotypes, inspiring young girls around the bay to follow their dreams and pursue their passion for cricket. By supporting and investing in women's cricket, we can create a more inclusive and diverse sporting community that celebrates and values the contributions of all athletes.

The Bay of Plenty Women’s team had an exciting inaugural season that culminated in a tri-series with Counties-Manukau and Waikato-Valley/Hamilton. Earlier in the season, the development side travelled to Hawkes Bay and performed admirably.

 

Led by Captain Tash Wakelin, the team comprises a blend of young talent and experienced players who relished the opportunity to play 50-over games on grass. The first game of the tri-series saw the team travel to Karaka Sports Park to take on Counties-Manukau. After winning the toss and opting to bowl, the team restricted Counties to 167/8 in their 50 overs. Bowling honours were shared by Brittany who took 3 wickets, while Grace Duncan and Tash Wakelin each took 2.

 

The chase got off to a great start with Wakelin and Amelia Harvey forming a 45-run opening partnership. However, wickets fell in the middle, and Wendy Horneman (20) and Macy Adams had to consolidate the innings. An unbeaten 41 by Adams, assisted by McKenzie Grant (12*) helped BOP reach their target in the 44th over.

 

The next game was played at Blake Park, alongside the men's team. Horneman was unable to play due to injury, and Holly Topp was also absent. 

 

Nevertheless, their presence and help with warm-up and training were vital in building team culture. The team was bolstered by the inclusion of Nensi Patel. Unfortunately, BOP lost the toss and had to field first. Brittany Jenkins struck early, and the Waikato Valley innings never really gained momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals. Patel showed her class with the ball, taking an impressive 5 for 12 off her 10 overs. Waikato Valley was all out for 77. Wakelin and Harvey opened the batting and maintained a brisk scoring rate, chasing down the total in the 12th over. Wakelin finished unbeaten on 28, while Harvey scored 34. Being the top two run-scorers for the team.

 

Looking ahead to next season, the team hopes to see a regular competition structure that mirrors The Men's Fergus Hickey Competition. The inaugural season was a success, and the team will be looking to build on their performances and continue to develop their skills.

BAY OF PLENTY U16 GIRLS | T20 MATCHES

The Bay of Plenty U16 girls cricket team participated in two T20 matches at Waikato University in Hamilton over the weekend. With Northern Districts players Holly Topp and Nensi Patel as coaches.

 

In the first game against Hamilton, Bay of Plenty restricted their opponents to 80 for 5 after 20 overs. Meanwhile, with 9 wickets in hand at the end of their 14 overs, they easily chased down the target of 81 for 1, with Jess Benge (25*) and Sadie Stewart (21*) leading the scoring. 

With Sadie Stewart, Jess Benge, Maia Basile and Rachel Duffet taking a wicket each. 

 

In the second game against Counties, Bay of Plenty batted first and put up 104 runs, losing 6 wickets. With Rachel Duffet not out on 39 runs and Amelia Grason (21) the lead scorers for the second game. Despite batting out the full 20 overs, they had 4 wickets in hand and had to put pressure on Counties. Bay of Plenty's Sadie Stewart claimed 5 wickets, while Mayelen Opperman took 2 wickets, restricting Counties to 92 runs and securing a win for Bay of Plenty.

 

Bay of Plenty U16 Girls Team:

Sadie Stewart

Abigail Sims

Charli Parkinson

Rachel Duffet

Sophie Macken

Maia Basile

Mackenzie Hohaia

Stella Hoskin

Jess Benge

Summer Taruia

Amelia Grason

Mayelan Opperman

FERGUS HICKEY RECAP VS WAIKATO VALLEY 2023

After winning the toss, Waikato Valley chose to bat first and put on an impressive batting display. Taylor Bettelheim (179) and Dillon Kelliher (50) got off to a flying start, putting on a partnership of 101 runs before Kelliher was dismissed LBW. James Field (88) also made a valuable contribution to the innings, but the rest of the team could only manage 23 runs between them. Waikato Valley ended up scoring 344 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 100 overs, with Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty's Pete Drysdale (5/80) being the pick of the bowlers.

In response, Marcel Collett started strongly but struggled to find a teammate to form a partnership with - he was dismissed after facing 127 balls for 58. Coming in at 8 Iman Nahal put on an impressive 48 however, the rest of the batting lineup struggled, and the team was bowled out for 222 runs. With Waikato Valley having secured a lead of 122 runs, Bay of Plenty were forced to follow on.

In their second innings, Bay of Plenty finished up on 52/2 at the end of the second day's play. Pete Drysdale was the top scorer with an unbeaten 25 off 35 balls, but it was not enough to prevent Waikato Valley from winning the match on the basis of their first innings lead.

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty will be looking to bounce back in their last representative game of the season against Counties Manukau at Bay Oval on 18th and 19th March.

 

Bay of Plenty  222/10 (88.4 overs) Marcel Collect 58, Iman Singh 48; Alex Wilton 3-31

52/2 (13 overs) Pete Drysdale 25*, Blair McKenzie 13; Campbell McKegg 1-10

Waikato Valley 344/10 (100.3 overs) Taylor Bettelheim 179, James Field 88; Pete Drysdale 5-80

Waikato Valley win on first innings.

GREERTON WIN THE 2022/23 BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP

A dominant performance from the Greerton Cricket Club lads have seen them add another trophy to the cabinet this season.

Strong with bat in hand, Greerton put 449 runs on the board with Charles Williams (171) Anish Desai (73) and Tom MacRury (56) top scoring.

Special mention to Tauranga Boys' College Cricket bowler Loughlin Keaney who bowled a mammoth 37 overs, taking 3 wickets.

With a huge task ahead, Tauranga Boys had no reply, finishing up on 139 with Tim Clarke (42) top scoring with the bat as Tom Macrury ripped through the line up taking 6 wickets for 59 runs.

Player/Coach Anish Desai couldnt be prouder of his side and was full of praise for the senior team members who led the way.

"The result exceeded even our expectations. We couldn’t have performed much better as a team both with bat and ball led by Potsy’s 171. I am extremely proud of what the boys have achieved this season. To finish with 2 trophies including winning the first ever 2 day final for the baywide and the clubs first t20 comp is something the club very proud of."

 

RESULTS

Eves Greerton 449/10 (122.2) 

Charles Williams 171 (236), Anish Desai 73 (174), Tom MacRury 56 (32); Loughlin Keaney 3/94, Jake Riley 2/44

Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Boys College 139/10 (47.1)

Tim Clarke 42 (81), Logan Murray 25 (33); Tom MacRury 6/59

Greerton won by 310 runs

GEYSER CITY CRICKET CLUB GIRLS | INVITATIONAL HAWKES BAY TOURNAMENT TEAM

After a long hard 4 days, fighting hard in the middle down in Hawke’s Bay the Geyser City Cricket Club Girls Invitational team managed to take a win, and narrowly losing the toughest matches. 

 

Playing Auckland, Wellington and Hawke’s Bay teams Sabine Attrill did well with the bat - top scoring with 139 runs at an average of 34.75. While with the ball Mackenzie Grant, has an average of 14.20. Taking 10 wickets. 

 

For sisters, Oceana and Maanani Challans this was the first time ever playing. Having Oceana scoring the winning runs against Johnsonville, and sister Maanani scoring the top score of 20. Highlights the most memorable moment for Geysers Girls side. 

 

Team List:

Sabine Atrill

Mackenzie Grant

Jess Benge

Sadie Stewart

Summer Taruia

Charli Parkinson

Abigail Sims

Maanani Challans

Oceana Challans

Jade Stewart

BRIAN DUNNING ROUND 4 | TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT

The Craigs Investment Bay of Plenty Men’s side is looking strong, having Northern Districts A players back to take on Waikato Valley this Sunday at Te Puke Domain. 

 

We welcome back Pete Drysdale and Bharat Popli to the side after being away with the Northern Districts side. 

 

After four Bay of Plenty players appeared in two T20 fixtures against Auckland A yesterday at St Paul’s Collegiate. 

 

A quick trip over the Kaimai’s, didn’t stop the success. Drysdale contributed a huge 47* score to their win of 44 runs in the first fixture of the day. A good knock wasn’t enough for Drysdale, heading out into the second match, he claimed the poles of 4 victims. 

 

Bay of Plenty’s Men captain, Ben Pomare (22) hit 2 sixes facing 18 balls. Not only did Pomare contribute during the first game, taking a catch and assisting Drysdale with a stumping. 

 

While captain Lellman, took the wickets of 3 batsmen within 3 overs. Lellman (19*) and Popli (51*) knew what they had to do. After chasing down the score of Auckland, Bay of Plenty teammates closed the innings together.

 

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty

F. Lellman

B. Popli 

B. McKenzie 

P. Drysdale

B. Pomare

A. Mascall

O. Curtis 

I. Singh

D. Crombie

J. Earle

S. Lund

C. Baldry

 

Brian Dunning Round 4

Vs Waikato Valley

Te Puke Domain

22nd January 2023

TAURANGA BOYS COLLEGE MAKE HISTORY IN THE BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP

It was a touchy start on Saturday for the final round of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty BOP Cup - especially in Rotorua where Geyser City and Lake Taupo couldn’t escape the rain. 

 

A massive 214 run win against Papamoa wasn’t enough for Te Puke to make it into the finals. 

Iman Singh took the Papamoa bowlers head on, closing the first innings with a score of 105*. While Josh Earle (61*) watched Singh from the non-striker's end hit a 4 to end the 49th over.

 

Earle went on to open the bowling for Te Puke, taking his first wicket by the end of the 7th over and claiming the wickets of 2 other Papamoa players, only going for 25 runs. 

While Ben Roborgh added 4 to the tally, ending up with figures of 4-21.

 

Te Puke 307/3, 49 overs (Iman Singh 105*, Josh Earle 61*; Sean Crotty 1-43)

Papamoa 93/10, 29.5 overs (Nikhil Vishwanath 24, Xavier Lea 23; Ben Roborgh 4-21)

Te Puke Won by 214 Runs

 

Over at Pemberton Park, Greerton managed to come away with a winning draw against Tauranga Boys putting them into the Final. For Tauranga Boys, although they conceded a losing draw, they managed to make history, securing themselves a spot in the final for the first time ever. 

 

Greerton 242/5, 39.1 overs (Anish Desai 74, Harrison Perry 56; Darcy Collett 2-53)

Tauranga Boys 162/4, 50 overs (Logan Murray 50, Luke Scimegour 34; Ben Lind 2-13)

Greerton Won by 5 Wickets

 

Down the road at Blake Park, Otumoetai Cadets came out on top against Mount Maunganui. 

 

Batting the full 60 overs, meant Mount Maunganui weren’t able to use extra overs to chase down the cadets total of  210. 

 

With 1.2 overs to spare, Cadets managed to bowl Mount Maunganui out for 164. 

 

Mount Maunganui 164/10, 48.4 overs 

Otumoetai Cadets 210/10, 60 overs

Cadets Won by 46 Runs

MATCH RECAP | CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS BAY OF PLENTY VS HAMILTON

After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Bay soon found themselves in strife at 1/1. Marcel Collett and Blair McKenzie came together to form a partnership of 64 and put the home side in a solid position. A quick succession of wickets saw saw the home side looking to defend 158 against a strong Hamilton batting line up.

Greerton Coach, Anish Desai led the way for Hamilton, scoring the lion's share of runs with 63 off 65 balls and paved the way for Hamilton to chase down the total in the 43rd over with 4 wickets in hand.

Liam Collett and Craig Baldry were the pick of the bowlers with two apiece.

Bay of Plenty 158/10 (47.3 overs)
Marcel Collett 48, Blair McKenzie 29; Satvir Singh 3/10
Hamilton 159/6 (42.2)
Anish Desai 65, Paddy Carsons 28*; Liam Collett 2/30, Craig Baldry 2/33
 

DEBUTANTS AND MILESTONES IN THE FIRST REPRESENTATIVE GAME OF THE SEASON

Rep cricket is back for the 2022/23 season and we are kicking off with the coveted Fergus Hickey Rosebowl against old foes Northland.

Coach Daniel Flynn is looking forward to getting back into it and reaping the rewards of a good pre-season.

"We have an exciting young group that have worked hard in the preseason and are looking forward to getting out on the park this weekend."

Captaining the side for a third season, Ben Pomare can't wait to put the blue and gold on and represent Bay of Plenty.

"It's awesome to be back as a group and we are all excited to get out there this weekend against Northland. 

We've lost a few players from last year but are all excited for the challenges that are ahead of us this season."

Ollie Curtis from Otumoetai Cadets will make his debut for this young side (with over half the team having played more than 20 games for the men's representative team). While on the other end of the spectrum, Bay of Plenty great Pete Drysdale will be playing his 120th game for the side. 

 

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's Team

Fergus Lellman
Marcel Collett
Blair McKenzie
Pete Drysdale (120th match)
Ben Pomare (c)
Andrew Mascall
Ollie Curtis (debut)
Dominic Crombie
Iman Singh
Josh Earle
Henry Conway
Craig Baldry 

Fergus Hickey Round 1 vs Northland Cricket
5th & 6th November
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

 

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP ROUND 2 REVIEW

The sun came out this weekend for Round 2 of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty BOP Cup.

Not only was the sun beaming, there were a few players who walked off the field with a beaming smile. 

 

After winning against Geyser in Round 1, Te Puke secured another win against Lake Taupo. 

After declaring on the 57th over, Te Puke had put 274 runs on the board with only 3 wickets down. Captain Blair McKenzie (106*) and UK overseas player Ben Bodha (77*) closed the innings with a partnership of 159. 

McKenzie had a consistent game with both bat and gloves, contributing 106 runs and catching 2 of the wickets, off Josh Earle and Iman Singh. 

After bowling 6.3 overs, leg spinner Iman Singh had bowled the winning wicket - finishing up with 3 wickets off 8 runs. 13 overs in, Josh Earle claimed 6 more wickets - bowling 6 maiden overs and only going for 23 runs. 

Lake Taupo’s batting lineup was no match for Te Pukes bowling attack. Once Habib Malik (29)  and Michael Mitchell’s (19) wickets were taken, the remaining seven batsmen weren’t able to put more 15 runs next to their names. 

Coming away with the win, Te Puke also have a few additions to their honours board after their huge win. 

 

Te Puke 274/3, 57 overs (Blair McKenzie 106*, Ben Bodha 77*, Hamish Wilde 32; Habib Malik 2/54)

Lake Taupo 99/10, 34.3 overs (Habib Malik 29. Michael Mitchell 19, Ryan Hall 13; Josh Earle 6/23)

Te Puke won by 175 runs

 

Batting first on a wicket that looked like it would do a bit early on, the Greerton Premiers, through five solid partnerships, made 246-8d off 55 overs.

Tom Macrury (59) set the tone for the innings, with some late striking from Pat Davenport (46) from 35 giving GCC the momentum heading into the second innings.

Other batting contributions came from Nick O’Sullivan (45) Brandan Laurenzi (39) and Pip Thickpenny (36).

Geyser City were all out for 150 in the 49th over, with Harrison Perry being the pick of the rest with the ball with 2-45 of 14 overs.

UK overseas player Tyler McGladdery has started to hit his stride in the NZ conditions, contributing 32 runs and 2 wickets to the Geyser cause with Goldendeep Singh Brar continuing his form and solidifying his spot as Geyser City’s top run scorer - falling short of his half century by 2 runs. 

Greerton was just too good on the day, bowling out Geyser City for 150 in the 49th over.

 

Greerton 246/8, 54.1 overs (Tom MacRury 59, Patrick Davenport 46, Nick O’Sullivan 45; Sean Gapes 3/44)

Geyser City 150/10, 44.5 overs (Goldendeep Singh Brar 48, Tyler Mcgladdery 32, Cohen Stewart 20, Tom MacRury 6/31)

Greerton won by 96 Runs

 

Although having a total of 271 on the board, for Papamoa it wasn’t quite enough with Mount Maunganui chasing it down within 45 overs!

Nikhil Vishwanth fell three short of his century, when Dominic Crombie (2) took his wicket. 

Although five of Papamoa’s batsmen weren’t able to overcome 20 runs each.

Two young players Xavier Lea (71) and Kegan Bromilow (24*) helped put runs on the board. Performing with the bat and ball, Lea ended the game with 71 runs and 2 wickets next to his name.

Mount Maunganui’s Craig Baldry and Harry Burns claimed 2 wickets each. Baldry bowled 14 overs, going for 32 runs. While Burns bowled 9 overs and went for 43 runs. 

Papamoa took the prized wicket of Pete Drysdale (48) early on after only facing 69 balls. Unfortunately for Papamoa, Ben Pomare was at his brutal best on Saturday smacking 161* off 130 balls, including nineteen 4’s and three 6’s.

 

Mount Maunganui 272/5, 44.3 overs (Ben Pomare 161*, Pete Drysdale 48, Kade Smit 32; Xavier Lea 2/52)

Papamoa 271/7, 60 overs (Nikhil Vishwanath 97, Xavier Lea 71, Keagan Bromilow 24*; Craig Baldry 2/32)

Mount Maunganui won by 5 wickets 

 

Batting first on the very picturesque Smallbone Park Oval, Tauranga Boys College made a solid start to be 29/0 from 9 overs. The first wicket brought about a collapse and they found themselves at  65/6. Mitchell Rush, in just his second game, set about the rebuild and played a crucially patient knock of 61. He was well supported by Harsh Patel (17) and Darcy Collett (22) and the team finished up on 172 all out  in 59 overs. 

Rush carried  on where he left off with the bat, to knock over the stumps twice in his first over. Harsh Patel snagging another at the other end to have Central reeling at 4/3. The home team ended up all out for 97 with TBC heading home with full points.

 

Tauranga Boys 172/10, 58.3 overs (Mitchell Rush 61, Logan Murray 23, Darcy Collett 22; Parv Mehta 3/52)

Central Indians 97/10, 38.2 overs (Harry Jones 27, Jake Rowe 25*, Julian Danby 13; Mitchell Rush 4/18)

Tauranga Boys won by 75 Runs

 

This weekend's draw:

Papamoa vs Central Indians

Alice Johnson Oval 1 - 11:30am

 

Tauranga Boys vs Otumoetai Cadets

Nicholson Field 1 - 11:30am

 

Lake Taupo vs Greerton

Owen Delany Park 1 - 11:30am

 

Mount Maunganui vs Geyser

Smallbone Park 1 - 11:30am

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP ROUND 1 RECAP

The Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup, with 60/50 over cricket is back in full action this summer.

Although, Lake Taupo Cricket Club enjoyed a bye last weekend. While four premier games were played all over Bay of Plenty. 

 

An hour south, in Rotorua The Flying Mullet Te Puke took on Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City. 

Te Puke saw out the full 60 overs, setting a total of 215. 

Partnership between Hamish Wilde (36) and Blair McKenzie (76) kept the runs flowing with a partnership of 109. Fifty of McKenzie’s runs were scored in boundaries at Ray Boord Park. 

While Cam Riley was dismissed 1 run shy of his half century. 

Josh Earle performed with both bat and ball against Geyser. Scoring a safe 29 runs off 57 balls and claiming the wickets of 6 victims. Bowling 13 overs, 5 maiden overs with only 17 runs scored off his bowling. 

 

Flying Mullet Te Puke 215/9, 60 overs (Blair Mckenzie 76, Cam Riley 49, Hamish Wilde 36; Goldendeep Singh Brar 2/9)

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 97/10, 33.4 overs (Goldendeep Singh Brar 51, Joshua Robinson 11, Tyler Mcgladdery 6; Josh Earle 6/17) 

 

After losing the toss, Otumoetai Cadets were put in to bat for the first innings. 

Opening pair Fergus Lellman (45) and Marcell Collett (38) set a steady score. After the fall of 2 wickets coming in at 4, Blayne Faser grafted away earning 57 runs. 

While Cadet’s number 9 and 10, Daniel Anderton (16*) and Joel Griffths (2*) saw out the innings by declaring with a total of 289. 

Bayleys Central Indians came out to bat the second innings chasing down the daunting score of 289. Central's batsmen didn’t seem to struggle collectively hitting twenty nine 4’s and six 6's. 

Central’s closed play after 51.5 overs coming away with 293 runs with 1 wicket in hand. 

 

Element IMF Cadets 289/8, 57 overs (Blayne Fraser 57 Fergus Lelllman 45, Daniel Maathius 45; Paul Wyllie 2/67)

Bayleys Central Indians 293/9, 51.5 overs (Cormac McLoughlin 60, Stephen Nicolls 51, Ben Sandford 49*; Spencer Wills 5/54)

 

Mount Maunganui traveled across the bridge on Saturday to face Tauranga Boys at home. Tauranga Boys took the field first after Mount Maunganui won the toss and elected to bat.

Starting the season strong Mount Maunganui came away from the game with max points. After losing a wicket early on in the innings Ben Pomare hit triple digits scoring 108 runs after facing

120 balls. 

No Mount Maunganui players saw a duck, all 11 batsmen contributed to their score of 202.

Tauranga Boy’s, Darcy Collett ended his spell of 14 overs with three wickets next to his name. 

The second innings come to a close left Sam Clode (42*) with an asterisk and 8 runs short of his half century. 

 

Mount Maunganui 202/10, 58.3 overs (Ben Pomare 108, Dominic Crombie 21, Matt Golding 19; Darcy Collett 3/40)

Craigs Investment Tauranga Boys College 132/10, 38.4 overs (Sam Clode 42*, Tim Clarke 22, Logan Murray 18; Henry Conway 3/46)

 

Alice Johnson Oval held a convincing win from the Eves Greerton facing home team Papamoa. 

Coming in at number 7 facing 108 balls, Greerton’s Lee Watkins held the highest score last weekend of 110* in the Bay of Plenty Premier grade. Although being 6 runs shy of a century Ben Lind worked hard out in the middle. 

Despite the opening pair from Papamoa only having 1 run on the board. Aaron Barbour (56) and Finn Watson (31) gave Papamoa a glimpse of success. Jared Tutty bowled 4 maiden overs and claimed the wicket of Barbour leaving Watson in the middle. Within 40.3 overs Papamoa were all out for 143 runs. 

 

Eves Greerton 298/8, 59.3 overs (Lee Watkins 110*, Ben Lind 94, Pip Thickpenny; Xavier Lea 3/40)

Papamoa 143/10, 40.3 overs (Aaron Barbour 56, Finn Watson 31; Jared Tutty 3/39)

 

Although Labour Weekend is this weekend, cricket doesn’t stop, games are still played all over the bay. Otumoetai Cadets enjoy the long weekend this week with a bye. 

Despite the results of last weekend Geyser City, Tauranga Boys, Papamoa will be aiming to hit double digits on the standings table. While Lake Taupo will be looking to get points to put them on the board. 

Te Puke, Greerton and Mount Maunganui will be fighting it out to stay on top of Central Indians on the leaderboard. 

 

This weekend's draw: 

Central Indians vs Tauranga Boys 

Smallbone Park 1- 11:30am

 

Mount Maunganui vs Papamoa 

Blake Park 1 - 11:30am

 

Te Puke vs Lake Taupo 

Te Puke Domain - 11:30am

 

Greerton vs Geyser

Pemberton Park 1- 11:30am

BOPCA WOMEN PLACE 3RD AT T20 TOURNAMENT

History was made this weekend down in Hawkes Bay by our 1st XI Women’s team. After all their amazing efforts in preparation and a hard fought weekend playing 4 games, they came away with 3rd place. 

A successful tournament started off with an unfortunate loss against North City Cricket Club on Friday. Saturday had a win installed for the team against Havelock North Cricket Club. An opening partnership of 107 after 16 overs from Amiee Unwin and Tessa Hickson sat the Bay side comfortably. While Tash Wakelin and Amelia Harvery came in at 3 and 4 seeing out the end of the innings. 

Havelock North came out looking to chase down 140, but were no match for the Bay’s bowlers. Miah Smith ended her spell coming away with 2-11, bowling both victims. Teammates Elle Archer (1-10), Olivia Malone (1-11) and Freya Lord (1-14) added to the fall of wickets for Havelock. Leaving the Bay of Plenty team to gain the first win by 72 runs. 

After starting Sunday on a high from Saturday’s win against Havelock North, they continued riding cloud nine, with their second win of the tournament against Upper Hutt United Cricket Club, winning by 8 wickets.

Taking on bowling in the first innings, Kelly Habraken bowled 4 overs during the first change and ended her stint bowling with 4 wickets for only 11 runs. Meanwhile, young Miah Smith (2-8), Brittany Jenkins (2-10) and Elle Archer (1-2) contributed to the success of the bowling figures. 

At the change of innings they saw the chance to take the win, chasing 44 runs. Wendy Lee and Amiee Unwin started off strong with a partnership of 28 but after one ball between the first fall of wicket and second, Tash Wakelin and Amelia Harvery were soon out in the middle. Needing 16 runs to close play with a win in Bay of Plenty's favour. 

Parnell Cricket Club managed to defeat Bay of Plenty in their final game. 

After 20 overs, Parnell had 98 runs with 8 wickets down. Brittany Jenkins (1-24), Elle Archer (1-15) and Sadie Stewart held down steady figures being 2 wickets for 9 runs. 

Kelly Habraken (1-15) secured her 5th wicket for the tournament, after bowling her 4 overs.

As the change of innings started, they couldn’t quite manage to chase down 98. The Bay side used all 20 overs, but only secured 86 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Tessa Hickson (24), Tash Wakelin (13) and Kelly Habraken(10) hit double digits. While 21 runs were scored by Amelia Harvey (7), Freya Lord (6), Miah Smith (5), Elle Archer (2*) and Wendy Lee (1). Leaving the total of 18 extras bowled by Parnell. 

While the team faced the competition together, there was a little inhouse competition between the team's bowlers. Kelly Habracken (off spinner) walked away with the title of lead wicket taker, with 6 wickets from 16 overs with 3.06 runs, per over average. Young Miah Smith (opening bowler) came a close second with 5 wickets from 15 overs with 3.8 runs, per over average.

Tied third landed in the hands of Elle Archer (off spinner) and Brittany Jenkins (opening bowler) of 4 wickets. Archer ended the tournament with an average of 3.4, after claiming 4 wickets from 12 overs. While Brittany Jenkins took 4 wickets off 14 overs at an average of 4.6 runs per over

Aimee Unwin (opening bat) came away with 65 runs from 4 bats which included a well compiled 50. 

BOPCA WOMEN’S TEAM MAKING HISTORY

 

Hawke's Bay T20 Invitational - Nelson Park, 14th - 16th October 2022

 

2022/23 SEASON PREVIEW

Cricket season is upon us and it is shaping up to be a cracker!

 

We kick the season off with some T20 action, supported by a new sponsor for the bay, Venture Developments. 

 

Defending champions, Cadets once again have a very young squad this season with the average age well under 20. They will be looking to captain Andrew Mascall, Fergus Lellman, Marcel Collett and Spencer Wills to continue to step into leadership roles.

 

They will be facing off against the experienced Bayleys Central Indians team who will be without player/coach Anish Desai after making the move to Greerton. They welcome Jake Rowe (UK) and Cormac McLoughin-Gavin (Ireland) into the fold and will also be looking to bring through some of their younger academy players throughout the season after several had a taste of premier cricket last season.

 

Tauranga Boys College 1st XI have experienced a significant change with the retirement of Charles ‘Potsy' Williams from his Player/Coach role. After representing the school in over 300 premier games over the last 20 years or so as a student and a teacher, Charles has called time on his impressive school career. TBC wishes him all the best and thanks him for his countless hours of volunteer work with the school's cricket pathway. 

 

After not winning a trophy for the first time in five years last season, Greerton are determined not to make it a habit - acquiring Hamilton Representative Anish Desai as player/coach from the Central Indians as well as adding the vastly experienced Charles Wiliams to the squad. Greerton also boasts 6 players with 100+ prem games for the side under their belt so will be leaning on their experience this season.

 

Playing Greerton in the first round, Lake Taupo Cricket will be looking to improve on their 2021/22 season. They welcome two UK recruits, Ollie Sherwood and Tom Foster (who will also be head coach) and will be leaning on captain Habib Malik, Michael Mitchell and AJ How to step up again this season.

 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke side have one notable player loss this summer with Tai Bridgman-Raison pushing pause on his 23 year innings for the Te Puke Premiers. Captain Blair McKenzie knows that Tai will leave a big gap in the squad this season. "Tai has been an integral part of Te Puke Cricket for many years and the commitment he has shown to the club is unmatched. He has always been a key player for us and his departure will leave a significant hole to fill.” 

They have gained some exciting young talent with Harsh Patel and Jack Jones joining the squad after the Tauranga Boys College Gillette Cup Campaign as well as Sam Lund from the Central Indians and Ben Bodha from the UK.

 

They are facing the strong Mount Maunganui side who have acquired ND Representative Matt Fisher. The Marlins have however lost some big names with Brett Randell, Oli White, Dave Hancock and Niven Dovey all playing outside of the bay region. The experience of the likes of Captain Matt Golding (who is closing in on his 200th game for the club) and Pete Drysdale will be invaluable this season.

 

Geyser City are bringing in the big guns this summer with Tyler McGladdery from the UK joining the squad. Tyler is coming off some hot form having scored over 1800 runs in his home season and will make himself at home in the Geyser top order.

Former Nepal U19 Captain Rit Gautam will be joining the team in the near future and Mark Chapman will be back to captain the side.

 

Papamoa Cricket are ringing in the changes with last season's top run scorer Nik Vishwanath leading the young team. Focusing on the future, Papamoa welcome 16 year old Keagan Bromilow to the squad as well as Conor Wells, Ed Sclater and Rohit Sardarjoshi from outside of the club. They have also brought on Simon Herbst as club coach.

 

DANIEL FLYNN RE-SIGNS AS HEAD COACH FOR THIRD SEASON

Daniel Flynn has re-signed as the Head Coach of the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty side.

Flynn enters his third summer in the role and is looking forward to continuing with the group.

"I really enjoy working with the current group of players and their hunger to get better.

"For me, Bay of Plenty provides a good challenge to ensure I’m providing an environment that helps them become the players they want to be."

The former Northern Districts captain will also return to the domestic scene, joining the ND Women's programme as Performance and Talent Coach.

Ian Sandbrook, Northern Districts GM Performance and Talent is delighted to add Flynn to the wider team.

“It’s fantastic that we have someone of Daniel’s capability and experience joining our female performance programme. His appointment reflects our commitment to a coaching pathway and collaboration with our District Associations,” said Ian Sandbrook, Northern Districts GM Performance and Talent.

Flynn acknowledges joining the ND Women's programme is a new environment.

"I’ll have to build up trust to prove I have the knowledge and expertise to help make them better players. "

“It’s a new challenge for me, one I am really looking forward to.

"Hopefully I can add some value to the women’s programme. From a personal perspective, it’s a great opportunity to learn off Jo (Broadbent), who has a wealth of coaching knowledge and experience,” said Flynn.

Back in the Bay, Flynn is looking forward to getting a full season of fixtures in after the disruptions to last season.

"We have a relatively young group that hopefully continue to learn and grow their games.

"Individually, I just want to help them to gain a strong understanding of their own game so they can become their own best coach." 

BOP PLAYERS OVERSEAS

While our Bay of Plenty players back in the beautiful bay are eagerly waiting for the cricket season to kick off,  a few familiar faces have traveled halfway across the world to challenge themselves by playing abroad. 

 

Blair McKenzie (Te Puke Cricket Club) set off to play in England late March, while Brett Hampton (Greerton Cricket Club) and Tim Pringle (Otumoetai Cadets Cricket Club) are playing in the Netherlands.

 

All rounder, Brett Hampton is currently having a successful season playing for Excelsior’20 Cricket Club. Hampton has taken 21 wickets (including an impressive 4/10) at an average of 16.05. While taking wickets, Hampton has also scored 321 runs with a highest score of 124 not out which has helped forge a 40.13 batting average. Hampton has started to set the tone for another incredible season in the bay. 

 

Tim Pringle made his debut for the Netherlands ODI Team whilst playing for The Hague Cricket Club. Pringle's batting average of 30.82 comes after a high score of 91 and a total of 339 runs. Not only has Pringle scored runs, he has also taken plenty of wickets, totalling 26 with an impressive average of 18.88 and best bowling figures of 4/23 playing in the dutch league. One notable scalp is the wicket of Liam Livingston in the recently completed ODI series against England. He is now in Zimbabwe at the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers. 

 

Over in the UK, Blair McKenzie has had a great season to date, averaging 51.00 with the bat. With a high score of 128. McKenzie has scored a total of 765 runs with plenty of matches left in the season to add to his tally. Behind the stumps, McKenzie has taken 11 catches and 6 stumpings. Playing for Slaithwaite Cricket Club in the Huddersfield Cricket League, McKenzie has made an impressive start to what looks like an ongoing success for the upcoming seasons.

 

We caught up with Blair and Tim on their experiences so far:

 

BLAIR MCKENZIE 

 

How has playing cricket overseas changed your outlook on cricket in New Zealand?

Playing cricket in the UK feels to be a bit more relaxed in regards to trainings and preparations for games with a big emphasis on off field culture! It definitely makes me appreciate the coaching resources I have access to on a daily basis through BOP Cricket and Pete Swan at Te Puke CC.

 

What has been the hardest thing to adapt to while being in England?

I would say the most challenging thing to adapt to in the UK is the wickets we play on. Generally a lot slower and lower so it’s been an adjustment compared to the hard, fast natured wickets we typically play on back in the Bay.

 

Have you managed to do any travel while you have been abroad playing in England?

Yes. I have experienced a lot of the big cities in the UK (London, Manchester, Nottingham). I have also been fortunate enough to get over to Dublin for a few nights with a couple upcoming trips to Amsterdam and Paris.

 

What would you say to anyone looking at playing cricket in England?

If the opportunity came up for someone to venture overseas to play cricket I would definitely encourage them to do it. Experiencing conditions in different countries will only improve you as a player. On top of this, the opportunity to travel is well worth it!

 

TIM PRINGLE 

 

What has been the highlight of your summer abroad?  

It’s been a pretty whirlwind summer so far with HCC but also with the Netherlands team. I would have to say my highlight so far was making my ODI debut against England.

 

What has been the biggest challenge playing in a different country?

For me the biggest challenge playing in a different country is more pitches we play on. For example my home ground is a matting surface with gravel and dirt underneath. So just being able to adapt quickly has been the biggest challenge.

 

Has the weather impacted the way you have played?

The weather has been excellent in the Netherlands this summer. From what I heard about it back home I came prepared with a few umbrellas but it has been phenomenal!

 

What would you say to anyone looking at playing cricket in the Netherlands? 

I think the one thing I would say to someone playing cricket abroad is to not put too much pressure on yourself, just get yourself immersed in the club culture and just enjoy it as much as you can.

BAY OF PLENY REPRESENTATIVES OFFERED NORTHERN DISTRICTS DOMESTIC CONTRACTS

Four Bay of Plenty representatives have this week been awarded Domestic contracts for Northern Districts for 2022/23.

On the back of his first international call-up for the Netherlands and a subsequent ODI debut against England, Tim Pringle is awarded his first Domestic contract alongside Joe Carter, Brett Hampton and Bharat Popli.

Pringle was a key member of Northern District’s A team and was selected for an NZ XI during the recent tour of the Netherlands to New Zealand.

Carter, Hampton and Popli add their weight of experience to what Head Coach Graeme Aldridge has called 'a settled squad'.

“Adding Tim into the mix, together with the Walker brothers, means our spin bowling stocks are at a high, and with the rest of the bowlers, presents an exciting prospect over all three formats.”

Northern Districts have two more contracts on offer with the squad  rounded off in early July.

Bay of Plenty Cricket would like to congratulate our four representatives and wish them all the best for the coming summer.
 

PRINGLE CALLED UP FOR NETHERLANDS ODI SQUAD

Bay of Plenty's Tim Pringle has been named in the Netherland's ODI squad to take on England.

The World Cup Super League series begins on Friday 17th June with all three matches at VRA, Amstelveen.

Pringle is delighted to receive his first International call-up.

"Being selected in the Netherlands' ODI squad to play England is a massive thrill for me and my family."

"My Mum's family is in the Netherlands. If I get a chance to play, their support will make for a special moment for us all."

Pringle, 19, has impressed during his summer sojourn, playing for the Hague Cricket Club.

"The Hague CC have been welcoming and we have been playing some really good cricket too."

The Pringle name is a familiar one to Dutch cricket fans with Tim's father, Chris also representing Netherlands.

Earlier in the year, the left-arm spinner claimed the wicket of Netherlands skipper Pieter Seelaar, while representing an NZXI against the touring Dutch side.

With the squad to be trimmed from 18 to 15, Pringle will be hoping to line up alongside Seelaar when the series begins tomorrow.

NENSI PATEL EARNS MAIDEN WHITE FERNS CONTRACT

Bay of Plenty’s All-Rounder Nensi Patel earns her first White Ferns contract for the 2022 – 2023 cricket season.

Right Arm Medium bowling became a thing of the past after Patel had undertaken a full ACL reconstruction. Patel worked alongside of Bay Of Plenty Coach, Russ Williams and the pair worked closely in an attempt to get Patel returning to the cricket field.

“Russ Williams who has been my coach since I was in year 6 has been the biggest hand behind all my success. We’ve gone through many ups and downs together and he’s helped me through it all. He supported my decision to change to spin after my ACL reconstruction and got me fully prepared for the start of the following season. I’m very grateful to have him in my corner.” Patel said.

Patel has currently been involved in the New Zealand Cricket Development squads, training alongside the White Ferns at numerous camps leading into the Women’s World Cup. Patel’s home ground, the Bay Oval held a number of matches. Being amongst the New Zealand Cricket Set Up, Patel has got a glimpse of what her White Ferns career may look like.

 
“It’s been a childhood dream that one day I too would get to play for the country. Ever since I met the team back when I was in primary I’ve had this urge inside me that’s been pushing me to work harder and harder to make the dream become a reality. And being offered the contract is truly amazing and it’s motivating me to work harder than ever to become the best I can become.”
 
 
Patels’ aspirations of playing for her country has come a step closer for the Bay Of Plenty Cricketer.

BAY OF PLENTY CRICKET CELEBRATES THE 2021/22 SEASON

With another season coming to an end, it's time to acknowledge some of the outstanding contributors to Bay of Plenty Cricket during the 2021/22 season.

Player of the Month 

October – Tim Pringle

Tim started the season off in fine form, taking 12 wickets and scoring 265 runs in the first month of the season.

Scores of 53 not out, 56, 78 not out, 77 not out were supported by figures of 4 for 6, 3 for 8, 4 for 22 and 2 for 36 across both T20 and The Bay Cup. Setting Pringle up for a huge season.

 

November – Mayura Gallapaththi

8-28 vs Greerton CC on Nov 20, 2021

A truly phenomenal performance for the Cadets stalwart, Gallapaththi tore the Greerton line up apart, taking 8 wickets in just 9.5 overs. Mayura removed the top 3 batters in his first 3 overs, before taking the final 5 wickets of the innings.

 

December - Blair McKenzie

Scores of 85, 80 and 86*

Mckenzie dominated the lead up to the Christmas break, with 3 scores in the 80’s across the month. Scores of 80 against Tauranga Boys College followed by 86 not out the following day for the Tauranga Coastal Attrill Cup team was then followed by a 85 against Cadets in The Bay Cup. 

 

January - Tai Bridgman-Raison

342 runs for the month.

Bridgman-Raison  started the 2022 Williams Cup with a bang smashing 342 runs in a month. A season total many players would be happy about.

Tai started with a 61 against Cadets, before hitting back to back hundreds against old foes, Greerton and Central-Indians. Tai rounded out the month with a brisk 41 not out against Papamoa.

 

February – Peter Drysdale

129 not out vs Lake Taupo CC on Feb 26, 2022

Drysdale notched up another 3 figure score for his beloved Mount Maunganui of February 26, when he carried his bat for the entire innings against Lake Taupo CC. No one else in the match managed a score over 45, which just showed how good this performance was.

 

March – Andrew Mascall

It was a big month for Mascall in many ways. He managed to put together scores 60 and 92 in The Williams Cup, before getting a call up and making a well-deserved debut for The BOP Mens team. Not only did he make his debut, but Andrew went on to lead the team with a stellar knock of 81 against Counties. To cap off a huge month, Andrew captained Cadets to the Williams Cup title on the last weekend of March, when Cadets won a hard fought final against Central-Indians.

 

Individual Milestones 

5 or more wickets

Tim Pringle 8-71 against Waikato Valley and 5-53 against Northland 

 

Community Club Awards

McNaughton Trophy - R & A Sangha Cricket & Punjabi Club

Another outstanding McNaughton Trophy saw 16 teams take part in a knockout, winner takes all competition. The winner was found under the lights at The Bay Oval. A hard fought final between R & A Sangha and Hawks Cricket Club saw the R & A Sangha Cricket and Punjabi Culture Club emerge victorious.

This is R & A Sangha’s 5th McNaughton Trophy title

 

Bay of Plenty Plate - Tauranga Boys College 

Starting the season with a fresh faced team, Tauranga Boys showed they can compete at the highest level and finished the season strong, vying for the top 4 in the Versatile Williams Cup and ultimately coming 5th.

 

The Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup - Mount Maunganui CC

The Bay Cup took on a new format this year, with the teams battling it out using the 60/50 format, with batting, bowling, outrights and draw points all available.

After an unbeaten campaign the winners of The Bay of Plenty Cup are Mount Maunganui Cricket Club

This is Mount Maunganui’s 8th Bay of Plenty Cup title.

 

Baywide T20 - Otumoetai Cadets CC

The Baywide T20 competition was played across 2 pools, with weekend and midweek games featuring across the season. Another great competition culminated in a final at Blake Park between Te Puke CC and Otumoetai Cadets. The match was in the balance until the bitter end. But the eventual champions were Otumoetai Cadets Cricket Club

This is Cadets 2nd Baywide T20 title.

 

The Versatile Williams Cup - Otumoetai Cadets CC

The Williams Cup is the one all the clubs want to win. With winners dating back to the 1932, Bill as the cup is affectionately known is steeped in history.

The final took place in Rotorua, after a week of rain. In a slightly shortened final, Otumoetai Cadets made first use of the surface, with standout half-century contributions from Fergus Lellman and Tim Pringle getting them to a competitive 195-9 off their 43 overs.

Central-Indians made a solid start to their run chase, but regular wickets, and tight bowling from The Cadets spinners made the difference. Outstanding contributions from Jono Boult, with 3 wickets, and Spencer Wills with 4 wickets, saw Central-Indians bowled out for 111 and the title going to Otumoetai Cadets CC

This is Cadets 12th Williams Cup title

 

Hart Family Cup - Otumoetai Cadets CC

With a second place finish in the Bay Cup standings, followed by wins in the Baywide T20 and Williams Cup, the Champion Club of the year, and recipient of the Hart Family Cup is Otumoetai Cadets

This is Cadets 5th Hart Family Cup

 

Community Service Awards 

In recognition of outstanding contributions to community cricket

Deb Staddon – Taupo Cricket

Deb has served on both the Taupo and Taupo Junior cricket committee for the best part of a decade. She has brought a professional and balanced approach to cricket in the region ensuring there is a community and family focus to the way cricket is conducted. Having this approach is certainly one of the factors to the growth of junior cricket in this region over her time.

She has served in many roles, most notably as long standing Treasurer and as a champion of CricHQ scoring. 

Deb is one of the most positive promoters of cricket in the Bay of Plenty region, always quick to share her enthusiasm for Taupo cricket development, the potential pathways for junior cricketers and help anyone get started with Cricket.

 

Alan Cotter Trophy for Services to Cricket  – Don Warner

Don has played a huge role in growing and supporting cricket in the Bay of Plenty region for over a decade and has made an impact on so many. In his own words; "My aim has always been to ensure players, parents, coaches and administrators are all involved in Cricket with a huge smile on their face!"

 

Notable Achievements

Northern Districts U19’s

Male

Ben Vyver, Niven Dovey, Liam Collet, Spencer Wills

 

Female

Elle Archer, Tash Wakelin, Amelia Harvey, Jorja Neill, Miah Smith

 

Female Development Squad

Nensi Patel

Kate Anderson

  

NZ Development

Ollie White

David Hancock

Ben Pomare

Tim Pringle

 

NZXI

Tim Pringle

 

First Class Debut’s

Tash Wakelin

Fergus Lellman

Peter Drysdale

 

Brendon Bracewell Most Promising Player and Cricket Express Scholarship -  Tash Wakelin

Wakelin made her NDCA senior debut this season, playing 5 games for the province. 

 

Senior Awards 

Derek Beard Bowling Cup 

Tim Pringle - 18 wickets

 

Mike Wright Batting Cup 

Peter Drysdale 145 runs

 

First Class Player of the year      

Trent Boult 

 

BOP Player of the Year

Tim Pringle

 

Bay of Plenty Cricket would also like to acknowledge and thank their sponsors; Craigs Investment Partners, Cricket Express, Bayleys BOP, Versatile Tauranga and Holland Beckett Law for their continued support and contribution to cricket in the region. 

CADETS CLAIM THEIR 12TH WILLIAMS CUP TITLE

The Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets have ended their season on a high, claiming their 12th Williams Cup title.

A ground delay meant the game started later than expected with reduced overs with the home team winning the toss and putting Cadets in to bat.

The day started well for Central as they broke up Cadets opening partnership early before too much damage was done but a 2nd wicket, 68 run partnership between Fergus Lellman and Joe Carter got their team back on track. 

Parv Mehta made the breakthrough, dismissing both danger men in one over which meant two new batsmen at the crease, Jono Boult and Tim Pringle. The duo put on an additional 31 runs before Boult was dismissed by Mehta too.

Pringle carried on and some big run scoring overs at the end of their innings saw Cadets post a formidable total of 195 off 43 overs.

Central began their run chase in a slow and steady fashion and found themselves on 33 in the 12th over without a wicket down.

Issac White made the first breakthrough, dismissing Daniel Ford which opened the floodgates. 

Spencer Wills then came in and ripped through Central's batting line up, finishing up on 4/8 off 3 overs as the Cadets cruised to an 84 run win.

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 195/9, 43 overs (Tim Pringle 64, Fergus Lellman 56; Parv Mehta 3/41)
Bayleys Central Indians 111/10, 33.1 overs (Lovely Sandhu 44, Stephen Nicholls 12; Spencer Wills 4/8)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 84 runs
 

THE VERSATILE WILLIAMS CUP FINAL IS HEADING TO ROTORUA

It's a semi final rematch this weekend as the Bayleys Central Indians host the Element IMF Cadets in the final of the Versatile Williams Cup.

Finishing top of the table has given Central the home ground advantage against 2nd placed Cadets something that Coach Anish Desai is looking forward to bringing the final to Rorotua, not only as reward for his team topping the table but also for the local community.

"We are extremely excited for the final. It was a great achievement to finish top of the table and shows the depth the club is building.
Having a home final is something not only the team but the Rotorua cricket community is excited about. It’s a great opportunity to have such a big game in an area where cricket is growing."

The Central Indians may have a mental advantage coming into the final as they beat the Cadets in the semi final by 7 wickets last week. 

However, Cadets have a rich history when it comes to the Williams Cup with eleven titles under their belt since 1995 and were runners up last season when Mount Maunganui snatched victory. Captain Andrew Mascall is confident that the talent in the team and their past successes will stand them in good stead for this game.

"The boys are extremely excited for Saturdays final. We have had a couple of tough encounters with Central in the last few weeks, with one going each way. Smallbone Park is a ground we have played some very good cricket at and have had some good success there in the past. It will be Cadets third Williams Cup final in four years, so we have plenty of finals experience to take into this years final. The club is eager to see the boys go one better than last year and bring home Bill."

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Grand Final
Bayleys Central Indians vs Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets
26 March 11:30am
Smallbone Park, Rotorua  

 

Williams Cup Champions (2000 – 2021)
2021 (Mount Maunganui) 2020 (Greerton) 2019 (Otumoetai Cadets) 2018 (Greerton) 2017 (Otumoetai Cadets) 2016 (Te Puke) 2015 (Mount Maunganui) 2014 (Te Puke) 2013 (Mount Maunganui) 2012 (Greerton) 2011 (Mount Maunganui) 2010 (Cadets) 2009 (Tauranga Boys College) 2008 (Mount Maunganui) 2007 (Rotorua Central) 2006 (Cadets) 2005 (Cadets) 2004 (Te Puke) 2003 (Cadets) 2002 (Albion) 2001 (Te Puke) 2000 (Arawa-Central United)

Over at Nicholson Field, Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College will be playing Eves Realty Greerton to see who takes the BOP Plate honours. 

Tauranga Boys were runners up last season in a close loss against Te Puke and will want to go one better this year. 

 

BOP Plate Grand Final
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College vs Eves Realty Greerton 
26 March 11:30am
Nicholson Field 
 

DEBUTANTS SHINE IN THE LAST FERGUS HICKEY GAME OF THE SEASON

It was a depleted side that headed to Counties Manukau territory over the weekend to play the last rep game of the season.

A perfect storm of covid, injury and representative duties saw the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty team name a side which only had 4 players from the last game two weeks prior. 

Day 1 started well with new captain Dominic Crombie winning the toss and electing to bat first but in challenging conditions, bay found themselves at 38/3 in the 21st over. 

A 4th wicket 86 run partnership between Fergus Lellman and debutant Andrew Mascall anchored the innings and helped take them to a competitive total of 246 all out. Mascall finishing up with a very patient 81 off 171 balls on debut.

Henry Conway got off to a good start with the first wicket of the innings and Craig Baldry did a fantastic job bowling into the wind, dismissing 4 at an economy rate of 1.69 but with a good deck for batting and windy conditions the bay weren't able to bowl them out which resulted in a first innings win to Counties Manukau.

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 246/10, 93.4 overs (Andrew Mascall 81, Fergus Lellman 54; Luke Williamson 3/28)
Counties Manukau 314/6, 99 overs (Sandeep Patel 81, Leon Marconi 77*; Craig Baldry 4/59)
Counties Manukau won first innings
 

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT FERGUS HICKEY ROUND 5

It is a fresh faced Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team that will head over the Bombay's to play Counties Manukau in the last representative game of the season.  

A combination of Covid, injuries and higher representative duties has resulted in 4 debutants and a new captain. Sebastian Heath, Sam Lund, Andrew Mascall and Billy Syme have been rewarded for their club cricket performances throughout the season with a call up into the bay team.

Coach Daniel Flynn is looking forward to giving the debutants a crack at representative cricket and seeing what they can bring to the side. 

"Seb is an exciting young wicket keeper batter at TBC that we think has the potential to slot in when we lose Ben Pomare to higher honours. Andy Mascall has impressed both with his batting and leadership of a young Cadets side - we look forward to what he can bring not just with the bat but to the group as a whole. Sam Lund has consistently made the trip over from Rotorua to attend weekly trainings displaying the kind of commitment that instantly earns respect amongst the group and he has earnt through consistent performances at club level. Billy’s a talented up and coming allrounder that we think has a bright future and this game presents a great opportunity for him to get a taste of senior rep cricket."

At only 15, Heath will be the 3rd youngest player to represent the Bay of Plenty, slotting in between Kane Williamson (15 years 111 days) and Mathew Heart (15 years 274 days). Flynn himself is 5th on the list, debuting for the bay at 15 years 333 days and will be making sure he goes out there an enjoys himself and the opportunity to test his skills at a higher level. 

The other notable change is the captaincy with Dominic Crombie at the helm for the first time - something that Crombie is extremely proud of.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to captain the Bay team. It’s a privilege to lead such a talented group of men."

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 
Craig Baldry
Henry Conway
Dominic Crombie (c)
Niven Dovey
Sebastian Heath (debut)
Fergus Lellman
Sam Lund (debut)
Andrew Mascall (debut)
Blair McKenzie
Ben Musgrave
Iman Singh 
Billy Syme (debut)

Fergus Hickey Rosebowl Round 5
vs Counties Manukau
Weymouth Oval
19-20 March 2022
 

VERSATILE WILLIAMS CUP AND BOP PLATE SEMI FINALS PREVIEW

The results are in and the top 4 teams going into the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup semi final have been confirmed.

Top of the table Bayleys Central-Indians remain in poll position and will take on the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets at home in Rotorua - the winner will proceed straight to the final while the other team will have another crack in the elimination final. 

Despite a 31 run loss to a buoyant Generation Homes Lake Taupo side on the weekend, and missing their Bay of Plenty Representative players, the Cadets will have their eyes firmly on the top prize after being runners up last season. 
The Central Indians have only lost one game this seasons Williams Cup, against the Cadets won by 5 wickets in Round 7. Captain Julian Danby will be key with the notable absences of Central's leading run scorer this season Nadeera Nawela, experienced campaigner Steve Nicholls and Sam Lund - who is making his debut for Bay of Plenty this weekend. They will also be without player/coach Anish Desai who is away on representative cricket duties.

Over at Te Puke Domain The Flying Mullet Te Puke prems are taking on 4th placed (and defending champions) Bond & Co Mount Maunganui.

The last time these old foes met was in round 8 where Te Puke won by 51 runs after bowling Mount Maunganui out for 126. But as the current cup holders the Marlins will do everything in their power to keep the cup locked away with the other silverware collected over the season.

Te Puke has the competition's top run scorer in their midst with Tai Bridgman-Raison racking up 354 runs this far in the tournament with an average of 59. While Mikaere Leef is 2nd in the bowling stakes with 13 wickets at an average of 11.38 in his 5 games for Te Puke. 

It's a quick turnaround for the elimination final between the loser of the Central Indians vs Cadets and the winner of Te Puke vs Mount Maunganui will be held on Sunday.

 

BOP PLATE

While the top 4 battle it out for the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup, 5 to 8 will be playing for the BOP Plate. 

Nicholson Field will play host to 5th placed Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College who are coming up against 8th placed Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City. 

These teams haven't played each other since round 1 back in January where Tauranga Boys comfortably won by 7 wickets. Since then Geyser City have shown moments of brilliance and will have to be at the top of their game against a Tauranga Boys side that has gone from strength to strength this season. Notable performances from Harsh Patel who has snagged 13 wickets at an economy rate of 4.63 in the round robin, placing him at number 3 in the bowling ranks and Tim Clarke who has 189 runs to his name in the Williams Cup this season.

Tauranga Boys will however be missing their top run scorer in Seb Heath who has been rewarded with a call up to the Bay of Plenty Representative team at the age of 15 (taking his place as the 4th youngest ever representative between Kane Williamson and Mathew Hart).

Eves Realty Greerton will play Papamoa at Pemberton Park to see who will move onto the BOP Plate final. 

Greerton came in at 6th in the Williams cup after winning 50% of their round robin games. Papamoa placed 7th but with only 1 win out of 8 games to their name. The two teams met only last week where Greerton came out on top, winning by 46 runs.

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup – Semi Finals 19th March 
Bayleys Central Indians vs Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets - Smallbone Park
The Flying Mullet Te Puke vs Bond & Co Mount Maunganui - Te Puke Domain
 
Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup – Elimination Final 20th March
TBC vs TBC 
 
Williams Cup Champions (2000 – 2021)
2021 (Mount Maunganui) 2020 (Greerton) 2019 (Otumoetai Cadets) 2018 (Greerton) 2017 (Otumoetai Cadets) 2016 (Te Puke) 2015 (Mount Maunganui) 2014 (Te Puke) 2013 (Mount Maunganui) 2012 (Greerton) 2011 (Mount Maunganui) 2010 (Cadets) 2009 (Tauranga Boys College) 2008 (Mount Maunganui) 2007 (Rotorua Central) 2006 (Cadets) 2005 (Cadets) 2004 (Te Puke) 2003 (Cadets) 2002 (Albion) 2001 (Te Puke) 2000 (Arawa-Central United)

BOP Plate Semi Finals - 19 March 
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College vs Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City - Nicholson Field
Eves Realty Greerton vs Papamoa - Pemberton Park
 

FERGUS HICKEY ROUND 4 RECAP VS WAIKATO VALLEY

The Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team played host to Waikato Valley in Te Puke for the 2nd to last round of the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl for the season. 

Valley won the toss and elected to bowl on a warm Te Puke morning and were rewarded early in the third over, dismissing Niven Dovey without a run on the board. Fellow opener Taylor Bettelhiem suffered the same fate shortly after as he was given lbw after facing 33 balls.

Unable to form any solid partnerships and 6 ducks in their innings, Bay were all out for 108 in the 44th over - Fergus Lellman the top scorer with 31.

Waikato Valley got off to a slow but steady start with the bat with a 32 run partnership between openers Dillon Kelliher and Jed Crerar until Tim Pringle made the first breakthrough, dismissing Crerar in the 12th over. Kelliher followed 2 overs later and bay were back on track. Pringle was on fire with the ball, ripping through the Valley team with the support of his fellow bowlers but a stubborn 7th wicket partnership of 51 between Zak Gibson and Campbell McKegg helped Valley to a lead of 56 going into the third innings.

Bay of Plenty's top order struggled when they went out again to bat with the exception of Bettelheim who accumulated 70 off 119 balls but with wickets falling around him Bay were bowled out for 164 in the 46th over.

With 116 needed for the win, Waikato Valley wasted no time - chasing down the total and winning outright in the 33rd over. Pringle was the standout, coming away with 12 wickets over the two days.

 

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 
108/10, 43.2 overs (Fergus Lellman 31, Brett Hampton 20; Stephen Sistern-Tate 3/2)
164/10, 45.3 overs (Taylor Bettelhiem 70, Brett Hampton 21; Reo Sakurano-Thomas 4/13)

Waikato Valley
156/10, 79.3 overs (Zak Gibson 29, Jed Crerar 20; Tim Pringle 8/71)
120/6, 32.2 overs (Chris Swanson 34, Jed Crerar 26; Tim Pringle 4/48)

Waikato Valley won by 4 wickets 
 

TEAM NAMING - FERGUS HICKEY ROUND 4

Some familiar faces are back in the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team as they face Waikato Valley in round 4 of the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl this weekend with Bharat Popli and Brett Hampton both named. 

After a first innings loss against Hamilton in round 3, this is a big game for Bay of Plenty who are now 3rd on the table under Counties Manukau and Hamilton. Coach Daniel Flynn is looking forward to the experienced duo to make an impact.

"It's great to have the experience of Hampton and Popli back to strengthen up the batting". 

Popli is the second highest run scorer for Bay of Plenty 3939 runs, 12 shy of the top spot (Michael Wright 3950).

 

Fergus Hickey Round 4
Bay of Plenty vs Waikato Valley
5 & 6 March 
Te Puke Domain

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP ROUND 7

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys were looking to keep their semi final hopes alive as they came up against Papamoa.

Bowling first on a good wicket, it was a tough ask to limit scoring and take wickets for Tauranga Boys. Papamoa got off to a great start with a 45 run opening partnership between Nitin Bindal and Xavier Lea but the cracks started to appear once Tauranga turned to their spinners and Papamoa went from 108/3 to 129 all out. 

Needing quick wickets, Papamoa struck early - dismissing Charles Williams in the 3rd over. Any hopes of bowling Tauranga Boys out were quickly diminished with only one additional wicket falling as Tauranga chased down the total with ease in the 27th over.

Papamoa 129/10, 41.5 overs (Xavier Lea 37, Nikhil Vishwanath 31; Charles Williams 4/24)
Tauranga Boys College 134/2, 26.2 overs (Tim Clarke 56*, Billy Syme 32*; Ben Goodall 1/11)
Tauranga Boys College won by 8 wickets

The top of the table clash between the Bayleys Central Indians and Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets did not disappoint.

After winning the toss and deciding to bat first on a hot Rotorua day, the home side got off to a good start, putting 25 on the board before their first wicket fell. A 74 run partnership between Anish Desai and Stepen Nicholls put the Central Indians in the box seat, but quick wickets at the end of the innings saw Central leave a few runs out on the park as they were bowled out in the 49th over for 201.

Cadets opener, Mayura Galapaththi was in fine form at the top of the order scoring 58 runs at better than a run a ball with 9 boundaries. His innings set the tone for the run chase. Blayne Fraser was the man to top score and see Cadets over the line score an unbeaten 77 to go with his 45 not out last week in the win over Greerton.

Bayleys Central Indians 201/10, 48.2 overs (Anish Desai 60, Stephen Nicholls 49; Tim Pringle 3/37)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 205/5, 46.3 overs (Blayne Fraser 77*, Mayura Galappaththi 58; Parv Metha 2/34)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 5 wickets

Winning the toss and bowling first, Generation Homes Lake Taupo's plan for early wickets did not  come to fruition as Mount Maunganui put on a 81 run opening stand.

Michael Mitchell made the breakthrough for Taupo, dismissing Niven Dovey for 35 in the 17th over but with Pete Drysdale continuing his fine form with a brilliant 129 not out off 141 balls, Mount Maunganui cruised to 281 in their 50 overs.

Lake Taupo started well but found themselves 6 down with 114 on the board. Mitchell tried to keep his team in the game with a solid 44 off 93 but they couldn't match the marlins run rate, falling 80 runs short.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 281/7, 50 overs (Pete Drysdale 129*, Niven Dovey 35; Michael Mitchell 2/17)
Generation Homes Lake Taupo 201/9, 49 overs (Michael Mitchell 44*, Shaun Davies 39; Gus Tustin 3/30)
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 80 runs

It was a low scoring affair in Te Puke as the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City decided to have a bat first.

Opener Vinay Pathania showed his intent with a 4 off the first ball of the innings and proceeded to whack another four 4s and a six in his short stint at the crease. That is where the excitement came to an end as wickets fell consistently and runs were hard to come by due to some excellent bowling from Te Puke.

Mikaere Leef was on fire with the ball, cleaning up the tail and ending his spell with 4/12 at an average of 3 and economy rate of 2.06.

Needing 115, The Flying Mullet Te Puke didn't waste any time as opening batsman Ben Vyver putting on 51 off 39 balls - including four 6s. With support from Blair McKenzie (32*) and Iman Nahal (18*), Te Puke comfortably chased down Geyser City's total in the 18th over.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 114/10, 31.5 overs (Vinay Pathania 28, Dilraj Singh Gill 22; Mikaere Leef 4/12)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 115/2, 17.3 overs (Ben Vyver 51, Blair McKenzie 32*; Supreet Singh 1/12)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke won by 8 wickets
 

FEREGUS HICKEY ROUND 3 VS HAMILTON RECAP

The fierce rivalry between Bay of Plenty and Hamilton went up a notch over the weekend when they came together for the first time this season. 

VERSATILE WILLIAMS CUP ROUND 6 RESULTS

It was a low scoring affair at Tauranga Domain as the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets came up against Eves Realty Greerton in round 6 of the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup.

After winning the toss and deciding to have a bat. Greerton showed their intent with a 4 off the first ball....followed by another 4 and a 6 to opener Tom MacRury. After blasting 23 off 10 balls, MacRury was caught and bowled in the 3rd over by Mayura Galappaththi. 

The run rate decreased substantially from that point on and with a consistent stream of wickets, Greerton found themselves all out for 111 in the 41st over.

The Cadets were dealing in boundaries, making up 50% of their run source as they chased down the total in the 30th over. Blayne Fraser being the top scorer with 45 not out.

Eves Realty Greerton 111/10, 40.3 overs (Tom MacRury 23, Brandan Laurenzi 21; Mayura Galappaththi 3/30)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 114/7, 29.4 overs (Blayne Fraser 45*, Mayura Galappaththi 17; Tim Burke 3/12)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 3 wickets

Both the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City and Generation Homes Lake Taupo sides were looking to get their first win of the competition on the board as they went head to head in Rotorua. 

The game got off to a rocky start with the visitors as lost a wicket in the first over after losing the toss and being put in to bat.

Michael Mitchell anchored the innings with a brilliant 72 off 126 (42% of his teams runs) and with the help of Caleb Bate (29) and AJ How (27) got them them to a respectable 170 all out. Ben Astwood celebrated his 50th premier game with 3 wickets from his 10 overs - only conceding 25 runs.

Astwood continued on his 50th match in style when he and Vinay Pathania put on a 59 run opening partnership. Contributions from the top 6 saw Geyser City chase down Taupos total in 45 overs with Cohen Stewart finishes the game off in style with a brilliant 4. 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 170/10, 47 overs (Michael Mitchell 72, Caleb Bate 29; Kasun Eranga 3/25, Ben Astwood 3/25)
Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 173/4, 44.2 overs (Lucky Singh 33*, Vinay Pathania 29; Habib Malik 3/26)
Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City won by 6 wickets

The Bayleys Central Indians were looking to defend their unbeaten record thus far in the Williams Cup as they headed to Nicholson Field to play the Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College First XI and decided to have a bat first up after winning the toss.

Harsh Patel struck in the first over for Tauranga Boys as Viren Patel was given lbw and the Central Indians found themselves one down with only 6 on the board.

A 98 run, 5th wicket partnership between Ben Stanford and Julian Danby helped set Tauranga Boys a total of 204 to chase down.

It was a slow start to the innings with the bat for Tauranga Boys with 9 runs off the first 4 overs and with 3 wickets down and 28 on the board in the 11th over, hopes were diminishing.

A quick fire 55 run partnership from Luke Scrimgeour (32) and Billy Syme (24) as well as contributions the lower order weren't  enough to get the home side over the line as they fell 45 runs short. 

Bayleys Central Indians 204/6, 43 overs (Ben Sandford 66*, Julian Danby 59; Darcy Collett 2/17)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 159/10, 38.2 overs (Luke Scrimgeour 32, Billy Syme 24; Andrew Gibbs 8/23)
Bayleys Central Indians won by 45 runs

With 8 players away on Bay of Plenty rep duties, the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui side had a different look about it when they played Papamoa on Blake Park.

After winning the toss and deciding to bowl first, the Papamoa opening bowlers started well, only conceding 2 runs off the first 4 overs. That was the end of the run drought for Mount Maunganui with only 4 more maidens in their 50 overs. 

A polished 82 run partnership between Kade Smit (43) and Brett Randell (58) and then a 50 run, 4th wicket partnership between Randell and Ben Musgrave put the marlins in the box seat and allowed Musgrave to play with freedom as he belted 75 off 73 balls and helped set Papamoa the mammoth task of chasing down 273.

The run chase didn't start well for Papamoa and they soon found themselves 7 down with only 46 on the board in the 16th over. 

The highlight of the innings was the 8th wicket, 47 run partnership between Nitin Bindal (18) and Harrison Leach (34)  but it was too little too late as they slumped to 96 all out in the 28th over.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 273/8, 50 overs (Ben Musgrave 75, Brett Randell 58; Michael Brown 3/52)
Papamoa 96/10, 27.3 overs (Harrison Leach 34, Nitin Bindal 18; Brett Randell 3/23, Harry Burns 3/18)
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 177 runs 
 

TEAM NAMING - FERGUS HICKEY ROUND 3

After a washed out Hawke Cup challenge last week, the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team are focusing on continuing on their good Fergus Hickey form as they play host to Hamilton.

Captain Ben Pomare says although they are disappointed about not getting a chance to bring the Hawke Cup back to the bay, the team are focused on the task at hand this weekend.

"It's disappointing about not getting a result down in Hawkes Bay for the Hawke Cup but the boys are looking forward to getting back out there this weekend and continuing our good start to the Fergus Hickey competition."

Bay of Plenty have named a relatively unchanged team, the only exception being Henry Conway comes in for Liam Collett who is heading off to University.

 

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS BAY OF PLENTY MEN'S TEAM
Taylor Bettelheim
Niven Dovey
Blair McKenzie
Fergus Lellman
Oli White 
Tim Pringle
Pete Drysdale
Ben Pomare (c)
Dominic Crombie
David Hancock
Henry Conway
Craig Baldry

Fergus Hickey Round 3
Bay of Plenty vs Hamilton
19 - 20 February 
Blake Park, Mount Maunganui  

TEAM NAMING HAWKE CUP CHALLENGE

The Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team will be looking to repeat history this weekend as they challenge Hawkes Bay for the Hawke Cup.

The team head down to Napier to play for the most prized silverware in minor association cricket, something that is not missed on coach Daniel Flynn.

"We are excited about the opportunity to challenge for the Hawke Cup. It’s an extremely sought after trophy at District Association level and one we would love to get our hands on again."

Bay of Plenty have an impressive record in Hawke Cup matches against Hawkes Bay, winning 4 out of 5 and have left with the Hawke Cup in hand every time they have challenged Hawkes Bay. This record dates back to 1986 when Bay of Plenty won the Hawke Cup for the first time ever at Nelson Park. The most recent being in 2016 when they won by 6 wickets - they then went on to defend the cup for the entire 2016/17 season.

Despite some favourable statistics, Flynn's focus is firmly on the job at hand this weekend and knows the young bay side will have to play well to compete in the three day match.

"We know we are going to have to play some really good cricket to beat a very strong Hawkes Bay side."

Six players named will be making their Hawke Cup debuts, including NDCA development player Fergus Lellman who joins his father, Fraser Lellman, in playing Hawke Cup cricket for Bay of Plenty.

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS BAY OF PLENTY MEN'S TEAM
Taylor Bettelheim
Niven Dovey
Blair McKenzie
Fergus Lellman
Oli White (debut)
Tim Pringle
Pete Drysdale
Ben Pomare
Dominic Crombie
David Hancock
Liam Collett
Craig Baldry

Hawke Cup Challenge
Hawkes Bay vs Bay of Plenty
Friday 11th - Sunday 13th February 2022
Nelson Park, Napier 
 

ELEMENT IMF CADETS THE NEW BAYWIDE CUP CHAMPIONS

BAYWIDE CUP T20 SEMI FINALS

4 teams woke up on Saturday morning all with the same dream that they would be standing on Blake Park at the end of the day, victorious with the Baywide Cup in hand.

The day began with the winner of each pool playing the quarter final winners (2nd vs 3rd in each pool). This saw top of the table Bond & Co Mount Maunganui play The Flying Mullet Te Puke.

Te Puke won the toss and decided to put defending champs, Mount Maunganui into bat. They may have been regretting that decision as they conceded 18 runs off the first over, including 2 sixes and a four from opening batsman, Oli White. 

Lacking support, the Marlins innings turned into the Oli White show as he sent the ball flying in all directions and contributed close to 55% of the team's runs with 77 off 56 before he was finally dismissed in the 19th over. Contributions from Ben Musgrave (17) and Ben Pomare (15) helped their side get to a competitive total of 142.

Te Puke's innings got off to a cracking start with Devon Serrurier smashing a 6 off the 2nd ball, helping them to 10/0 after the first over. The next 3 overs however were not pleasant viewing as they went from 10/0 to 11/1 to 11/2 to 13/3. 

A 4th wicket partnership of 69 runs between Iman Nahal and Denym Clarke helped calm things down and despite Dominic Crombies efforts with the ball (4/23) Nahal, Clarke and Bridgeman-Raison led their team to victory in the 19th over. Nahal top scoring with a standout 83 off 56 balls. 

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 142/8,  20 overs (Oli White 77, Ben Musgrave 17; Iman Nahal 3/13)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 143/5 (Iman Nahal 83, Denym Clarke 27; Dominic Crombie 4/23)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke won by 5 wickets

 

Over on Blake Park 1, it was the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets who had an unbeaten record in this seasons Baywide Cup who faced, quarter final winners, Eves Realty Premier Greerton.

Deciding to have a bat first up, Marcel Collett and Chris Mascall put on a solid 25 run opening stand for the Cadets before Collett was bowled by Israel Turner. This brought in Tim Pringle who scored a superb 65 off 48 balls, including 3 fours and 5 sixes. Contributions from the middle order helped set Greerton a total of 150 to chase down.

Despite an entertaining 41 off 28 balls from Brett Hamilton, the Greerton innings never got going (with 54% of the balls bowled being dots) and fell 36 runs short of the winning total and setting up a Cadets vs Te Puke final.

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 150/7, 20 overs (Tim Pringle 65, Marcel Collett 18, Jono Boult 18; Tom MacRury 2/23)
Eves Realty Greerton 114/10, 19.5 overs (Brett Hampton 41, Tom MacRury 17, Lee Watkins 17; Mayura Galappaththi 3/32)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 36 runs

 

BAYWIDE CUP T20 FINAL

As the clock struck 3, it was time for the final and the Cadets had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss. 

The Cadets got off to a less than ideal start, finishing the 1st over on 1/1 after Bibin Babu bowled opener Chris Mascall for a golden duck.

The in form Tim Pringle was next in and didn't waste any time with a quick 34 off 23 balls including 3 sixes in his 30 minute stint at the crease but with only the captain, Andew Mascall and all rounder Mayura Galappaththi also reaching double digits, the Cadets were looking light on runs when they were bowled out in the 19th over for 115. Iman Nahal the stand out bowler for Te Puke with 3 wickets in his 3 overs.

Feeling the victory was within reach, the Te Puke openers started strong with 2 boundaries coming off the first over. As the innings went on, runs were harder to come by and by the 14th over Te Puke found themselves 4 down with 63 on the board. Enter Tai Bridgman-Raison who, prior to the final, had raked up 363 runs so far in 2022....and he came to the party, smashing 23 off 14 balls (20 coming off one over) which helped his team get within reach, needing 22 off the last 2 overs to claim victory. 

Disciplined bowling from the Cadets and wickets falling consistently make the task too difficult for Te Puke, falling short by 4 runs

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 115/10, 19 overs (Tim Pringle 34, Andrew Mascall 25; Iman Nahal 3/13)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 111/7, 20 overs (Tai Bridgman-Raison 23, Cameron Riley 18; Tim Pringle 2/7)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 4 runs 

 

 

Baywide Cup Leader Board

Batting
1. Tim Pringle - Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets - 230 runs, 57.50 average, 149.35 strike rate, 65 highest score
2. Blair McKenzie - The Flying Mullet Te Puke - 221 runs, 44.20  average, 120.11 strike rate, 65 highest score
3. Brett Hampton - Eves Realty Greerton - 180 runs, 60 average, 181.82 strike rate, 86 highest score

Bowling 
1. Tim Pringle - Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets - 14 wickets, 8.57 strike rate, 2.55 economy, 4/6 best bowling 
2. Dale Sawn - Bond & Co Mount Maunganui - 9 wickets, 5.78 average, 8.00 strike rate, 4.33 economy, 3/14 best bowling
3. Andrew Gibbs - Bayleys Central Indians - 9 wickets, 10.00 strike rate, 5.47 economy, 3/17 best bowling 

Fielding
1. Ben Vyver - The Flying Mullet Te Puke - 9 catches
2. Iman Nahal - The Flying Mullet Te Puke - 5 catches, 1 run out
3. Taylor Douglas - Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets - 5 catches, 5 stumpings

BAY OF PLENTY SECURE THE HAWKE CUP CHALLENGE

There were two things on the minds of the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team as they headed up north, 1. get off to a good start in their first Fergus Hickey game of the season 2. Secure the coveted Hawke Cup Challenge...they did both.

Slow and steady was the name of the game as openers Niven Dovey and Taylor Bettelhiem put on 11 runs in the first 10 overs after winning the toss and deciding to bat on a slow Kamo pitch.

Northland's first breakthrough came in the 13th over when Bettelhiem was caught  for 8. This brought in the man of the moment Bharat Popli, who over 211 balls, put on a batting masterclass with a skilful 121. Partnering up first with Blair McKenzie who achieved the milestone of 500 runs for the bay and then with Brett Hampton for a 117 run, 4th wicket partnership, the bay was looking in control at 248/3 in the 75th over. 

Northland would have been forgiven for thinking that once they finally snagged the wickets of both Hampton (in the 76th over) and Popli (in the 86th over), they could stem the flow of runs but that wasn't to be, with Pete Drysdale (45*) and Dominic Crombie (23) putting on an 8th wicket partnership of 57.  

Day 2 was all about wickets for the bay as they knew Northland was still in with a chance of locking in that elusive Hawke Cup challenge against Hawkes Bay.

The Northland openers, Rory Christopherson and Todd Beehre, formed a solid partnership early on but when Beehre was dismissed by Tim Pringle in the 15th over, Christoperson saw 3 of his teammates get out cheaply to some excellent bowling and even a spirited 52 from Mount Maunganui Cricket Club player, Brett Randell, wasn't enough to get the locals within reach as they fell in the 59th over.

Pringle continued on his fine form this season with a five wicket haul and Liam Collett impressed on debut picking up his first representative wicket at an economy rate of 2.14.

A first innings win was all that was needed to get the Hawke Cup challenge that will be played against Hawkes Bay on Friday 11th to Sunday 13th February.

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 373/10, 116.5 overs (Bharat Popli 121, Brett Hampton 86. Pete Drysdale 45*; Daneil Grimes 3/75)
Northland 163/10, 58.2 over (Brett Rangell 52, Rory Christopherson 48; Tim Pringle 5/53)
Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty First Innings Win
 

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP ROUND 4 HIGHLIGHTS

It was a neighborly battle in Rotorua with the Bayleys Central-Indians and the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City Premiers squared off at Smallbone Park.

Batting first, Central put on a superb opening stand of 73 between Daniel Ford and Lovely Sandhu. When Ford succumbed to the bowling of Ben Astwood in the 16th over, Stephen Nicholls came in and another 73 run partnership was formed. Not to be outdone, Nadeera Nawela (62*) and captain Julian Danby (37) put on the third 73 run partnership of the innings, putting Central in the box seat with 270.
A wicket on the first ball of Geysers innings set the tone for their batting display and tight bowling from Central, in particular Andrew Gibbs who collected 4 wickets at an economy rate of 1.76 and an average of 3.75, saw the red and blues slump to 156 all out in the 48th over. 

Bayleys Central Indians 270/6, 50 overs (Nadeera Nawela 62*, Lovely Sandhu 59; Dilraj Singh Gill 2/40)
Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 156/10, 47.3 overs (Dilraj Singh Gill 54, Kasun Eranga 21; Andrew Gibbs 4/15)
Bayleys Central Indians won by 114 runs


The Baker Cup was up for grabs when Eves Realty Greerton challenged Bond & Co Mount Maunganui for the honour. 

With 7 of their team away on rep duties, Mount Maunganui lost the toss and were given the task of bowling first. Greerton were looking good on 22 for no loss  in the 7th over when the marlins struck, dismissing opener Tom MacRury for 14. A 42 run partnership between Ben Lind and Daniel Price followed and a stellar innings from Umesh Ranaraja (90 runs off 79 balls) edged Greerton to 214 after their 50 overs.

Mount Maunganui found themselves in trouble at 75/8 in the 26th over and a gutsy 78 runs for the 9th and 10th wicket, including 50 not out from Dale Swan, avoided a huge defeat as Greerton won by 56 runs.

Eves Realty Greerton 214/7, 50 overs (Umesh Ranaraja 90*, Ben Lind 33; Jonathan Brewis 2/13)
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 159/9, 50 overs (Dale Sawn 50*, Jonathan Brewis 15; Pip Thickpenny 2/19)
Eves Realty Greerton won by 56 runs


Coming off a win last weekend, Papamoa was hoping to replicate their success and climb the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup ladder when they travelled down the road to Te Puke.

The day started well for Papamoa as they won the toss and decided to bat but that is where their luck ended - both openers were dismissed with 2 runs on the board.

Tim Tomlinson (12), Aman Mahal (39) and Ashish Dhameliya (15) tried to fight back but they were the only 3 who got to double digits as Papamoa was bowled out for 87. Josh Earle had a great day with the ball, taking 4 wickets at an economy rate of 2.22 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke side didn't waste any time chasing down the 87 runs with 62% of their runs coming in boundaries. Tai Bridgman-Raison's superb form with the bat continued as he guided his side home with 41 not out off 62 balls.

Papamoa 87/10, 36 overs (Aman Mahal 36, Ashish Dhameliya 15; Josh Earle 4/20)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 88/3, 22.4 overs (Tai Bridgman-Raison 41*, Iman Singh 41; Ashish Dhameliya 1/22)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke won by 7 wickets


With a couple of Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College players awaiting covid test results, 2 new debutants were welcomed into the side as they came up against a strong Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets side. 

Losing a crucial toss, Tauranga boys were asked to bowl first. Some tight bowling from Troy Barnett and debutant Jake Riley set up some pressure before Fynn Williamson came on to claim his first Premier wicket in his first over. 
A great spell from both Riley (2/49) and Williamson (1/19) on debut set the innings up for the spinners to come on. 

Charles Williams playing in his 300th game claimed the big wicket of Marcel Collett (40) with an absolute beauty through the gate! Tim Clarke was able to remove the Cadets skipper which set off a chain reaction of wickets over the next 10 overs and the youngsters came back on to clean up the tail to have Cadets all out for 211, Spencer Wills top scoring with 65. 

Quick wickets saw Tauranga Boys in trouble at 6/2 in the 3rd over. Seb Heath and Tim Clarke put together a small partnership before another clump of wickets fell to some quality spin bowling. Harsh Patel tried to take on the spinners in a positive manner, but ultimately Tauranga Boys were out played by the spin duo of Jono Boult and Mayura Galappaththi and were removed for 122 inside 33 overs. 

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 211/10, 45.2 overs (Spencer Wills 65, Marcel Collett 40; Charles Williams 2/29)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 122/10, 32.1 overs (Harsh Patel 37, Tim Clarke 19; Mayura Galappaththi 4/49)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 89 runs
 

FERGUS HICKEY ROUND 2 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT

After a covid affected start to the season, representative cricket is back with the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty Men's team heading north to take on Northland at the Kamo Cricket Ground after a bye in round 1.

Coach Daniel Flynn is looking forward to the team getting back together after such a long stint without any representative cricket and is confident that the amount of cricket played thus far this season will stand them in good stead. 

"It's been a long time coming for the boys. It's been good for them to play plenty of club cricket for the first half of the season, but everyone is excited to get back together and have the opportunity to represent the bay against Northland up there." 

Northland narrowly lost their first game of the season last weekend against Hamilton but Flynn is not underestimating their ability to win matches.  "We know we have to play well to beat Northland and want to improve every time we step out onto the park." 

Captain, Ben Pomare is looking for his side to start strong and continue their form that has got them close to securing a Hawke Cup Challenge 

"We haven't played a Ferg Hickey game since last year so we are all pretty fizzed to head up to Northland and secure a Hawke Cup Challenge for this year."

 

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS BAY OF PLENTY MENS TEAM

RECAP OF ALL THE ACTION ON THE WEEKEND

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP ROUND 3

After winning the toss and deciding to bat first, the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets got off to a positive start with opener Marcel Collett hitting 2 boundaries in the first over. Things slowed when fellow opener Chris Mascall departed in the 6th over. Wickets fell steadily after that point and the Cadets found themselves 115 with 8 down in the 28th over. A 51 run, 9th wicket partnership between Isaac White (33) and Josh Dempsey (17*) got their side to a slightly more defenable 166.

It was a matter of slow and steady winning the race for Bond & Co Mount Maunganui as Pete Drysdale and Kade Smit put on an opening stand of 66 from 143 balls. Jono Boult gave the Cadets a glimmer of hope as he took 3 wickets in 12 overs but Niven Dovey and Dominic Crombie got their team across the line with 5 overs to spare

Coming off a comprehensive win in the last round, The Flying Mullet Te Puke made the trip to Rotorua to face the Bayleys Central Indians who were unbeaten in the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup thus far. 

It was a dream start for Te Puke as they dismissed Central's opening pair for 13 runs off 33 balls and were putting the home team under pressure when they dismissed Stephen Nicholls in the 14 over with 48 runs on the board.

Nadeera Nawela (47) and Cody Fell (97*) anchored the innings and captain Julian Danby came in at 7 and contributed an impressive 51, setting Te Puke 247 to win at almost 5 an over.

Not satisfied with his 104 last weekend, Tai Bridgman-Raison smashed 12 4s and 2 6s in his 121 run innings (51% of his teams total runs). Wickets fell steadily on the other end and when he got out in the last over with 12 to get and 9 wickets down it was too much of a tough ask with the Central-Indians winning by 10 runs.

A 69 run 1st wicket partnership between Tom MacRury and Ben Lind set the tone for Eves Realty Greerton as they cruised to 270 against Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City. Contributions right down the batting order including some big hitting from Daniel Price (53) set Geyser a big total and a run rate of 5.40 to better for a victory.

It was a positive start from Geyser City as they put on 42 in 8 overs before they lost Vinay Pathania (33) caught and bowled. Goldendeep Brar's 55 off 45 balls was a highlight but when he was bowled by Tom MacRury in the 27th over with 135 still to get, the task was too big and they were bowled out in the 40th over - 102 short.

With both teams searching for their first win of 2022, Generation Homes Lake Taupo took a trip to Papamoa and decided to get some runs on the board after winning the toss.

Lake Taupo got off to a flying start with 11 off the first over, including a 4 and a 6 from Luke Woods but the fireworks didn't last long and when Woods was dismissed in the 9th over for 23, Taupo struggled to string together a solid partnership and were bowled out in 44 overs for 153 (with the help of 21 runs that came from extras).

A 44 run opening stand from Aaron Barbour and Nikhil Viswanath laid a solid foundation for the home team and allowed Vishwanath to let loose with an impressive 89 not out off 85 balls. Papamoa hitting the winning runs in the 30th over, with 5 wickets down.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 153/10, 44 overs (Luke Woods 23, Jerome Dyer 21, Jesse Down 19; Reece Shelton 3/26)
Papamoa 154/5, 30 overs (Nikhil Vishwanath 89*, Ryan Balsom 14*, Ashish Dhameliya 14; Michael Mitchell 2/19)
Papamoa won by 5 wickets 

 

 

BAYWIDE CUP T20 QUATER FINALS

Sunday = Finals day with the two Baywide Cup quarter finals deciding who was going to move onto the semis with Mount Maunganui and the Cadets.

Over in Rotorua, the Bayleys Central-Indians who came 2nd in Pool 1 played Eves Realty Greerton who came 3rd in Pool 2.

Central started slow with the bat and were 8-1 in the 3rd over when Mitchell Kane came in and blasted 20 off 11 balls before being bowled by Israel Turner in the 7th over. Aside from Daniel Ford, Mitchell Kane and Ben Sandford no one reached double figures and Central were all out for 95.

Greerton weren't mucking around, showing their intent by posting 12 runs in the first over. Known to hit a huge ball, Northern Districts representative Brett Hampton came in at 3 and posted 51 not out off 28 balls to well and truly take the game away from Central.  A 20 run over with 3 sixes hit sealed the semi final spot for Greerton in the 12th over.

Bayleys Central-Indians 95/10, 18.1 overs (Daniel Ford 25, Mitchell Kane 20; Harrison Perry 3/16)
Eves Realty Greerton 96/2, 12 overs (Brett Hampton 51, Tom MacRury 26; Andrew Gibbs 2/33)
Eves Realty Greerton won by 8 wickets

 

Over in Te Puke, Papamoa were vying for their first finals appearance when they came up against The Flying Mullet Te Puke. It was a shaky start for the home side with the bat as they found themselves 1-1 in the first over and then 2-2 in the second. If ever there was a perfect time for a captain's knock, it was now...and Blair McKenzie delivered with a 53 ball 65 before he was dismissed in the 16th over. Iman Singh kept the positive stroke play going with 36 off 28 balls and contributions from Tai Bridgeman-Raison (15*) and Cameron Riley (14*) put Te Puke in the box seat with 146 on the board.

Papamoa was like a bull out of the gate with 53 runs coming from 4.3 overs. Things slowed with opener Nikhil Vishwanath was run out on 23 off 14 but Papamoa were looking good at 111/3 when another run out claimed Ashish Dhameliya in the 15th over and only managed an extra 27 runs from that point on, losing by 8 runs.

The Flying Mullet Te Puke 146/5, 20 overs (Blair McKenzie 65, Iman Singh 36; Paul Inglis 2/21)
Papamoa 138/9, 20 overs (Xavier Lea 29, Aman Mahal 29; Ben Roborgh 2/12)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke won by 8 runs

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP AND BAYWIDE CUP PREVIEWS

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup - Round 3

As January (and the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup) speeds by you'd be forgiven for only now just realising we are quarter of the way through the competition. 

Round 3 brings together old foes with the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets playing host to fellow 2021 finalist Bond & Co Mount Maunganui at Tauranga Domain.

The Cadets will be full of confidence heading into the game with the mammoth 123 run win against Geyser City last weekend They will be without top run scorer Fergus Lellman and in-form Tim Pringle but still have plenty of firepower in their ranks. 
 
Mount Maunganui are fielding an unchanged side with the exception of Kyle Dovey coming in and ND Representative Brett Randell departing. Ben Musgrave will be wanting to continue leading from the front after his 64 last round while Henry Conway is looking good with ball in hand, snagging 4 wickets at an average of 6.5 against Tauranga Boys last weekend.

Bayleys Central-Indians are on home soil as The Flying Mullet Te Puke head to Rotorua with high hopes of replicating round two's 89 run win. Both teams are coming out on top in the bowling stakes thus far in the competition with Central's Lovely Sandhu and Te Puke's Tasman Carsons and Mikaere Leef all sitting on top of the leaderboard with 5 wickets a piece - this may well be the game where one pulls away to claim the top spot.

The Central Indians will be without player/coach Anish Desai as he is away on representative cricket duties playing for Hamilton in their first Fergus Hickey game of the season vs Northland. 

Eves Realty Greerton welcome back Brett Hampton as they endeavour to bounce back after their defeat in round 2. They are hosting Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City who, despite coming close, have yet to win a game against Greerton - will tomorrow be their day?  Father, son duo Cohen and Crispian Stewart are both back in action for Geyser so a win would be extra special for them.

Both the Generation Homes Lake Taupo Prems and Papamoa Cricket will turn up at Alice Johnson Oval in search of their first win of the year. Taupo could almost taste a win last weekend when they came up against the Central-Indians.....a 19 run, 10th wicket partnership from Central got them across the line with 1 wicket in hand.

Papamoa is coming off a bye so will be fresh and eager to get a W up on the board. 

 

Baywide Cup - Quarter Finals 

The big weekend of cricket action continues on into Sunday where it is finals time in the Baywide T20 Cup.

The quarter finals sees 2nd and 3rd placed teams in each pool battle it out to face either  Bond & Co Mount Maunganui or Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets in the semis.

The Bayleys Central-Indians skip a weekend of travel altogether as they host Eves Realty Greerton and Papamoa will head to Te Puke Domain in search of that prized semi final spot. Both games will be live scored on CricHQ at the later time of 12pm.

VERSATILE WILLIAMS CUP ROUND 2 REVIEW

The Flying Mullet Te Puke Premiers bounced back after their big midweek defeat with gusto with a 89 run over Eves Realty Greerton. 
The day started well for the home team as they won the toss and opted to bat first.  An opening stand of 84 between Tai Bridgman-Raison and Iman Singh set the tone and Te Puke were in a good position when Sing was bowled just 3 runs shy of his half century. 

Bridgemen-Raison went on to better his 61 from the previous round and was dismissed in the 42nd over for 104. 

Gareth Wallace kept the runs flowing with a better than run a ball 62 and a quickfire 20 off 12 balls by Cameron Riley at the end of the innings saw the total grow to an intimidating 274.

Greerton showed they were up to the task, looking comfortable at 54/0 in the 9th over, with openers,Tom MacRury and Ben Lind, putting on an impressive 1st wicket partnership. 

The fall of Lind in the 16th over started a chain reaction with 6 wickets falling in 9 overs. With dot balls making up 68% of the balls bowled, Greerton struggled to keep up and contributions from the lower order wasn't enough to come close to Te Puke's winning total.

The Flying Mullet Te Puke 274/7, 50 overs ( Tai Bridgman-Raison 104, Gareth Wallace 62, Iman Singh 47; Nick O'Sullivan 2/43)
Eves Realty Greerton 185/10, 46.5 overs (Tom MacRury 70, Brandan Laurenzi 29, Harrison Perry 26*; Tasman Carsons 4/33)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke won by 89 runs

There were runs aplenty at Smallbone Park where the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets were putting on a show!

An opening partnership of 271 runs in 48 overs from Fergus Lellman and Marcel Collett put the Cadets firmly in the box seat. 

With the daunting task of chasing down 287, Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City opener Vinay Pathania rose to the challenge with an impressive 57 off 39 balls but couldn't find the backup needed to bring the team home. A 9th wicket partnership of 42 between Matty McLaughlin and Williams Cup veteran Crispian Stewart was an innings highlight in what was a 123 run defeat.

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 287/3, 50 overs (Fergus Lellman 154, Marcel Collett 116; Matty McLaughlin 2/51)
Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 164/10, 32.1 overs (Vinay Pathania 57, Matty McLaughlin 20; Mayura Galappaththi 4/54)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 123 runs

To say that the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui Premiers are on a roll is the biggest understatement so far in 2022 having won 21 games in a row! The latest victim being the Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College First XI who have been having an outstanding 2nd half of the season. 

Winning the toss for the first time in 13 matches gave Tauranga Boys the opportunity to bat first. Playing the slow and steady game with the first run coming in the 4 over, the first XI found themselves 1 down with 73 runs on the board in the 26th over.

Once the 52 run partnership was broken between Seb Heath and Tim Clarke runs were hard to come by. 15 year old Heath achieved his first half century before succumbing to the bowling of Northern Districts Representative, Brett Randell.

Defending their 167 total and breaking the Marlins winning streak was looking promising as quick early wickets saw Mount Maunganui 4 down with 34 runs on the board.  

Ben Musgrave (64) partnered up with Brett Randell (70*) to lead a fight back. Some positive yet sensible batting and inconsistent bowling took the Mount within 30 runs of victory. Harsh Patel (4/69) came back on to strike twice and Tauranga Boys could smell blood! 140/4 became 145/7 after a mix up run out but it was Randell that kept his head to guide the Mount home by 3 wickets.

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 167/10, 48.4 overs (Seb Heath, Darcy Collett; Henry Conway 4/26, Brett Randell 3/28)
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 173/7, 36.1 overs (Brett Randell 70*, Ben Musgrave 64; Harsh Patel 4/69, Troy Barnett 2/19)
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 3 wickets

Over in Taupo, the Generation Homes Lake Taupo Cricket Club struggled to get going against a strong Bayleys Central Indians side with almost 75% of their runs coming from ones and twos. Central Indians all rounder Lovely Sandhu leading from the front with his 3 wickets at an economy rate of 2.10 from 10 overs.

Things picked up for Taupo when Michael Mitchell (64) and Ash Wijeillake (61*) combined for 66 and a run a ball 13 from Will Perry helped his team to 182 in their 50 overs. Sandhu then added 22 with the bat before falling in the 14th over with Central 2 down and 65 on the board. 

With no one contributing over 35 in the batting line up, the Rotorua lads were in trouble at 164/9 in the 38th over but a 10th wicket stand between Ben Sandford (35*) and Sam Lund (6*) got them across the line, winning by 1 wicket.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 182/5, 50 overs (Michael Mitchell 64, Ash Wijetillake 61*; Lavely Sandhu 3/21)
Bayleys Central Indians 183/9, 47.3 overs (Ben Sandford 35*, Anish Desai 31; Habib Malik 3/29)
Bayleys Central Indians won by 1 wicket
 

DEBUTS AND MILESTONES GALORE IN ROUND 2 OF THE VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP

Generation Homes Lake Taupo are at home against the Bayleys Central Indians - Centrals Captain, Julian Danby will be hoping to carry on his form from last weekend where he smashed 72 off 36 balls.  It will also be a big day for Central Indians debutant, 15 year old Tom Yetsenga. 

Eves Realty Greerton will be playing their first game of the year after Lake Taupo had to default last weekend and will be wanting to get off to a good start against The Flying Mullet Te Puke premiers who are struggling for form so far in 2022. 

Confidence will be high in the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets camp on the back of some dominant performances of late. They will travel to Rotorua where the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City will play host.

After a bye last week, defending champions Bond & Co Mount Maunganui will be chomping at the bit to get back out on the park. They will be at home against an in-form Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College who have one 5 of their last 6 games. Skipper Darcy Collett will be looking to celebrate a win on his 50th match for the 1st XI.

The Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Round 2 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo vs Bayleys Central-Indians
Owen Delany Park 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke vs Eves Realty Greerton
Te Puke Domain

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City vs Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets
Smallbone Park

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui vs Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 
Blake Park
 

DOMINANT PERFORMANCES WRAP UP THE BAYWIDE CUP ROUND ROBIN

It was a dominant performance from both winners of last night's Baywide Cup round.

In the final round before the finals, Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City hosted Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys and The Flying Mullet Te Puke side travelled over to Tauranga to take on the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets.
Heading into the match, the Cadets and Te Puke were both vying for the top of the table spot in Pool 2 with only run rate separating them, but a thrilling, down to the wire encounter wasn't to be. 

The afternoon started well for Te Puke as they won the toss and put on 25 in the first 3 overs, however things started to unravel from there. By the 9th over they were 9 down with 42 on the board and staring down the barrel of being dismissed for less than a half century. The highlight of their innings was the 10th wicket partnership of 52between Blair Mckenzie and Tasman Carsons who held up an end perfectly with 3 runs off 23 balls which allowed McKenzie to get his side up to a more respectable total of 94. 

Bringing his stellar form into 2022, Tim Pringle was a stand out with the ball taking 4 for 7 off 4 overs at an average of 1.75.

Early wickets were needed as the Cadets started their run chase but a 50 run opening partnership between Marchel Collett and Mayura Galappaththi put an end to that. With a quickfire contribution of 22 off 14 from Tim Pringle, the Cadets cruised to the top of the pool 2 table in 14 overs. 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke 94/10, 17.2 overs (Blair McKenzie 54; Tim Pringle 4/7) 
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 95/3, 13.5 overs (Marcel Collett 29; Hamish Wilde 1/7)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 7 wickets

Over in Rotorua, the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City premiers won the toss and elected to bat. Tauranga Boys turned it on with their best T20 bowling performance of the season, restricting Geyser to 120/8 on a very good Smallbone wicket. 

Loughie Keaney was the star on Prems debut, taking a tidy caught and bowled with his 2nd ball before finishing with 3/19 from his 4 overs. A 50 run partnership between Goldendeep Brar (26) and Jasvinder Singh (24) was the highlight of the innings but with all the Tauranga Boys bowlers firing, the run rate never exceeded 6 an over. 

The plan for the 1st XI was to attack early and take the game away from Geyser. With 42 runs coming from the powerplay, the platform was set for Harsh Patel (29) and Luke Scrimgeour (24) to coast us through the middle period. A small clump of late wickets saw the chase falter but Seb Heath and Tim Clarke brought the team home inside 17 overs.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 120/8, 20 overs (Goldendeep Brar 26, Jasvinder Singh 24; Loughlin Keaney 3/19)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 121/5, 17 overs (Harsh Patel 29, Luke Scrimgeour 24; Kasun Eranga 4/20 
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College won by 5 wickets 
 

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP ROUND 1

With the festive season behind us, the 2nd half of the season marks the return of the coveted Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup.

Last seasons runners up, the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets faced The Flying Mullet Te Puke Premier side first up at home. After winning the toss and deciding to have a bat first, the Cadets got off to a steady start with Spencer Wills anchoring the innings with 61 runs off 91 balls. He partnered up with one of the Cadets most decorated players, Jono Boult, who was playing his first game of the season and together put on an 80 run partnership before Wills succumbed to the bowling of Mikaere Leef in the 38th over. Boult continued on until he was run out for 70 off 59.

Chasing a total of 256, The Flying Mullet Te Puke relied on the experience of opening batsman Tai Bridgman-Raison. He did not disappoint with a skilful 61 before the finger went up and he was out lbw in the 33rd over. Contributions from Captain Blair McKenzie (30), Josh Earle (33*) and Hamish Wilde (34) weren't enough to get their side over the line, falling short by 42 runs.

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 256/9, 50 overs (Jono Boult 70, Spencer Wills 61; Mikaere Leef 3/46, Hamish Wilde 2/15)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 214/7, 50 overs (Tai Bridgman-Raison 61, Hamish Wilde 34; Isaac White 2/36)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 42 runs

Over in Rotorua on a newly redeveloped Smallbone Park, the Bayleys Central-Indians were sent into bat first by Papamoa. It was a shaky start with the ball for the Papamoa bowlers with 4 wides coming off the first over but soon got into their groove, dismissing opener Daniel Ford for 8 in the 11th over. Fellow opener, Lovely Sandhu, got Central off to a good start (including a 17 run over) but was dismissed shortly after Ford for 39. Cody Fell contributed a valuable 43 and a quickfire 72 off 36 from captain Julian Danby set the total at a formidable 257.

Papamoa's middle order came to the party with Xavier Lea producing a run a ball 45 and Paul Inglis with a steady 36, but they ran out of wickets in the 47th over with 55 runs still to chase down.

Bayleys Central-Indians 257/7, 50 overs (Julian Danby 72, Cody Fell 43; Harrison Leach 3/34)
Papamoa 202/10, 46.4 overs (Xavier Lea 45, Paul Inglis 36; Sam Lund 2/37, Lovely Sandhu 2/24)
Bayleys Central-Indians won by 55 runs

The Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 1st XI didn't let the fact that 2022 started with losing the toss for the 11th time in a row get them down as they approached bowling first to the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City prems with gusto. After a rusty start with extras top scoring over the first 20 overs, Harsh Patel got the first breakthrough with the wicket of opener Jasvinder Singh in the 5th over. Geyser found themselves in the undesirable position of being 5 down with 57 on the board but a much needed 6th wicket partnership of 79 between Gurtej Billing (32) and Gordon O'Donoghue (62) got them to 173 all out in the 50th over.

Tauranga Boys wernet mucking around with the willow in hand, putting on 80 runs for the first wicket. Charles Williams reached the first half century of the new year before falling the very next ball for 51. With 70 still required Seb Heath and Tim Clarke put on a solid partnership of 65 to ensure a comfortable 7 wicket victory. Heath (30) falling short of a red ink display as he went for the winning blow. Clarke hitting the winning boundary to end unbeaten on 46 and securing a bonus point win inside 36 overs.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 173/10, 49.1 overs (Gordon.O'Donoghue 62, Darcy.Collett 3/24)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 1st XI 177/3, 35.5 overs (Charles Williams 51, Tim Clarke 46*, Goldendeep Brar 2/34)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 1st XI won by 7 wickets 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo had to forfeit their game against Eves Realty Greerton so Greerton receive the points for this round and will start their Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup campaign next Saturday against Te Puke.
 

THE PRESTIGIOUS VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP IS BACK

As we welcome a new year, we also welcome the Prestigious Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup back this season, and it is shaping up to be one heck of a competition!

 

2021 Defending champs, Bond & Co Mount Maunganui will be looking to add to their silverware for the season, already having the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup under their belt - but with a bye in the first round, their campaign will have to wait a week.

 

Coming in 2nd place last season, and with eleven Williams Cup titles under their belt since 1995, the Element IMF Cadets will be at home against The Flying Mullet Te Puke. They will be without top performing all rounder Tim Pringle who is away with a New Zealand Development squad but will be boosted by the return of BOP rep veteran Jono Boult for the first time this season.

 

We will get the first glimpse of what Smallbone Park has to offer after a full redevelopment of the block over winter as the Bayleys Central Indians play host to Pamamoa. The on form Rotorua side will be hoping to improve on their semi-final placing last season.

 

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College head into 2022 with an unchanged side from their last outing and are hoping to gain early momentum in the competition as they square up against Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City. 15 years since his last Williams Cup game (the final), Crispian Stewart returns to premier cricket and will play alongside his son, Cohen, for Geyser City.

 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo have had to forfeit their first game against Eves Realty Greerton.

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP WRAP UP

The last round of cricket before Christmas and the end of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup for the season was a cracker.

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College had been hitting their stride in the latter part of the competition with 2 wins from their last 3 outings so were happy to be sent into bat by the bottom of the table Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City. The Rotorua lads struck early and Tauranga Boys found themselves 3 wickets down with 21 runs on the board. A 119 partnership between Sam Clode (58) and Luke Scrimgeour (65) put Tauranga in the box seat and a quick 18 from Charles Williams ensured they had a competitive total to defend of 224.

Geyser City got off to a positive start with the openers tallying up 12 runs in the first two overs. Wickets fell steadily from that point onwards and they were in trouble at 79-7 in the 25th over. An 8th wicket 69 run partnership between Gordon O'Donoghue and Dilraj Singh Gill was looking promising but when O'Donoghue was caught on 62, the prospect of their first win in the competition was put to an end.

Over in Te Puke, The Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets needed a win to ensure they ended the competition in 2nd place and they were ready to fire against a The Flying Mullet Te Puke team who have been hovering in the middle of the table for the majority of the BOP Cup.  It was slow and steady for the Cadets openers with 26 runs coming in the first 10 overs but you know what they say about slow and steady and at 111 runs with no wickets down the Cadets were cruising. Cameron Riley was the first to make a breakthrough when Marcel Collett was caught behind and headed back to the shed with 55 to his name. The top run scorer for the competition, Fergus Lellman, carried on while wickets fell around him to score another masterful century. A quick fire 49 from Blake Pentercost late in the innings, set Te Puke a mammoth task of chasing down 291 runs to win the game.

Cameron O'Dea stuck early for the Cadets, dismissing Iman Singh in the 2nd over. Wicket keeper batsman, Blair McKenzie, showed how it is done with a classy 85  which moved him into 4th place on the  batting table with 344 runs in the competition at an average of 49.14. Although they didn't chase down the Cadets total, Te Puke hung in there for a losing draw.

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 291/9, 60 overs (Fergus Lellman 107, Marcel Collett 55, Blake Pentecost 49*; Tasman Carsons 3 for 34)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 220/8, 50 overs (Blair McKenzie 85, Ben Vyver 33; Mayura Galappaththi 2 for 62, Spencer Wills 2 for 37)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets Winning Draw

Wanting to end the year on a high, Generation Homes Lake Taupo played host to Eves Realty Greerton. The away team were left questioning their decision to bat first when opener Harrison Perry was out in the fist over and Greerton found themselves on 1-1. Fellow opener Ben Lind got stuck in for a 117 ball 57 and a 74 run contribution from Pip Thickpenny pushed Greertons total up to 261.

It was an eventful first over for Lake Taupo with 3 wides, 8 runs and a wicket. A 62 run partnership between Habib Malik and Caleb Bate gave the home side something to cheer about but when Bate was bowled by Tim Burke in the 24th over and Malik running out of partners on the other end, it was a matter of staying in there for a draw. It was a tight bowling performance from Greerton with 73% of balls bowled being dot balls but they couldnt take the full compliment of wickets and Lake Taupo was 6 down after their 50 overs, leading to a winning draw for Greerton.

Eves Realty Greerton 261/7, 60 overs (Pip Thickpenny 74*, Ben Lind 57; John Dolan 4 for 54)
Generation Homes Lake Taupo 185/6, 50 overs (Habib Malik 78*, Caleb Bate 26; Tim Burke 3 for 20)
Eves Realty Greerton winning draw

The Bayleys Central-Indians needed a bit of luck on their side if they wanted to finish the competition in 2nd place having to win their game vs Papamoa and hope that the Cadets lost theirs. 

It was a slow start for Central with the openers contributing 5 runs in the first 3 overs. Lovely Sandhu came to the crease in the 4th over after Julian Danby was dismissed for 4 and stayed there for 41 overs, chipping in 64 runs. Contributions from Ben Sandford (35), Anish Desai (28) and Aaron Bennett (30) helped the Rotorua side to 214 runs all out in 57 overs.

After not having a win since the 2nd round in October, Papamoa looked strong and a 4th wicket partnership of 116 between Tim Tomlinson and Aman Mahal put the home side in the box seat, chasing down Centrals total in 51 overs with 4 wickets in hand.

Bayleys Central-Indians 214/10, 57 overs (Lovely Sandhu 64, Ben Sandford 35; Michael Brown 3 for 53)
Papamoa 215/6, 51 overs (Tim Tomlinson 64, Aman Mahal 60; Anish Desai 3 for 33)
Papamoa won by 4 wickets

 

STANDINGS 
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui                          147 points
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets                       135 points
Bayleys Central Indians                                    118 points
Eves Realty Greerton                                         99 points 
The Flying Mullet Te Puke                                  90 points 
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College    88 points 
Papamoa                                                            73 points
Generation Homes Lake Taupo                          57 points
Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City            45 points 

TOP BATSMAN
Fergus Lellman 444 runs, 63.43 average, 79.71 strike rate 139* High Score

TOP BOWLER 
Tim Pringle 26 wickets, 9.81 average, 24 maidens, 2.44 economy rate, 7/21 best bowling  

MVP
Tim Pringle 351 runs at an average of 58.5, 26 wickets at an average of 9.81, 2 catches 



 

FINAL ROUND OF THE BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP PREVIEW

It is the last weekend of cricket for 2021 and despite Mount Maunganui wrapping up the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup already, there is plenty to play for.

The Bayleys Central Indians are still in the hunt for 2nd place but will need to win against Papamoa and hope that the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets lose to The Flying Mullet Te Puke.

3rd place will be hotly contested with Eves Realty Greerton, The Flying Mullet Te Puke and Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College separated by only 18 points. 

At the bottom of the table, both Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City and Generation Homes Lake Taupo will be wanting to finish on a high and get their first win of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup this season. 

Draw:
Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City vs Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 
Boord Park, Rotorua - 11:30am 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke CC vs Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 
Te Puke Domain - 11:30am

Generation Homes Lake Taupo vs Eves Realty Greerton 
Owen Delany Park, Taupo - 11:30am

Papamoa vs Bayleys Central Indians 
Alice Johnson Oval - 11:30am

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui - Bye 
 

JEET RAVAL TO JOIN THE BOPCA BOARD

Bay of Plenty Cricket Association is thrilled to welcome professional cricketer, Northern Brave men’s team captain and Greerton Cricket Club new recruit, Jeet Raval, to the board. 

Raval is looking forward to implementing his in-depth cricket knowledge and financial expertise to help shape cricket in the region - from grass roots to high performance.

“It’s an honour to be given the opportunity to be on the board of BOPCA.

Cricket in our region is going through a significant change as the numbers continue to increase with the success of Blackcaps and White Ferns around the globe. With that comes the challenge to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and improve their skills to be the best they can be. 

I hope to add value to the existing board by combining my cricket experience together with the financial reporting skills acquired through my time working with BDO accountancy firm in Tauranga.”

Bay of Plenty Cricket Chairman Shaun Riley was impressed with the calabre of applicants and is excited to have Raval’s input at a governance level.

“The BOPCA Board is delighted that Jeet Raval has accepted a role as Board member. We received a number of very high quality applicants and the recruitment committee had a difficult task. However Jeet’s governance, financial experience and his extensive cricket knowledge made him the ideal candidate. We thank everyone that applied and the Board looks forward to Jeet’s involvement moving forward.” 

Jeet Raval is currently the captain of the Northern Brave Super Smash team and contracted to Northern Districts Cricket Association. He has represented NZ as an opening batsman for the Blackcaps as well as stints at Yorkshire, Auckland and Central Districts. 

MOUNT MAUNGANUI WIN THE BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui have won the Bayleys Bay of Plenty cup in style….and with one round to spare.

The Mount played host to Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City who won the toss and decided to have a bat. It didn’t take long for the Rotorua team to regret their decision with opener Vinay Pathania out on the first ball of the match. Jasvinder Singh fell not long after and Geyser found themselves 7 wickets down with 66 runs on the board. Goldendeep Brar helped his team to 87 all out with a high score of 27.

Ben Pomare came out swinging with 24 runs off 8 balls and with contributions from Drysdale (14*) Dovey (28) and Crombie (18*) the dominant Mount Maunganui side waltzed to their 20th win in a row.

Mount captain, Ben Musgrave, couldn’t be happier with how his side handled themselves throughout the competition.

“It was a really good campaign from this squad of players we have. We had guys such as Pete Drysdale and Craig Baldry step up and put some really good numbers on the board but I think it's a credit to the depth we have here at the Mount. There were lots of injuries in this campaign and those guys coming into the side really stepped up and made an impact. It definitely made my job pretty easy”

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 87/10, 37.1 overs (Goldendeep Brar 27, Dilraj Singh Gill 17; Chris Atkinson 3 for 19)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 88/3, 20.2 overs (Niven Dovey 28, Ben Pomare 24; Ben Astwood 1 for 18)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 7 wickets

 

Eyeing up 2nd place, the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets played the winless Generation Homes Lake Taupo premiers. Lake Taupo started strong with 9 runs off the first over and when Michael Mitchell and Habib Malik came together to form a 62 run partnership, Taupo was looking good on 114-2. Contributions from the lower order set the Cadets a competitive score of 220 to chase down.

Top ranked opening batsman, Fergus Lellman got out cheaply for 6 in the 3rd over but Otumoetai bat deep and 57 from Tim Pringle, 55 not out from Andrew Mascall and 42 from Mayura Galappaththi helped their team win by 5 wickets in the 48th over.

 

Pemberton Park was the place to be if you were a Eves Realty Greerton supporter with the yellow and blacks scoring 192 runs with Nick O’Sullivan top scoring with 33. Michael Brown snagged 4 wickets for Papamoa in a good bowling performance all round.

Losing a wicket in the first over and another in the 2nd, Papamoa was in trouble at 5-2 and despite Ryan d’Abo scoring a boundary laden 42, they could only manage 160 before being bowled out in the 27th over.

 

After an impressive win last round, Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College were looking to produce another good performance when they came up against The Flying Mullet Te Puke prems. Te Puke won the toss and at 63 for 2 in the 22nd over the game was evenly poised. A 131 run 4th wicket  partnership between Blair McKenzie and Gareth Wallace put them in the box seat with 254 amassed in their 60 overs.

Tauranga Boys opener, Charles Williams wasn’t mucking around as he scored a quick fire 43 off 29 balls. Wickets then fell consistently throughout the innings and 3 quick wickets by Ben Roborgh in the 39th over meant they were all out for 156.

The last round of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup will be played on the 18th December with the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui Prems sitting it out due to a bye.

WEEKEND WRAP UP - MILESTONES REACHED AND THE OLDEST COMPETITION IN THE BAY RETURED

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP - ROUND 7

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui showed why they are the team to beat in the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup this season with a convincing win against the Flying Mullet Te Puke side.

Te Puke won the toss and decided to have a bowl on the overcast Saturday morning. After getting Oli White out cheaply in the 4th over, Pete Drysdale and Niven Dovey came together for an 82 run partnership. Contributions from Musgrave, Crombie and Baldry helped get the Marlins to a formidable total of 256.

A classy 40 from Te Puke opening Tai Bredgman-Raison and quick runs from Serrurier and MacDonald wasn't enough to get their side into a competitive position. Man of the moment, Dale Swann had the best bowling figures of the day, taking 4 wickets which sealed his place in the record books with 500 wickets in his 300th game for Mount Maunganui!

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 256/8, 60 overs (Pete Drysdale 88, Niven Dovey 53; Ben Roborgh 3 for 54, Tasman Carsons 3 for 58)
The Flying Mullet Te Puke 126/10, 32.3 overs (Tai Bridgman-Raison 40; Dale Swan 4 for 23, Craig Baldry 4 for 56)
Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 130 runs

It was a low scoring affair in Taupo as home side, Generation Homes Lake Taupo, hosted Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College.

Bowling first, the Tauranga Boys opening bowlers put on a stellar performance with Harsh Patel taking 3 wickets in the first 9 overs and ending up with bowling figures of 5-14 at an average of 2.80. Backed up by Billy Syme who snagged 4 wickets for 22 runs, Lake Taupo were all out for 71 in the 31st over.

AJ How started strong for the hosts, taking a wicket in the first ball of the innings and another in the 4th, which put Tauranga Boys at 2/2, but that was as good as it got as Seb Heath and TJ Clarke chased down the total in the 17th over - with 66% of their runs scored coming from 4s.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 71/10, 30.1 overs (Will Perry 22; Harsh Patel 5 for 14, Billy Syme 4 for 22)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 72/2, 16.2 overs (TJ Clarke 34*, Seb Heath 33*; AJ How 2 for 10)
Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College won by 8 wickets

 

The low scoring game between Lake Taupo and Tauranga Boys had nothing on what was unfolding over in Papamoa.

After winning the toss and deciding to bowl first, the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets made scoring runs very difficult for Papamoa with 87% of the balls bowled being dot balls. The end result was Papamoa all out for 65 with Spencer Wells taking an unbelievable 4 wickets for 5 runs (that's an average of 1.25)!

The run chase was a quick one with the Cadets taking 9 overs to score the winning runs with only 3 wickets down.

Papamoa Cricket Club 65/10, 44.5 overs (Paul Inglis 15*; Spencer Wills 4 for 5, Tim Pringle 3 for 26)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 66/3, 9 overs (Fergus Lellman 30; Reece Shelton 1 for 21)
Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 7 wickets

Rain in Rotorua put an abrupt end to the Eves Realty Greerton vs Bayleys Central-Indians game, which was abandoned in the 2nd over of the second innings after a captivating 83 from Umesh Ranaraja helped Greerton to 171 all out in the first innings.
 
Match Abandoned

 

ATTRILL CUP ROUND 1

The long awaited return of the Attrill Cup didn't disappoint with clubs coming together and team mates going up against team mates.

Tauranga Coastal (Te Puke, Mount Maunganui and Papamoa) played an U20 side stacked with Bay of Plenty talent at Blake Park.

Tim Pringle continued on his unbelieve form this season with  82 runs off  68 balls, including 8 sixes. Contibutions from Oli White (21), Niven Dovey (30) and Spencer Wills (27) set Coastal a total of 212 to chase down. Cameron Riley was the standout bowler taking 4 wickets and conceding only 16 runs in the first over.

Coastal made the run chase look easy, amassing 45 runs before the first wicket fell. Ben Pomare and Blair McKenzie then partnered up and put on 107 runs before Pomare was bowled in the 29th over by Pringle. with an impressive 86 not out McKenzie guided his team to a 8 wicket win. 

Bay of Plenty U20 212/10, 48.4 overs (Tim Pringle 82, Niven Dovey 30; Cameron Riley 4 for 16, Josh Earle 3 for 38)
Tauranga Coastal 216/3, 42.5 overs (Blair McKenzie 86*, Ben Pomare 69; Tim Pringle 2 for 28)
Tauranga Coastal won by 8 wickets

Over in Tauranga Domain, Lakelands (Geyser City, Central-Indians, Lake Taupo) were batting first against Tauranga Central (Greerton, Outometai, Tauranga Boys College) after losing the toss. Central-Indians player coach, Anish Desai, led the way with a brilliant innings - falling short of his century by 4 runs. Together with opener Michael Mitchell they put on a 150 run 2nd wicket partnership. After Mitchell was bowled in the 35th over and Desai followed suit in the 38th, the wickets started to steadily fall and Lakelands were bowled out for 240 runs.

2 wickets in the first over for Central set the tone for the rest of their innings and apart from Logan Murray hitting 6 fours and scoring 31 not out, the Central batsmen never got going and were bowled out for 79. Sam Lund took 4 wickets for 10 runs to  achieve the best bowling figures of the match.

Lakelands 240/10, 49.4 overs (Anish Desai 96, Michael Mitchell 60; Fergus Lellman 3 for 40, Mayura Galappaththi 3 for 49)
Tauranga Central 75, 18.4 overs (Logan Murray 31; Sam Lund 4 for 10)
Lakelands won by 165 runs
 

 

 

TEAMS TO COMPETE FOR THE ATTRILL CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS

This weekend marks the return of the legendary Attrill Cup!

The sub-association competition which started in the 1930s and is the oldest prize in Bay of Plenty Cricket, has laid dormant for years.

Bays Pathway and Talent Coach, Dean Brownlie, is looking forward to seeing the  quality of players throughout the tournament in a competitive environment. 

"I’m Really excited about the return of the Attrill Cup. It shows the depth in the region that we can have four really strong teams going up against each other representing their clubs region. It’s exciting to see a really talented u20s team in there who I’m sure would love to get one over some of their older teammates."

With the lack of representative cricket so far this season due to Covid-19, Brownlie believes the Attrill Cup is a great way for bay players to put their hand up for rep duties.

"It’s a great opportunity for players to get experience at a higher level of cricket and push for higher honours."

The Attrill cup will be played for over 3 rounds with the following teams; Tauranga Coastal (Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Te Puke), Tauranga Central (Greerton, Cadets, Tauranga Boys College), Lakelands (Geyser City, Central-Indians, Lake Taupo) and BOP U20.

Round 1 - 5th December 12.00pm
Tauranga Coastal vs BOP U20 - Blake Park
Tauranga Central vs Lakelands - Tauranga Domain

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP ROUND 7 PREVIEW

The Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup is heating up as we look at the round 7 match ups.

Top of the table Bond & Co Mount Maunganui will head to Te Puke Domain to play The Flying Mullet Te Puke. Massive shout out to Dale Sawn who is playing is 300th career game for the Marlins!  

Generation Homes Lake Taupo are at home against Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys who will be looking to replicate their last round win while Taupo are still on the hunt for their first BOP Cup win for the season.

Alice Johnson Oval will host the game between Papamoa and the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets who are currently sitting 3rd on the table with 3 wins from 5 games. Nikhil Vishwanath will be a key figure in the Papamoa batting line up with 138 runs to his name so far in the competition. 

Wanting to bounce back after last weeks losing draw, the Bayleys Central-Indians will be at home with Eves Realty Greerton making the trip over to Rotovegas. Greerton is coming off a bye last round so will be ready to redeem themselves after a 139 loss against the Cadets in their last game.

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP ROUND 6

A thrilling victory, a magnificent century and some skillful bowling - round 6 of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup had it all! 

3rd placed Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won the toss and decided to have a bat first against 2nd placed Bayleys Central-Indians. Fergus Lellman continued his outstanding form with 75 off 110 balls putting him 2nd on the batting rankings, 1 run behind teammate Tim Pringle. Despite Central Indians player/coach Anish Desai snagging 4 wickets for 30 runs, the Cadets cruised to 229 runs from their 60 overs.

The run chase didn’t go as planned with the Rotorua lads who were 54 for 3 in the 14th over. Continuing on from his 4 wicket haul, Anish Desai stabilised the innings with the top score of 39 – helping his team hold on for a losing draw.

 

Keen to get their first win in the BOP Cup this season under their belt, the Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College team found themselves having a bowl first after Papamoa won the toss.

Papamoa got off to a flying start with opening pair Aaron Barbour and Ashish Dhameliya putting on 32 runs (which included 13 off the 2nd over) before Dhameliya succumbed to the bowling of Harsh Patel.  A 7th wicket partnership of 52 between Jass Randhawa and Xavier Lea helped their team to a defendable total of 179.

At 87 with 8 wickets down in the 35th over, things weren’t looking promising for Tauranga Boys but they dug in and with a couple of solid partnerships from Charles Williams, Finn O’Brien-O’Loan and Troy Barnett who managed to score 94 runs between them for the 9th and 10th wicket. The game ended in a thrilling victory for Tauranga Boys, winning by 1 wicket.

Pete Drysdale was the star of the show at Blake Park, scoring a magnificent 137 runs off 165 balls for the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui prems when they faced the Generation Homes Lake Taupo lads. He was backed up by fellow opener, Ollie White, who scored over 80% of his runs in boundaries. Moko Rivers and Will Perry kept their team in the game taking 3 wickets each but it wasn’t enough to keep Drysdale at bay and Taupo found themselves needing 276 runs to take out the win.

An excellent 53 off 35 balls from Luke Woods and contributions from Habib Malik, Jesse Dowd and Will Perry weren’t enough to chase down the mammoth total, falling short by 95 runs. Craig Baldry showed his bowling skills, finishing up with 5 wickets at an economy rate of 2.31.

After last weeks draw, Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City were looking to go one better and post their first win of their BOP Cup campaign and after winning the toss and electing to bat against the Flying Mullet Te Puke side, hopes were high. A 2nd wicket partnership of 57 between Goldendeep Brar and Jasvinder Singh and 36 from the in-form Samuel Devereaux helped Geyser city to 178 in the 55th over.

After an interrupted week with a postponed T20 match and a bye in the lasts round of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup, Te Puke found themselves 36 for 3 in the 14th over. Contributions from captain Blair McKenzie (31), Ben Vyver (38) and a 41 run partnership for the 9th wicket between Christian MacDonald and Mikaere Leef got Te Puke over the line.

REP CRICKET TEAM NAMING AND BAYLEYS BOP CUP PREVIEW

Cricket fans are in for a treat this weekend with 2 full days of BOP cricket!

We start on Saturday with round 6 of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup with Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College plays host to Papamoa.  Tauranga Boys showed their fight when they came up against the Bayleys Central-Indians last round, losing by 3 wickets.

 

It is the battle of 2 vs 3 when the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets face the Bayleys Central-Indians. The Cadets are coming off a big win last round and with Tim Pringle and Fergus Lellman (who have racked up 453 runs in 4 games between them) back from Northern Districts A duties and will be looking to carry on their fine form.

The Central-Indians will be wanting to keep their unbeaten record in the competition and will be looking to bowler Andrew Gibbs to take early wickets as they strive for top of the table status.

 

Blake Park will be the place to be for Bond & Co Mount Maunganui supporters as they welcome Generation Homes Lake Taupo to the bay. Sitting pretty at the top of the table, but only on net run rate, the Marlins will want to extend the gap between them and the Central Indians. Pete Drysdale will be a key figure with 9 wickets and 154 runs in his 4 BOP Cup matches.  

On the back of a draw last round, Lake Taupo will be keen to get their first win under their belt. Opening batsman Michael Mitchell will be hoping for a repeat performance of last rounds 84 not out.

 

After an interrupted week with a postponed T20 match, the Flying Mullet Te Puke side will be back in action against Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City. With a bye last round, Te Puke will be keen to get back on the park and get a win. Geyser City have yet to add a W to their BOP Cup campaign, but with a draw last week and Samuel Deveraux on fire with bat and ball, the Rotorua lads will be feeling good about their chances. The team also welcomes back Connor Scott and have named debutant Dilraj Singh.

 

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS BAY OF PLENTY REPRESENTITIVE TEAM NAMING

3rd times a charm for the Craigs Investment Partners Men’s Representative team as they face a Northern Districts U19 team for a 50 over friendly on Sunday.

After the first 2 attempts to play the game were rained out, Coach Daniel Flynn is hoping for the sun to be shining. “I’m looking forward to getting back into some cricket - hopefully the weather plays ball this time after a couple of false starts.”

This game will also be NZ U19 representative and former Northland player Ollie White’s first game for the bay.

 

TEAM:

Ollie White

Taylor Bettelheim

Fergus Lellman

Tim Pringle

Blair McKenzie

Ben Pomare (C)

Pete Drysdale

Iman Singh

Dave Hancock

Cam Riley

Josh Earle

Henry Conway

WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP IN THE LAST BAYWIDE CUP ROUND OF THE YEAR

The last round of the Baywide Cup T20 competition for the year is today!

Pool 1

Generation Homes Lake Taupo will host the Bayleys Central-Indians in a must win game with both teams sitting at the bottom of the table for Pool 1. The Central-Indians will be looking to Andrew Gibbs who has been in great form with the ball snagging 5 wickets in the last 2 games while Taupo will be high on confidence coming off a win in their last Baywide Cup game.

 

Papamoa, who is 2nd on the table, will be wanting to chase down top dog Bond & Co Mount Maunganui who is unbeaten thus far in the competition and will be looking to secure a home semi final. With 49 not out in the last round, Pete Drysdale will be one to watch for Mount Maunganui.  Oli White and Dave Hancock will also be back in action after the 3 players were away on Northern Districts A duties earlier this week.

After a win in the first round and an 18 run loss in the second…and Generation Homes Lake Taupo hot on their heels, Papamoa need a win. Ben Goodall is been a standout with the ball in their fist two games with 7 wickets at an economy rate of 4.80 and will need to strike early with the Marlins batting line up.

 

Pool 2

Over in Pool 2 Eves Realty Greerton is in a must win game vs Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College. Greerton will be missing their Baywide Cup top scorer Brett Hampton but still have plenty of batting power in their ranks. Sitting on the bottom of the table, Tauranga Boys will be ready for a battle. Harsh Patel was a standout in their last match, scoring 28 off 20 balls and taking 2 wickets.

 

The Flying Mullet Te Puke vs Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City game has had to be postponed as some of the players self isolate.

ALL THE ACTION FROM ROUND 5 OF THE BAYLEYS BOP CUP

We are now past the halfway point of the Bay of Plenty Cup for the 2021/22 season and the front runners are pulling away from the pack...here is how round 5 played out: 

The Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City Premiers were on fire with the bat with 4 players scoring 40 or more against Generation Homes Lake Taupo.

Opening batsmen Vinay Pathania and Cam Ingram got off to a solid start with a 63 run partnership before Ingram fell victim to the bowling of Will Perry. Jasvinder Singh held it together in the middle overs with 45 off 81 balls while a 7th wicket 70 run partnership between Cohen Stewart (40) and Samuel Devereaux (58 not out) pushed Geyser City’s score to an impressive 270/7 after their 60 overs.

Taupo opener Michael Mitchell embraced the challenge and kept his team in the game with 83 not out. Partnering up with captain Habib Malik, the duo put on 102 runs until Malik was out lbw. With minimal contributions from the rest of the batting line up, and tight bowling from Geyser City, Lake Taupo could only amass 206 - giving the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City side the winning draw.

 

After coming off a win and a draw in the last 2 rounds of the Bay of Plenty Cup, Papamoa were hoping to start strong when they batted first against Bond & Co Mount Maunganui. Unfortunately, it didn’t play out that way with the Mount Maunganui bowlers ripping through the batting line up bowling them out for 127. Nikhil Vishwanath top scored with 30 before succumbing to a run out by debutant Oli White.

Mount Maunganui wasted no time in their run chase with Pete Drysdale playing aggressively with 64 off 53 balls. Fellow opener Ben Pomare contributed a quick fire 17 off 9 balls before being caught by Ryan d’Abo. Captain Ben Musgrave and Drysdale finished it off in the 19th over, giving the away side a 6 wicket win.

 

It was an early finish in Rotorua for Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College and top of the table Bayleys Central-Indians.

Being sent in to bat first, Tauranga Boys couldn’t get going against a strong Central-Indians bowling line up and were all out in the 37th over. Billy Syme was a shining light for Tauranga Boys, scoring 31 not out off 36 balls.

The central Indians had a rocky start to their run chase with Kane and Sandhu departing the crease early. Daniel Ford and Nadeera Nawela stabilised the innings, putting on a 49 run partnership before Nawela was bowled in the 15th over by Troy Barnett. Rapidly running out of wickets, Player/Coach Anish Desai and Julian Danby put on an 8th wicket partnership of 36 to secure the game in the 39th over.

 

It was a tough day on the park for Eves Realty Greerton as they faced the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets.

After winning the toss and deciding to bat, the Otumoetai openers got off to a great start, putting on 42 before Marcel Collett was bowled in the 14th over. Fergus Lellman and Tim Pringle, who are both heading to Taupo later this week to represent Northern Districts A, partnered up to add 94 runs from 72 balls.  

Cadets bowler Mayura Galappaththi set the tone with 2 wickets in his first over….he went on to take 8 wickets at an economy rate of 2.85! Daniel Price was the top scorer for Greerton with 36 off 42 balls but the men in black and yellow never came close and were bowled out for 100 in the 32nd over.

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP ROUND 5 PREVIEW

After a soggy round 4 was called off due to rain, we find ourselves at the pointy end of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City are heading to Taupo to face Generation Homes Lake Taupo, both haven't had a win in the tournament thus far and will be looking to log their first W.

2nd plays 5th when Papamoa host Bond & Co Mount Maunganui. Papamoa will be looking to Nikhil Vishwanath who scored an impressive 82 in his last outing while Mount Maunganui welcome back Dominic Crombie who is returning from injury and NZ Under 19 representative Ollie White in his debut game for the team. 

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College will head to Rototua to take on top of the table Bayleys Central Indians.  Taking 7 wickets for 34 runs in the Central Indians last game, Andrew Gibbs will be full of confidence and keen to repeat the performance while Tauranga Boys will be relying on the experience of coach/player Charles Williams, who is the teams top scorer, to guide the young side.

Vying for the 3rd spot on the table are Eves Realty Greerton and Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets. Greerton will celebrate Tom MacRury’s 100th game for the club and welcome Israel Turner who will play his debut game. Both teams will be without Northern Districts Cricket representatives who are heading down to Alexandra to take on Otago in the Plunket Shield. 

Check out all the action live from 11.30am Saturday 20th November here

BAYWIDE CUP ROUND 3 REVIEW & BAYLEYS BOP CUP ROUND 4 PREVIEW

BAYWIDE CUP T20 – ROUND 3, POOL 2  RECAP

What’s better than some midweek T20 action and with the Baywide Cup on the line, the teams in pool 2 didn’t disappoint.

Tauranga Domain was the place to be if you were an Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets supporter, as they retained top spot on the table with 3 straight wins. After winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Eves Realty Greerton struggled with the bat with Brandan Laurenzi top scoring for his side with 38. Cadets easily chased down the 128 needed in 18.3 overs with only 2 wickets down. Marcel Collett finishing up on 78 not out off 66 balls.

 

Over in Te Puke, The Flying Mullet Te Puke men decided to have a bat first against Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys who were in with a chance when they dismissed opener Devon Serruier cheaply in the 3rd over -  but it wasn’t their evening as Ben Vyver and Blair McKenzie put on a 2nd wicket partnership of 57.  A late flurry by Stephen Crossan and Cameron Riley as the pair added 45 runs off 23 balls before Crossan had to leave the field retired hurt.

Another fighting display by Tauranga Boys wasn’t enough, falling short by 61 runs. Aiden Green and Harsh Patel kept their composure in the middle order, scoring 23 and 28 respectively.

 

 

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP – ROUND 4 PREVIEW 

 

 

Keen to get a win under their belt, the Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys will play 4th placed  Eves Realty Greerton. Greerton will be missing the batting prowess of Jeet Raval and the power of Brett Hampton who are away on ND representative duties. A special mention to Tom MacRury who is playing his 100th game this Saturday.

 

Te Puke Domain will host the Generation Homes Lake Taupo side who will be fresh after a bye last round and keen for their first win of the competition. The Flying Mullet Te Puke will be without the hard hitting batsman Steve Crossan who is resting up after receiving a nasty concussion during Thursdays Baywide Cup T20 game.

 

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City will be ready to get off the bottom of the table and redeem themselves after last weekend’s heavy loss when they play host to Papamoa. Papamoa is coming off the back of a losing draw so both teams have a lot to play for.

 

Follow the games live here

INDIVIDUALS SHINE IN ROUND 3 OF THE BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP

Dominant performances from the top of the table teams and some individual brilliance made for an exciting day of play in round 3 of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup.

 

Pete Drysdale got off to a positive start for Bond & Co Mount Maunganui after they won the toss and elected to bat against a strong Eves Realty Greerton line up with a beautiful straight drive for 4 in the first over. It wasn’t fellow opener Ben Pomare’s day, spooning the ball to the man at cover in the 3rd over.

Niven Dovey was in next and quickly got into his work, forming a partnership of 146 (off 110 balls) with Drysdale. Drysdale fell victim to Hampton LBW in the 36th over – just one run shy of his half century. Dovey followed in the next over, run out on 90.

An 8th wicket partnership of 55 between Dale Sawn and Craig Baldry (with a rain delay towards the end of the innings) took their total to 259 from their 60 overs. Hampton the best of the Greerton bowlers with 4 wickets at an economy rate of 3.29.

Hoping to replicate the 85 run opening partnership they put on in Round 1, Tom MacRury and Jeet Raval started strong until MacRury was run out for 27. Raval carried on, bringing up a stylish half century before succumbing to the bowling of Dale Swan. Five Greerton batsman were unable to get off the mark and a fantastic 70 from Nick O’Sullivan wasn’t enough to chase down the total, losing by 78 runs.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 259/8 – 60 overs (Niven Dovey 90, Pete Drysdale 49; Brett Hampton 4 for 46)

Eves Realty Greerton 181/10 –  42.1 overs (Nick O’Sullivan 70, Jeet Raval 55; Tony Goodin 3 for 32)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 78 runs

 

The Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets also took advantage of the toss and had a bat first. What followed was an absolute batting masterclass with the top 3 batsmen contributing 271 runs. Fergus Lellman was the standout with 139 not out off 140 balls and was supported by both Marcel Collett (66) and Joe Carter (66). A late cameo from Andrew Mascall who scored 20 off 12 balls set an intimidating 316 target for Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College to chase for the win.

It was a positive start for Tauranga Boys with Charles Williams making 52 runs from 46 balls before he was dismissed by the competition's top ranked bowler, Tim Pringle. Pringle then ripped through the Boys College line up, finishing up with 7 wickets at an economy rate of 1.52 securing the home side a 164 run win.

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 315/4 – 51 overs (Fergus Lellman 139 not out, Marchel Collett 66, Joe Carter 66; Finn O’Brien-O’Loan 1 for 42)

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 151/10 – 47.5 overs (Charles Williams 52, Seb Heath 22; Tim Pringle 7 for 21)

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 164 runs

 

It was a low scoring affair in Rotorua, with the two local teams going head to head. The Bayleys Central Indians won the toss and put Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City in to bat. Andrew Gibbs shone with the ball for the Central Indians – taking 7 wickets in 10 overs for 34 runs. The Geyser City tail helped to get their team to a more respectable total with Gurtej Billing highest scoring on 21 not out.

The Central Indians weren’t mucking around chasing down the 91 runs needed to win. Opener Daniel Ford contributing a quick 20 off 10 balls before being run out in the 3rd over. Fellow opening Stephen Nicholls and Nadeera Nawela partnered up for 36 runs to help reach Geyser City’s score in the 14th over.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 91/10 – 28.4 overs (Gurtej Billing 21; Andrew Gibbs 7 for 34)

Bayleys Central Indians 93/4 – 13.3 overs (Nadeera Nawela 28 not out, Stephen Nicholls 22; Jono Collier 2 for 32)

Bayleys Central Indians won by 6 wickets

 

Papamoa played host to The Flying Mullet Te Puke side and put them in for a bat after winning the toss. What followed was a beautiful batting showcase from opener Iman Singh, scoring 117 off 136 balls. A 5th wicket partnership of 81 from Gareth Wallace (58 not out) and Stephen Crossan (53 not out) set Papamoa an intimidating 285 to chase down after declaring after 55 overs.

A impressive 82 from Nikhil Vishwanath and contributions from Jass Randhawa (31), Edward Sclater (16) and Ashish Dhameliya (11) wasn’t enough to get close to Te Pukes total – the game finishing with Te Puke taking out the first innings win.

The Flying Mullet Te Puke 285/4 – 55 overs (Iman Singh 117, Gareth Wallace 58 not out, Stephen Crossan 53 not out; Michael Brown 1 for 37)

Papamoa 165/5 – 50 overs (Nikhil Vishwanath 82, Jass Randhawa 31; Josh Earle 2 for 29, Iman Singh 2 for 35)

The Flying Mullet Te Puke first innings win

BIG NAMES AND BIG HITTERS ON SHOW FOR ROUND 3 OF THE BAYLEYS BOP CUP

Defending BOP Cup holders, Eves Realty Greerton are at home facing top of the table Bond & Co Mount Maunganui on Saturday. Mount Maunganui will be hoping captain, Ben Musgrave, puts on another masterclass with the bat after scoring 65 and 43 respectively in the first two rounds. The team also welcomes back former NZ U19 bowler, David Hancock who is making his first appreance this season.Northern Districts batsman, Jeet Raval is back in the black and yellow and will be hoping to replicate his form from round 1 where he scored 92 off 105 balls. Big hitter, Brett Hampton will also return to the side so expect some runs to be scored in this match up.

 

After a bye last week, Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College will be keen to get a win under their belt against a strong Element IMF Otumoetai side. Otumoetai will be looking to Tim Pringle to continue on his form which currently sees him topping the player rankings with both bat and ball – amassing 155 runs and 6 wickets in just two games.

 

On the back of a nail-biting win against The Generation Homes Lake Taupo team, Papamoa will be looking carry on that winning feeling against a winless Flying Mullet Te Puke side. Te Puke captain Blair McKenzie is the one to watch with the bat, averaging just shy of 50 runs so far in the competition.

 

After showing how a run chase should be done last week, the Bayleys Central-Indians will be hoping to replicate their dominate performance as the two Rotorua teams go head-to-head. The duo of Player Coach, Anish Desai and Bharat Popli who helped the Central-Indians chase down last weeks total with 8 wickets to spare, are both named in the side which also includes the 2nd ranked bowler in the competition with 6 wickets so far, Andrew Gibbs. Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City will be wanting to get a with under their belt after two straight losses, Samuel Devereaux has been a stand out for Geyser, scoring 65 not out (off 56 balls) and taking 3 wickets at an economy rate of 2.80 last round.

 

Follow all the action (including live streaming of some games) here

BAYLEYS BAY OF PLENTY CUP ROUND 2 ACTION

It was a dominant performance from the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui premier side as they faced off against the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets.
Double figure contributions from the top 8, which included a high score of 43 from Ben Musgrave, saw Mount Maunganui in a great position with 234 runs after 60 overs.

The Cadets chase got off to a good start with opening batsman Marcel Collett falling just short of his half ton on 47. Coming in at 4, Tim Pringle contributed a batting masterclass, finishing up on 77 not out - however, brilliant bowling by Pete Drysdale and Northern Districts contracted player, Brett Randell (both getting 3 wickets each), and 3 ducks in as many overs secured Mount Maunganui the win.

After a slow start, Nick O'Sullivan and Umesh Ranaraja put on a 4th wicket partnership of 49. After O'Sullivan was caught and bowled in the 20th over, Ranaraja continued on and formed a partnership with Mitchell Rush (69) helping take their total to a healthy 211 in the 51st over. 

Jared Tutty and Daniel Spencer opened the bowling for Greerton - Tutty steaming in from one end making players duck and weave while Spencer worked his magic with the ball at the other. Wickets fell regularly with good catches taken. A brilliant 65 off 56 balls for Samuel Devereaux and a 10th wicket partnership of 41 with Cohen Stuart wasn't enough with Stuart falling to Spencer with Geyser all out for 141 in the 39th over.  

Generation Homes Lake Taupo Cricket Club played hosts to Papamoa in a nail biter. Aaron Barbour started strong for Papamoa, anchoring the innings and bringing up his half century in the process. Tight bowling from Taupo, in particular John Dolan who took 3 wickets at an economy rate of 2.36, restricted Papamoa to 195 in 60 overs.  Michael Mitchell was in fine form for the home team, coming in at 3 and amassing 87 runs, but Mitchell's efforts as well as contributions from Caleb Bate (30), and Jesse Dowd (21) couldn't chase down the runs needed to secure the win and were bowled out in the 50th over 4 runs short of a win.

It was a low scoring affair in Te Puke as the Flying Mullet Te Puke prems took on Rotorua's Bayleys Central-Indians. 
The Central-Indians chose to bowl first and were rewarded with 2 quick wickets in the first 3 overs. Blair McKenzie and Ben Vyver settled the innings with a 48 run partnership but central bowler, Andrews Gibbs was on fire, ripping through the middle order and helping bowl Te Puke out with a modest total of 114. 

Bharat Popli opened the batting for the Central-Indians for the first time this season and showed his class with 55 not out from 68 balls. He partnered up with new player/coach Anish Desai (46) to chase down Te Pukes score in the 25th over. Cameron Riley was the only bowler to put a dent in the run chase, taking 2 wickets off his 8 overs. 

BOPCA Board Member Wanted

The Bay of Plenty Cricket Association (BOPCA) is seeking expressions of interest for an Independent Director to join its Board.

The Association's purpose is to grow cricket and provide elite pathways for all within its region. It is also responsible for administering cricket throughout the Bay of Plenty region, which includes Western Bay, Whakatane, Rotorua and Taupo. 

The ideal applicant will have experience in not for profit boards, sponsorship, grant funding and some cricket knowledge. All applicants who believe they have the necessary skills and knowledge to contribute to the board and cricket in the region are welcome to apply. This is a voluntary position. Applicants must be available to attend bi-monthly board meetings. 

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter for consideration to chair@bopcricket.co.nz or call Shaun Riley on 021 535 030 to discuss further.

Applications close 5.00pm, Friday 12th November 2021

Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup - Round 1 Highlights

Round 1 of the Bayley's Bay of Plenty Cup offered up some big hits and spectacular bowling in what is shaping up to be a tight competition.

Bayley's Central-Indians vs Gereration Homes Lake Taupo
It was the battle of the lakes when the Bayleys Central-Indians came up against the Generation Homes Lake Taupo CC.
Lake Taupo got off to a steady start with opening bowlers Rivers and How keeping the Central-Indians opening pair quiet. Two quick wickets saw Lovely Sandhu (52) and Nadeera Nawela (65) come together and put on a partnership of 126. Tight bowling from Captain Habib Malik (3-21) broke the partnership when he had Nadeera caught by Perry in the covers. Roger Urbahn bowled very well in partnership with Malik and kept the pressure on - bowling the Central-Indians out for 194. Urbahn finished with a well deserved 5 wicket haul. 

The run chase didn't get off to the best of starts as Lake Taupo were 4/17 after 8 overs.  A 55 run partnership Between Habib Malik (51) and Aditya Chandel (24) somewhat steadied the ship but the wicket of Chandel caught on the boundary opened the door again. Steady wickets fell at the other end meanwhile Malik composed a very well made 50 but didn't last too long after. AJ How chipped in with 26 but there was too much to do with very little wickets left behind, falling 52 runs short.

Bayleys Central-Indians - 194/10 - 54.2 overs (Nadeera Nawela 65, Lovely Sandhu 52; Lavely Sandhu 3 for 10, Stephen Nicholls 3 for 21)

Generation Homes Lake Taupo - 142/10 - 44.5 overs (Habib Malik 51, AJ How 26; Roger Urbahn 5 for 49, Habib Malik 3 for 21)

Bayleys Central-Indians won by 52 runs

 

Flying Mullet Te Puke vs Eves Realty Greerton
Winning the toss and deciding to bowl, the Flying Mullet Te Puke CC we witness to an opening partnership of 85 runs by Tom MacRury (58) and Jeet Raval (92). 
Jeet Raval, on debut, did what he does best, batting long and anchoring the innings for a well composed 92 from 105. Tom Renoulf (50th match) did the damage at the end to get the team up to a very good score of 273, hitting 53 not out.

Jared Tutty and Brett Hampton opened the bowling for Greerton and bowled incredibly tight, restricting Te Puke to 20-2 after 14 overs. a solid 68 from Te Puke captain, Blair McKenzie, and a 6th wicket partnership of 72 between Stephen Crossan (60) and Josh Earle (18) wasn't enough with Greerton taking out a winning draw with max bowling and batting points with Te Puke getting to 203-9 off 56 overs. 

Eves Realty Greerton - 272/10 - 53.1 overs (Jeet Raval 92. Tom MacRury 58, Tom Renouf 53 not out; Tim Burke 3 for 45)

The Flying Mullet Te Puke - 203/9 - 56 overs (Blair McKenzie 68, Stephen Crossan 60; Mikaere Leef 3 for 53)

Winning draw to Eves Realty Greerton 

 

 Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City vs Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets
The Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won the toss and sent the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City CC in to bat first. A first ball duck set the tone for the innings and high scores by Vinay Pathania (35) and Samuel Devereaux (27) helped Geyser City to 133 all out in the 42nd over.

Following on from his outstanding bowling performance in the first innings (4-22), Tim Pringle accumulated over half of the runs required for the Cadets with 78 not out off 74 balls as they comfortably chased down Geyser City's total in the 29th over.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City - 133/10 - 41.3 overs (Vinay Pathania 35, Samuel Devereaux 27; Barry Hogan 3 for 25)

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets - 134/6 - 28.1 overs (Tim Pringle 78, Spencer Wills 23; Tim Pringle 4 for 22)

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 4 wickets

 

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui vs Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 
It was a high scoring affair between Bond & Co Mount Maunganui and Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College with Niven Dovey (69) and Ben Musgrave (65) putting on a partnership of 81 for Mount Maunganui in the first innings, posting a score of 272 for Tauranga Boys to chase down.

The run chase got off to a great start with the opening batsmen contributing 62 runs. However, the Mount bowlers were on fire and a 10th wicket partnership between Riley Brady (36) and Troy Barnett (13 not out) couldn't get Tauranga Boys over the line, falling 63 runs short.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui  - 272/8 - 49 overs (Niven Dovey 69, Ben Musgrave 65; Henry Conway 3 for 34, Dale Swan 3 for 59)

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College - 209/10 - 50.3 overs (Seb Heath 43, Riley Brady 36; Finn O'Brien-O'Loan 3 for 31)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 63 runs

PREVIEW TO A BIG LABOUR WEEKEND OF CRICKET IN THE BAY

An action packed Labour weekend of cricket is coming up in the bay!

We start with the Labour Weekend Invitational where the Bay of Plenty U16 girls are up against 2 Manawatu teams and Mount Maunganui team - the Hamilton and Auckland teams were unable to travel due to both regions being at Level 3 restrictions. 

Crispian Stewart will be coaching the team and thinks the future is looking bright with the talent coming through. In particular Sadie Stewart who will be wanting to build on her impressive batting form where she was the top run scorer in the BOP girls most recent tournament in Auckland.

The first round of the Bayleys Bay of Plenty Cup is starting on Saturday with Northern Districts representative and former Blackcap Jeet Raval making his debut for Eves Realty Greerton Cricket Club. 

Club President, Steve Wineti, is thrilled to have Raval on board and knows he will be a great addition to Greerton CC.

"We are stoked to have a player of his calibre and experience joining the club. It’s great for our young players and our juniors so we welcome Jeet to the club and look forward to seeing him wearing black and yellow". 

The Craigs Investment Partners BOP Senior Mens team will start their season with a few friendly games against a Northern Districts U19 representative side including a 50 over match on Sunday and two T20s on Monday.
Coach, Daniel Flynn, is looking forward to getting back into it and is excited about what the team can achieve this season.

"We will be looking to build on the bit of success we had last season with what is still a reasonably young squad. This weekend presents guys a great opportunity to put to the test the things they’ve been working on throughout the winter."



BOP GIRLS U16 TEAM - 23-24 October 2021 at Waipuna Park

Coach: Crispian Stewart

Fixtures: https://www.crichq.com/competitions/13828/draws/53198/rounds

 

 

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS BOP SENIOR MENS TEAM

50 Over - 24 October 2021 at Blake Park

Joe Carter
Taylor Bettelheim
Fergus Lellman
Brett Hampton
Tim Pringle
Ben Pomare (C)
Blair McKenzie
Peter Drysdale
Cameron Riley
Josh Earl
Iman Singh
Henry Conway
Bharat Popli

https://www.crichq.com/competitions/14522/draws/53118/rounds

T20 - 25 October 2021 at Blake Park

Round 1
Fergus Lellman
Ben Pomare (C)
Taylor Bettelheim
Petter Drysdale
Ben Musgrave
Blair McKenzie
Michael Mitchell
Iman Singh
Josh Earl
Cameron Riley
Mikare Leef
Finn Dempsey
 
Round 2
Blair McKenzie
Tim Pringle
Ben Musgrave
Peter Drysdale
Ben Pomare
Michael Mitchell
Taylor Bettelheim
Mikare Leef
Finn Dempsey
Fergus Lellman
Henry Conway
+ One other

 https://www.crichq.com/competitions/14522/draws/53120/rounds

BAYLEYS BOP CUP ROUND 1 - 23 October 2021
https://www.crichq.com/competitions/8967/draws/52414/rounds

RECAP OF ALL THE ACTION FROM THE BAYLEYS BAYWIDE CUP T20 - ROUNDS 1 & 2

The season got off to a cracking start on Saturday with Northern Districts representative Joe Carter smashing 136 not out off 63 balls, including ten 4s and ten 6s – his highest score ever for the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets.

 

The day started with the Bond & Co Mount Maunganui Cricket Club winning the toss and electing to bat against Generation Homes Lake Taupo Cricket Club. With solid contributions from the top order, Mount Maunganui were looking to be in a good position. This was strengthened even more when Matt Golding then came in at 5 to score a quick fire 62 off 26 balls.

 

Lake Taupo Cricket Club started the innings slow as the Mount Maunganui bowlers got into their work. Apart from a couple of big hits from Caleb Bate (20) and a solid 20 runs from Michael Mitchell, Lake Taupo never got going and only managed a total of 68, 114 runs short of the total.

 

Over on the other ground, Papamoa had won the toss and decided to bat first against the Bayleys Central Indians. Papamoa managed to muster up a total of 103/5 in this low scoring game with new recruit Jass Randhawa getting the highest score of 36. Andrew Gibbs took the most wickets for the Central Indians with 3-17

 

The Central Indians batsmen never really got firing with a run out early in the innings and were bowled out 11 runs shy in the last over.

 

Meanwhile, in Pool 2, Eves Realty Greerton Premier were sent into bat first by the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser Cricket Club. Tom MacRury got off to a flying start with 60 runs off 31 balls. Northern Districts contracted player Brett Hampton then joined him for a quick fire 86 off 37 runs (at a strike rate of 232).

 

A couple of early wickets from Jared Tutty set the tone for Geyser Cricket Clubs run chase as they only managed to amass 92/9 from their 20 overs, losing by 98 runs.

 

For their first game of the day, the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won the toss and put themselves in to bat against Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys. Contributions from Fergus Lellman (30), Tim Pringle (56) and Liam Collett (26) helped set the target of 172. Logan Murray’s 26 wasn’t enough to help his team to a competitive total with the Cadets winning by 66 runs.

 

Round 2 started with the Bayleys Central Indians batting first and setting the Bond and Co Mount Maunganui side a total of 108 for the win. Rupert Drysdale continued his form from the mornings game with 49 not out, he was joined at the crease by Brett Randell and together they put on a partnership of 47 runs to win the game by 6 wickets.

 

Some fantastic bowling by Ben Goodall (4-16) kept the Generation Homes Taupo prems to 130 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. But Papamoas top order couldn’t get going and with their two highest scorers, Vishal Goundar (41) and Paul Inglis (24) both being run out late in the innings, they fell short by 18 runs.

 

Playing their first game of the season after a bye in the morning, The Flying Mullet Te Puke side won the toss and put Eves Realty Greerton in to bat. Unable to replicate the batting prowess they showed in the first game reaching a total of 130 in their 20 overs. Te Puke looked in control and comfortable chased down the score in the 16th over to win by 9 wickets. Ben Vyer and B McKenzie scoring 46 and 47 not out respectively.

 

There were fireworks on the other pitch with Joe Carters thrilling 136 off 63 balls at a strike rate of 216. Getting in on the action, Tim Pringle blasted 53 off 27 balls to help the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets reach 224/2. The Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City premiers had no reply as they fell just 76 all out in 18 overs. Giving the Cadets a 148 run win against the Rotorua side.

 

Special mention to Moko Rivers, William Perry and Habib Malik for playing their 100th game for the Generation Homes Lake Taupo Cricket Club.

 

Bayleys Baywide Cup T20 – 16th October 2021

 

ROUND 1

 

Pool 1

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 182/7 - 20 overs (Matt Golding 62, Niven Dovey 35; Dale Swan 3 for 15)

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 68/9 – 20 overs (Michael Mitchell 21, Caleb Bate 20; AJ How 2 for 25, Habib Malik 2 for 37)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 114 runs

 

Papamoa Cricket Club 103/5 – 20 overs (Jass Randhawa, Aman Mahal 20; Ben Goodall 3 for 20)

Bayleys Central-Indians 92/10 – 19.3 overs (Nadeera Nawela 28; Andrew Gibbs 3 for 17)

Papamoa won by 11 runs

 

Pool 2

Eves Realty Greerton 190/10 – 20 overs (Brett Hampton 86, Tom MacRury 60; Nick O’Sullivan 4 for 7)

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 92/9 – 20 overs (Cam Ingram 23, Vinay Pathania 23; Goldendeep Brar 3 for 9)

Eves Realty Greerton won by 98 runs

 

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 171/7 – 20 overs (Tim Pringle 56, Fergus Lellman 30; Tim Pringle 3 for 8)

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 105/7 – 20 overs (Logan Murray 26; Darcy Collett 2 for 21)

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 66 runs

 

 

ROUND 2

 

Pool 1

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 109/4 – 18.5 overs (Rupert Drysdale 49, Brett Randell 26; Dale Sawn 3 for 23)

Bayleys Central-Indians 107/8 – 20 overs (Daniel Ford 39; Andrew Gibbs 2 for 8)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui won by 6 wickets

 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo 130/8 – 20 overs (Habib Malik 34, Michael Mitchell 30)

Papamoa Cricket Club 112/10 – 20 overs (Vishal Goundar 41, Paul Inglis 24; Ben Goodall 4 for 16)

Generation Homes Lake Taupo won by 18 runs

 

Pool 2

The Flying Mullet Te Puke 135/1 – 15.4 overs (Blair McKenzie 47, Ben Vyver 46; Mikaere Leef 3 for 17, Christian MacDonald 2 for 17)

Eves Realty Greerton 130/9 – 20 overs (Brandan Laurenzi 38, Umesh Ranaraja 32; Tim Burke 1 for 18)

The Flying Mullet Te Puke won by 9 wickets

 

Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets 224/2 – 20 overs (Joe Carter 136, Tim Pringle 53; Tim Pringle 4 for 6)

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City 76/10 – 18 overs (Vinay Pathania 28; Ben Astwood 1 for 19)

The Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets won by 148 runs

BAYLEYS BAYWIDE CUP T20 PREVIEW

The Bond & Co Mount Maunganui prems are going into the 2021/22 season with their 5th Bayleys Baywide Cup T20 championship on the trot in their sights.

With a couple of talented new recruits in Tom Bradburn (former Northern Districts under 19s player) and Oli White (former NZ under 19s player), coach Russ Williams says the team is excited to get stuck into the season.

“The boys are fizzing for another big season ahead, they really enjoy the T20 competition and are ready to defend a trophy that means a lot to this group and our club. It is a new season so a fresh start but we will be looking to build on the success we have had in the past.”

 

Hot on the heels of Mount Maunganui for many years, Eves Realty Greerton will be looking to get their hands on the cup this season with some fresh blood in the team. The have also lost the experienced trio of Taylor Bettlehiem, Cameron Neal, Nick Hendrie.

 

Winners of the Cricket Express Lake Taupo Spring Invitational, The Flying Mullet Te Puke Prems, are looking strong and will be wanting to continue that form into the tournament. While semi finalists, Generation Homes Lake Taupo, will be hoping to better last seasons result to make it into the final. Habib Malik continues his great work as captain for the 4th year in a row and will also help out with coaching duties with the support of the senior players.

 

This year sees the Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys 1st XI loaded with a lot of fresh youngsters coming through the TBC Pathway, many will have their first opportunity to play premier cricket for the first time this season. Player/Coaches Tim Clarke and Charles Williams return for their 7th straight season and are keen to let the new boys adapt and grow as the season progresses.

 

Hamilton Cricket Representative Anish Desai has taken the reins of the Bayleys Central Indians as player/coach and will be hoping to take his team all the way after they were knocked out in the semis last season. Julian Danby will also be making his return as captain after a couple of years off. While the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City Prems have rung the changes, adding 3 new players and losing former captain Cody Fell to the Central Indians. They have a huge amount of knowledge and experience on hand with former Nottinghamshire opening bowler, Kevin Cooper as coach.

 

Looking to improve on last years result (their first season playing in the Baywide Cup), the Papamoa Cricket Club have a fresh look with 6 players from last season departing and 5 newbies coming on board. They will be captained by Paul Inglis again this year.

The Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets have had a solid preseason, coming 3rd in the Cricket Express Lake Taupo Spring Invitational with Tim Pringle looking good with bat and ball. They are looking to build on last year with quite a few new recruits.

 

The Bayleys Baywide Cup starts this weekend (16th of October) with one pool of 4 and one of 5 (instead of the three pools of 3 from last season) and the finals will be held on the 29th January 2022.

 

 

TEAM DETAILS 2021-2022

 

Element IMF Cadets

Player Gains: Liam Collet, Isaac White, Te Manewha Rikihana, Peter Southey-Jensen, Danny Dixon, Blayne Neville, Chris Mascall, Blake Pentecost

Player Losses: Carson Wills, Donovan Deeble

Captain: Andrew Mascall

Coach: Sam Owen

 

Eves Realty Greerton

Player Gains: Nick O’Sullivan, Daniel Price, James Fendall, Israel Turner

Player Losses: Taylor Bettlehiem, Cameron Neal, Nick Hendrie

Captain: Lee Watkins

 

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui

Player Gains: Tom Bradburn, Oli White

Player Losses: Tim Tomlinson

Captain: Ben Musgrave

Coach: Russ Williams

 

Bayleys Central Indians

Player Gains: Anish Desai, Julian Danby, Cody Fell

Player Losses: Bharat Popli

Captain: Julian Danby

Coach: Anish Desai

 

The Flying Mullett Te Puke

Player Gains: Ben Vyver

Player Losses: Nil

Captain: Blair McKenzie

Coach: Pete Swan

 

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College

Player Gains: Tauranga Boys College pathway players

Player Losses: Liam Collett, Isaac White, Harrison Leach, Ben Vyver, Blake Pentecost

Captain: Darcy Collett

Coach: Tim Clarke

 

Generation Homes Lake Taupo CC

Player Gains: Luke Woods, Jesse Dowd

Player Losses: Nil

Captain: Habib Malik

 

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser Cricket Club

Player Gains: Goldendeep Brar, Guri Billing, Vinay Pathania

Player Losses: Cody Fell

Captain: Barry Hogan

Coach: Kevin Cooper

 

Papamoa Cricket Club

Player Gains: Harrison Leach, Nikhil Vishwanath, Jass Randhawa, Inder Mahal, Vishal Goundar

Player Losses: Ben Guild, Andrew Goldsmith, Matt Horne, Dan Smith, Guy Wilkins, Scott Finlayson

Captain: Paul Inglis

NEW SPONSORS ANNOUNCED FOR BOP CRICKET

Bay of Plenty Cricket is thrilled to announce the sponsors for the 2021/22 season.

 

Bayleys Tauranga and Holland Beckett Law will join as new sponsors for the 2021/22 season while Craigs Investment Partners, Versatile Tauranga, Cricket Express and Kookaburra have all signed on to continue their great work supporting cricket in the region.

 

Bay of Plenty Chairman, Shaun Riley, is thrilled to have such fantastic companies on board helping further cricket in the community.

“BOP Cricket are extremely grateful that Craigs Investment Partners, Versatile Tauranga, Cricket Express and Kookaburra have agreed to continue their sponsorship. We are also delighted that Holland Beckett Law and Bayleys Tauranga have come on board this year. These sponsors greatly assist BOP Cricket to run its senior programs in a professional manner and enable the teams to train and play with quality facilities and coaching.”

 

The sponsorship money will go towards both senior and junior cricket in the Bay of Plenty region.

 

2021/22 Season Sponsors are:

Bayleys Tauranga 

Craigs Investment Partners 

Cricket Express 

Holland Beckett Law 

Kookaburra 

Versatile Tauranga 

CRICKET EXPRESS LAKE TAUPO SPRING INVITATIONAL & CHANCE CARS GEYSER CITY INVITATIONAL T20 RECAP

The season has kicked off in style with two T20 tournaments taking place over the weekend.

CHANCE CARS GEYSER CITY INVITATIONAL T20

The Bayleys Central Indians proved to be too strong in the Chance Cars Geyser City Invitational played in Rototua, winning all four of their games and securing the win.

Round 1 was a dominant performance for the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser CC, winning by 8 wickets over Tauranga Boys College – Ben Dyson with the best bowling figures of 4 wickets for 3 runs…in only 2 overs.

In the other game, the Bayleys Central Indians showed their class by posting a total of 186 against Eastern Bay of Plenty with 4 players scoring 30 or above. Eastern Bay of Plenty could never really get going and were all out for 93 in the 16th over.

The afternoon saw the Geyser CC fall prey to some great bowling from Eastern BOP with Ricky Barring snagging 4 wickets with an economy rate of 3.43. A quick 55 off 29 balls for Lovely Sandhu helped the Central Indians get across the line against Tauranga Boys College.

Tauranga Boys hit their stride on Sunday morning, chasing down Eastern Bay of Plenty’s score of 138 in 15.4 overs with only 2 wickets down, thanks to a great partnership between Aiden Green (57 off 46) and TJ Clarke (55 off 32). Stephen Nicholls and Daniel Ford blasted a quick 69 off 44 balls at the top of the order for the Central Indians as they comfortably chased down Geyer City in 13.5 overs, winning by 8 wickets.

Finals time saw Bayleys Central Indians go up against Tauranga Boys College for 1st and 2nd  and the Craigs Investment Partners Geyser City CC play Eastern BOP for 3rd and 4th.  Lokesh Gahlan top scored for the Central Indians with 54 not out with contributions from Viren Patel (21) and A Bennett (24). Tauranga Boys were unable to chase down the 161 total, falling short by 28 runs.

A brilliant 71 off 34 balls (a strike rate of over 200) from Goldendeep Brar helped Geyser City to a impressive total of 194/8 which Eastern BOP failed to chase down, despite a score of 68 from Harry Singh.

 

CRICKET EXPRESS LAKE TAUPO SPRING INVITATIONAL 

Down in Taupo, the Cricket Express Lake Taupo Spring Invitational was underway with defending champs Taradale Cricket Club losing the toss against the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets and bowling first. Otumoetai never got going and a late partnership between Spencer Wills (23) and Liam Collett (22) wasn’t enough to post a competitive score. Taradale chased down the 98 needed in 13.4 overs with one wicket down.

Meanwhile, the Flying Mullet Te Puke side were going up against the Generation Homes Lake Taupo premier team. After losing 2 early wickets, Blair McKenzie put on a masterclass in batting for Te Puke, scoring 82 runs off 55 balls. The total of 161 proved too much for Lake Taupo to chase down, falling short by 22 runs.

Caleb Bate was on fire for Taupo in Round 2, blasting 88 of 45 balls (including 10 6’s) vs Taradale. Luke Kenworthy got his team off to a good start in the 2nd innings with 57 off 38 balls but a tight bowling effort from Taupo restricted Taradale to 148, 6 runs short of the total.

Tim Pringle shone in the Otumoetai vs Te Puke game, scoring 77 not out off 44 balls. Some solid contributions from Spencer Wills (22), Andrew Mascall (18) and Liam Collett (18) helped the Otumoetai Cadets post a competitive score of 163.

In similar fashion, Cameron Riley came out swinging for Te Puke, scoring 76 runs off 54 balls (scoring over a half their runs), but it wasn’t enough with Tim Pringle following on from his batting performance to take 4 wickets.

Day 2 Started with a mammoth win for the Generation Homes Lake Taupo team, winning by 100 runs over the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets. AJ How and John Dolan both taking 3 wickets each for Lake Taupo and Michael Mitchell top scoring with 53 not out.

On the other ground, The Flying Mullet Te Puke side posted an impressive 201/4 score for Taradale to chase down. Blair McKenzie continued his form with 79 not out with Iman Singh joining him later in the innings for a quick 28 off 11 balls, at a strike rate of 255. The Te Puke bowlers shared the love with 5 of them coming away with 2 wickets each and restricting Taradale to 124.

It was The Flying Mullet Te Puke prems taking on the Generation Homes Lake Taupo prems in the final with Lake Taupo winning the toss and electing to bat. Caleb Bate rose to the occasion and posted an impressive 108 off 64 balls before being bowled by Hamish Wilde in the 18th over. In response, Ben Vyer smashed 6 sixes in his 59 and a fantastic 31 off 12 balls late in the innings by Josh Earle secured the win for Te Puke.

In the battle for 3rd and 4th, The Bayleys Taradale prems won the toss and decided to bat against the Element IMF Otumoetai Cadets. Taradale couldn’t get going with Steven Phillips top scoring with 41 off 55 balls and with 2 run outs late in the innings, only managed to post 124/5. The Otumoetai top order came out swinging, posting a partnership of 95 (James McCabe 43 and Spencer Wills 52). They chased down Taradale’s score in 16.4 overs.

APPOINTED BOARD OF DIRECTORS - NORTHERN DISTRICTS CRICKET ASSOCIATION

Northern Districts Cricket Association (NDCA) is an Incorporated Society responsible for leading, growing and supporting all forms of cricket within the Northern Districts region. Covering an extensive area of the North Island the NDCA region encompasses six districts, Northland, Counties Manukau, Hamilton, Waikato Valley, Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay.

NDCA aspires to “Connect People and Create Memories” whilst collaborating with our community to create a game for everyone.

Applications are now invited for two (2) Directors to govern cricket within the NDCA region. The NDCA Board continues to strive to be representative of its constituents.  That is, NDCA Cricket would like to see a Board that has representation from both genders, from different age brackets, and include a mix of ethnic groups including Māori.

This is a voluntary position for a term of three (3) years. The expected time commitment is 60 – 70 hours.

 

Ideal Applicant Description

1. A minimum of one (1) female director

2. A minimum of one (1) director having strong accounting/finance or fundraising experience

3. A minimum of one (1) director having strong high-performance sport knowledge (cricket preferred)

4. Regional representation outside of Hamilton and Auckland will be considered a positive

 

Applicants should send their CV and Cover Letter via email to Tash Narasy, careers@ndca.co.nz

Applications close 5:00pm, Friday 15 October 2021

For more information, please contact Ben MacCormack, CEO Northern Districts Cricket ben@ndca.co.nz 

DEAN BROWNLIE APPOINTED AS PATHWAY AND TALENT COACH

The future is looking bright for young cricketers in the BOP region with the appointment of Dean Brownlie in the newly created Bays Pathway and Talent Coach role.

 

Brownlie, who played 138 games for Northern Districts and 35 for the Blackcaps prior to his retirement from cricket last season, is looking forward to sharing his experience and mentoring the young talent in the region.

 

“I am really excited about my new role as Pathways and Talent Coach across the bays. I have very fond memories of my development years which prepared me well for my career as a professional cricketer. I hope that I can help create these same fond memories for other young cricketers across the Bays region.”

 

Bay of Plenty Cricket Chairman, Shaun Riley, thinks the addition of Brownlie to an already strong coaching, pathway and development team is going to be hugely positive for the future of cricket in the area.

 

“We are very pleased with the appointment of Dean Brownlie to the role of Talent and Pathway Coach for our area. Dean’s experience as a domestic and international cricketer provides him with great insight into high performance and what the journey towards a cricket career involves. This will be extremely valuable for our young cricketers that are showing ability and we look forward to him working with our Senior Coach, Daniel Flynn, in what we believe is an enviable cricketing partnership.”

 

Brownlie will be responsible for running the newly formed regional academy and looking after the pathways across the bays.

DANIEL FLYNN BACK AS COACH FOR THE 2021/22 SEASON

Bay of Plenty Cricket Association is thrilled to announce that Daniel Flynn will be continuing his great work as head coach of the men’s representative team this coming season.

 

Flynn is looking forward to resuming the coaching role and building on a successful 2020/21 season. “We had a solid season last year and the guys were rewarded for their efforts by winning the Fergus Hickey trophy. There’s certainly still room for improvement both individually and as a collective which is an exciting prospect.”

 

Bay of Plenty Cricket Chairman, Shaun Riley, is delighted that he has accepted the role for a further year. “Last year Flynny was able to build on the great work of prior coaches to create a team that had success by winning the Fergus Hickey trophy. His work on team culture really helped to get the most out of the players on the field and we look forward to seeing what can be achieved this season.”

 

Flynn made his debut for the Bay of Plenty men’s team as a 15 year old and went on to represent NZ in 46 matches and play over 300 games for Northern Districts. The transition into coaching has meant he is able to continue to contribute to the game and share his expertise.  “It’s been great to stay involved with the game in a role where I feel I can add some value and work with an exciting group of players.”

 

In addition to the head coach role, Flynn will also be involved in the development of coaches in the region and will work closely with the Northern Districts Cricket Pathway and Talent Coach to help develop and grow the talent in the Bay of Plenty.

EXCITING CHANGES FOR CRICKET IN THE BAY OF PLENTY

There will be more opportunities to play, coach and be involved in cricket in the Bay of Plenty region than ever before this season due to the new shared services partnership with Northern Districts Cricket Association.

 

The new structure has been put in place to improve the way that cricket is delivered within the region and give more people, especially children, increased opportunities to play the game. This means that the number of staff servicing the region will go from 3 to 5, in addition to the BOP senior men’s coach who will also be involved in the development of coaches across the Bay of Plenty.

 

BOPCA Chairman, Shaun Riley, said that the new model will be a huge benefit to cricket in the region and the additional staff will be able to have a greater reach over the entire Bay of Plenty area.  “We worked closely with ND on the new structure and we are delighted with the level of resource available in the region. We are very excited for the future of cricket in the BOP with a dedicated Coach providing training and guidance to our talented young cricketers, while the employment of 3 development officers/activators will enable a far greater number of cricket experiences to be provided to school age children than BOPCA were able to provide historically.”

 

Northern Districts Cricket are currently in the process of hiring (or have already hired) specialised staff in the following roles:

• Development Manager – Bays (Scott Steward)
• Development Activator – Western Bay (Rebecca Yee)
• Development Officer – Lakelands/South Waikato
• Development Activator – Eastern Bay
• Pathway and Talent Coach – Bays

 

CEO Ben MacCormack is looking forward to seeing the impact these newly created positions have on the ground. “ND is thrilled that these positions are now being confirmed or in final stages of recruitment ahead of the coming summer. It’s the activation of our commitment to grow ‘boots on the ground’ and we thank Bay of Plenty Cricket and the broader community for entrusting us to play a key role in the future of the game across the region.”

 

“We are particularly excited by the increase in resources into places that have been previously under resourced like Eastern Bay, Rotorua and Taupo and their collective surrounds.”

Northern Districts Announce Development Manager

Scott Stewart Appointed

It is with great excitement we announce Scott Steward has been appointed to the new Northern Districts role of “Development Manager – Bays”, inclusive of the ND regional portfolio lead for ‘Coach Developer’. Scott has previously held the role of Bay of Plenty employed ‘Development Manager – Bay of Plenty’ and will bring a wealth of knowledge for community sport to a broader region encompassing both Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay regions. Scott’s leadership and focus with Coach Developer will be a key addition to the ND team as we look to further develop strategies and structures to support community coaches. This is further progress of a shared vision across the ND community to find administration efficiencies and activate strategy of getting more staff out into the community.

Scott will be based in the Tauranga region (at an office TBC) with a start date on Monday 28 June . Scott’s email will be scott@ndca.co.nz and his phone number will remain the same 027 257 4164.

For further information contact:

Eimear Richardson

Eimear@NDCA.co.nz

Bay of Plenty Cricket Announce Restructure

BOP Cricket moved towards shared services model with NDCA

The Bay of Plenty Cricket Association (BOPCA) has been working with Northern Districts Cricket Association (NDCA) and the other District Associations in our region to improve the way that cricket is delivered.

This work is part of the national Strengthen and Adapt Plan that New Zealand Cricket is rolling out across the country. The aim of these changes is to reinvigorate community cricket inclusive of our player pathway to give more people (especially children) more opportunities to fall in love with our great game. As part of these changes, Northern Districts Cricket Association and Bay of Plenty Cricket Association have implemented a shared services arrangement. The administration functions of BOPCA have been undertaken by NDCA under this model for the past year and this has worked very well. The next step involves competition management and operational delivery, where the current tasks undertaken by BOPCA will now be performed by NDCA. This logical consolidation will enable resources to be utilised in a more efficient and aligned manner resulting in improved outcomes for our cricket community.

So what is changing:

• Premier Cricket Competition Management will be operated by Northern Districts Cricket.

• Management of cricket development and pathway activities across the Bay of Plenty will be undertaken by staff employed by NDCA 

And what is staying the same:

• BOPCA has a long and proud history in representative cricket. Players of all ages will still be able to aspire to represent their district associations. Representative programs and representative boundaries won’t be changing.

• BOPCA will continue to be responsible for the oversight of cricket in our district. The BOPCA Board will oversee and direct the competitions and representative programs.

• BOPCA will still retain control of tasks like the financials and judiciary for competitions.

• NDCA will continue to provide administration and accounting functions

Staff changes implemented 28th May 2021 As part of these changes, the current BOPCA Development Manager, Pathway Manager and Women’s Cricket Officer roles will discontinue from the 26th June. NDCA will recruit staff to perform development, pathway and competition tasks and provide regular updates to the BOPCA Board in regard to agreed KPIs.

Further information Further information will also be available on BOPCA and NDCA’s website and facebook pages. In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact:

Shaun Riley Chair, Bay of Plenty Cricket Association chair@bopcricket.co.nz

FOUR BAY OF PLENTY OF PLENTY SCHOOLS PLAY IN THE GILLETTE CUP ND FINALS

BAY OF PLENTY CRICKET SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Three Bay of Plenty Schools, played in the ND Gillette Cup playoffs at Jansen Park in Hamilton 22/25 March 2021, with the prize at stake being the Northern Districts berth in NZC Gillette Cup Finals in term four.

Tauranga Boys College and Aquinas College, qualified with a top six finish at the previous seasons playoffs, with new recruit Mount Maunganui College, winning through the Bay of Plenty Cricket and ND Elimination T20 pathway.

Tauranga Boys College and Aquinas College opened their campaign with a Bay of Plenty derby, on day one, with Tauranga Boys making short work of the encounter after bowling their opponents out for 31 and then getting home with eight wickets to spare.

Tauranga Boys chased down St Peters School 228 for the loss of seven wickets on day two. The last stanza of round robin play saw Mount College post their first win of the tournament beating Whangarei Boys High School by nine wickets. St Pauls knocked Tauranga Boys College out of the championship playoff, when they bowled the Western Bay side out 51 runs short of their target, with St Johns College easily beating Aquinas College.

Tauranga Boys College finished in third place after they chased down St Peters School target of 196 for the loss of six wickets. Loughlin Keaney and Darcy Collett both took three wickets, with Isaac White in grand touch with his willow weapon in belting 93 runs.

Mount Maunganui College faced a huge challenge against St John's College in the fifth/sixth place play off after the Waikato School posted 353 for the loss of five wickets. The Mount College side weren't fazed by the big target and made a determined challenge before being bowled out for 201. Sam Wilson top scored with a hard fought half century with Kade Smit and Ethan Chamberlain both reaching the thirties.

Aquinas College posted their first win of the tournament in emphatic style against Whangarei Boys High School. The team from the Far North mustered 197 for seven with Spencer Wills grabbing three wickets. Wills then showcased his all-round ability in belting an unbeaten 84, as his side cruised to a seven wicket victory.

Tauranga Girls College finished second to Gisborne Girls High School, in the ND Gillette Venus T20 Championship held at Bruce Pullman Park in Takanini 22/24 March 2021. 

Tauranga Girls started their campaign in good style, defeating eventual tournament winner Gisborne GHS in the early round on day one. The Poverty Bay side were restricted to 110/6 with Elle Archer taking four wickets. Aimee Unwin smacked 43 runs in Tauranga Girls seven wicket win.

Back to back losses to Whangarei Girls High School and Waikato Diocesan School, in round two and three, eventually led to the Bay of Plenty representatives failing to qualify for the NZC Gillette Venus Cup Finals.

Morrinsville College lost to Tauranga Girls in round four, after they posted 94/6, with their opponents losing just two wickets. Amelia Harvey and Aimee Unwin led the way with unbeaten scores in the thirties. Tauranga Girls College completed their campaign with another easy win, over Waiuku College. Set a target of 93 runs to win Sarah Jane Stone wasted little time taking her side to victory with 62 runs.

 

ND Gillette Cup Finals @ Jansen Park, Hamilton 22/25 March 2021

Day Four 25 March 2021

Third/Fourth Playoff: St Peters School 196 (Loughlin Keaney 3/12, Darcy Collett 3/29) lost to Tauranga Boys College 197/6 (Isaac White 93, Sam Clode 35)

Fifth/Sixth Playoff: St John’s College 353/5 (Ethan Chamberlain 2/91) defeated Mount Maunganui College 201 (Sam Wilson 57, Kade Smit 37, Ethan Chamberlain 30)

Seventh/Eighth Playoff: Whangarei BHS 197/7 (Spencer Wills 3/20, Asa Banbury 2/24) lost to Aquinas College 199/3 (Spencer Wills 84no, Jordy Smith 60)

Day Three 24 March 2021

Whangarei BHS 149/9 (Conor Wells 5/20, Angus Tustin 2/11) lost to Mount Maunganui College 151/1 (Conor Wells 71no, Harry Burns 62no)

St Paul’s Collegiate 205 (Isaac White 5/38, Ben Vyver 3/45) defeated Tauranga Boys College 154 (Isaac White 38)

St John’s College 253/9 (Spencer Wills 3/28, Luc Adsett 3/34) defeated Aquinas College 88 (Spencer Wills 27)

Day Two 23 March 2021

Mount Maunganui College 126 (Kade Smit 60) lost to St Peters School 127/0

St John’s College 228 Harrison Leach 4/49, Liam Collett 3/30, Isaac White 2/32) lost to Tauranga Boys College 229/7 (Ben Vyver 90, Isaac White 46,  Darcy Collett 35)

St Paul’s Collegiate 307/7 (Daniel Coster 2/32) defeated Aquinas College 128 (Jordy Smith 30, Daniel Coster 20)

Day One 22 March 2021

Mount Maunganui College 127 (Kade Smit 44, Harry Burns 41) lost to Hamilton BHS 111/2 (Conor Wells 2/521)

Aquinas College 31 (Daniel Coster 24no) lost to Tauranga Boys College 32/2)

 

Mount Maunganui College Road to the ND Gillette Cup Playoffs

ND T20 Elimination: Mount Maunganui College 126 (Conor Wells 70) defeated Hauraki Plains College 93/8 Ethan Chamberlain 2/14)

BOPCA T20 Championship: Mount Maunganui College 128 (Kade Smit 41, Ethan Chamberlain 38; Sean Gapes 3/23) defeated John Paul College 97 (Cohen Stewart 24, Sean Gapes 22; Tyler Perry 3/18)

 

ND Gillette Venus Cup (T20) @ Bruce Pullman Park, Takanini, 22/24 March 2021

Round Five: Waiuku College 82/7 (Aimee Unwin 2/12, Amy Clegg 2/20) lost to Tauranga Girls College 83/2 (Sarah Jane Stone 62)

Final Points: Gisborne GHS 12, Tauranga Girls College 9, Waikato Diocesan 9, Morrinsville College 9, Whangarei GHS 6, Waiuku College 0. 

Round Four: Morrinsville College 94/6 (Sarah Jane Stone 2/13, Ellie Archer 2/8) lost to Tauranga Girls College 95/2 (Amelia Harvey 35no, Aimee Unwin 30no) 

Round Three: Waikato Diocesan 121/6 (Elle Archer 2/15, Sarah Jane Stone 2/20) defeated Tauranga Girls College 90/9 (SJ Stone 31)

Round Two: Whangarei GHS 82/8 (Mikyla Keane 3/32, Aimee Unwin 2/32) defeated Tauranga Girls College 55

Round One: Gisborne GHS 110/6 (Elle Archer 4/18, Mikyla Keane 2/21) lost to Tauranga Girls College 129/3 (Aimee Unwin 43, Amelia Harvey 29)

BAY OF PLENTY SWEEP ND SENIOR AND AGE-GROUP CHAMPIONSHIP SILVERWARE

BAY OF PLENTY CRICKET SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Bay of Plenty Cricket is arguably the strongest NZC Minor Association in the country, which is testified to by four Bay of Plenty representative sides sweeping the board of the ND Senior and Age-Group Championship silverware in the 2020-21 season.

The template for cricket success was first put in place in 1997, with the initial appointment of David Johnston as the Bay of  Plenty Coach Force Office, funded by a outside party. Subsequent Bay of Plenty Cricket Development appointments have continued the junior and senior pathways with outstanding success. 

Debutant Senior Representative Coach Daniel Flynn made a highly successful transition from player to coach. While the ND T20 tournament, where the Bay side finished with two wins and three losses presented plenty of challenges to the new coach and his team, the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl turned into an absolute run-fest for the Bay side.

Some 1515 runs and an outright victory and two first innings points’ advantage, from four encounters, saw the Bay side take out the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl (ND Two-Day Championship) for the seventeenth occasion.

Bay of Plenty set the stage for later success, when they chased down Northlands big total of 350 at the Tauranga Domain in November 2020. Peter Drysdale took 3/53, with Black Cap Neil Wagner making his Bay of Plenty debut, along with Chris Atkinson and Brett Hampton with each taking two wickets.

The Bay side fought hard to chase down the big target, with first innings points coming late on day two for the loss of eight wickets. Dean Brownlie and Brett Hampton jointly top scored with 94 runs, with Ben Pomare posting 77 runs.

The Bay side had to wait until late January 2021, to resume their Fergus Hickey campaign, when they played Hamilton in the Waikato Capital. Bay of Plenty set their opponents a very solid target after they were removed for 319. Taylor Bettelheim, gave a look at what was to come a few weeks later in top-scoring with 133 runs. Hamilton were dismissed for 260, with Tim Pringle in magnificent touch taking six wickets for 48 runs.

The Bay of Plenty team and management, could only watch with amazement and frustration, after Waikato Valley chased down the Bay sides 401 for the loss of just four wickets. Taylor Bettelheim became just the third Bay of Plenty batsmen to post a double century with 211 not out, with Bharat Popli compiling 81 runs before being dismissed.

Trailing Northland, with a game in hand entering the last match of their Fergus Hickey campaign - Bay of Plenty need to pull a big performance out of the hat against Counties Manukau, in order to win their 17th ND two-day title. Bharat Popli and Blair McKenzie, came together, after a measured start by the Bay of Plenty top-order at 86/2. The Bay pair simply took control of the encounter at the Te Puke Domain, putting on a record all-time partnership of 269, which smashed the previous best of 208 put together by Popli and Joe Carter against Hamilton in the 2012/13 season.

Bharat led the way with 191 off 240 balls including nineteen 4's and five 6's. Blair was no less impressive, belting an unbeaten 165 runs with thirteen 4's and nine big heaves over the boundary ropes.

Day two belonged to the Bay bowlers, who bowled the visitors out for 206 in their first effort, with veteran all-rounder Peter Drysdale, collecting his first Bay representative five wicket bag.  Stumps on day two, saw Counties having reached 143/7 which gave the home side a massive 239 first innings win. Tim Pringle took three wickets in each innings with Peter Drysdale adding two more to his five wicket haul.

The Bay of Plenty Development team brushed aside all four Basil McBurney Trophy challenges, on their way to winning the ND Development title. Coach Russell Williams ran his ND Development record to two titles and a paper-thin margin second in the last three seasons.

The Bay side kicked of their Basil McBurney campaign with a six wicket win over Counties Manukau, with Michael Mitchell top scoring with 94 not out. Second-up, Bay of Plenty inflicted defeat on long-time rivals Hamilton, in a match that was delayed on a couple of occasions. Finn Dempsey wrote his name into the Bay of Plenty Cricket record books, taking six wickets for 32 runs, in the Bay sides 23 run victory. Northland fell to the Bay of Plenty attack as they eked out a three wicket win. 

The Bay side took their unbeaten season record into the ND Development Final against Hamilton. The Waikato team set the Bay team a big target when they were bowled out for 264. Bay of Plenty simply blasted their way to the ND Development title, losing just three wickets on the way.

Mark Mitchell was again in rampant for top scoring with 96 runs. Blair McKenzie continued his sides momentum with 74, with Fergus Lellman still at the crease when victory arrived, with a unbeaten 65 runs.

Bay of Plenty Coastland won the ND Senior Secondary crown, under the mentorship of Coach Peter Swan, for the third successive season when they defeated the ND Invitation team in the title decider. The Bay bowlers removed the composite side for just 133 before cruising to a eight wicket win. Liam Collett and Finn O'Brien-O'Loan took three wickets each with Blake Pentecost posting a unbeaten half century.

The Coastland bowlers excelled in the preliminary championship action, in bowling Poverty Bay out for 39 and then repeating the devastation against Counties Manukau in removing them for 84.

Bay of Plenty Coastland Junior Secondary team, set the scene for the four pieces ND Championship silverware in winning the annual ND tournament first up. 

Coastland cruised to victory in the title decider over Counties Manukau, when they reached 229/9 then removed their opponents for 144, to claim a big 85 run victory. 

 

2020/21 ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl

Round Four - 13/14 March 2021 @ Te Puke Domain 

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 445/6 (Bharat Popli 191, Blair McKenzie 165no, Peter Drysdale 32)

Counties Manukau 206 (S Varcoe 54, Peter Drysdale 5/42, Tim Pringle 3/66) & 143/7 (K Clarke 48; Tim Pringle 3/39, Peter Drysdale 2/22)

Result: Bay of Plenty won by outright victory.

Round Three - 20/21 February 2021 @ Blake Park Mount Maunganui

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 401/4 (Taylor Bettelheim 211no, Bharat Popli 81, Blair McKenzie 35, Fergus Lellman 33, Tim Pringle 28no) 

Waikato Valley 402/5 (JWA Field 129, GC Child 86; Peter Drysdale 3/72)

Result: Waikato Valley took first innings points

Round Two - 23/24 January 2021@ St Paul’s Collegiate

Bay of Plenty 319 (Taylor Bettelheim 133, Ben Pomare 34no, Joe Carter 31; F Walker 3/101)

Hamilton 260 (Tim Pringle 6/48)

Result: Bay of Plenty won by way of first innings points

Round One - 21-22 November 2020 @ Tauranga Domain

Northland 350 (Henry Cooper 116, Thorn Parkes 53, James Banicevich 35; Peter Drysdale 3/53, Neil Wagner 2/55. Chris Atkinson 2/55, Brett Hampton 2/60)

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 352/8 (Dean Brownlie 94, Brett Hampton 94, Ben Pomare 77; Brett Randell 4/64)

Result: Bay of Plenty took out first innings points

ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl Individual Performances (Top Five)

Runs: 1st Taylor Bettelheim 351 runs, 2nd Bharat Popli 316 runs, 5th Blair McKenzie 200 runs

Wickets: 1st Peter Drysdale 14 wickets, 2nd= Tim Pringle 13 wickets.

 

2020/21 ND Development Competition 

ND Development Final – 7 March 20210 @ Bay Oval Mount Maunganui 

Hamilton 264 (C Hill 88, R Clinton 78; Henry Conway 4/51) lost to Bay of Plenty 265/3 (Michael Mitchell 96, Blair McKenzie 74, Fergus Lellman 65no)

Round Three – 14 February 2021 @ War Memorial Park, Manurewa

Northland 210/8 (B Peck 54; Habib Malik 2/31, Henry Conway 2/37, Iman Singh 2/44) lost to Bay of Plenty 212/7 (Blair McKenzie 60, Niven Dovey 52no, Michael Mitchell 48, Ben Musgrave 25)

Round Two – 21 February @ Galloway Park, Hamilton (replayed rained-out fixture)

Bay of Plenty 217 (Ben Vyver 68, Michael Mitchell 51, Brandon Laurenzi 30) defeated Hamilton 196 (F Hill 56; Finn Dempsey 6/32)

Round One - 15 November 2020 @ Bay Oval Mount Maunganui

Counties Manukau 191 (David Hancock 2/21, Craig Baldry 2/26) lost to Bay of Plenty 192/4 (Michael Mitchell 94no, Fergus Lellman 45no)

ND Basil McBurney Trophy Individual Performances (Top Five)

Runs: 1st Michael Mitchell 289 runs, 4th Blair McKenzie 134 runs, 5th Fergus Lellman 110 runs

Wickets: 1st Finn Dempsey 8 wickets, 5th Henry Conway 6 wickets.

 

ND Senior Secondary Tournament @ Rotorua/Mount Maunganui 14-18 December 2020

Day Five (18 December 2020) - 50 over per side

ND Senior Secondary Championship Final

ND Invitation XI 133 (Liam Collett 3/12, Finn O’Brien-O’Loan 3/37) lost to Bay of Plenty Coastland 134/2 (Blake Pentecost 52no, Chris Mascall 37no)

 

ND Junior Secondary Tournament @ Gisborne, 31 November – 4 December 2020

Day Five (4 December 2020)

ND 2020 Senior Secondary Championship Final

Bay of Plenty Coastland 229/9 (Loughlin Keaney 63, Logan Murray 32, Utsav Kumar 28) defeated Counties Manukau 144 (Andrew Friskney 3/22, Luke Scrimgeour 2/24)

Two Bay of Plenty Players Recognised at ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards

Two graduates of the Bay of Plenty Cricket pathway were recognised at the recent 2020/21 ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards.

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson was awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the fourth time in six years. Rising women’s star, Nensi Patel, received the Gillette Venus Cup Player of the Year, in her last season at Tauranga Girls College.

Williamson’s incredible home Test summer helped him claim the supreme award, along with the ANZ International Test Player of the Year and the Redpath Cup for first-class batting, after he amassed a whopping 639 runs in just four innings at an average of 159.

In bowler friendly conditions, Williamson, the ICC ranked number one Test batsman recorded his top international score of 251 against the West Indies at Seddon Park in Hamilton, then a Boxing Day Test century on his home ground of Bay Oval in Tauranga, before adding another double-century against Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch - to help the Black Caps book their place in the ICC World Test Championship Final.

Nensi, is one of the youngest female players to make their NZC Major Association debut, being selected for the Northern Spirit aged just 14 years, 153 days, against Auckland Women, in a T20 match on the 25th November 2016.

Since her Major Association debut, the Spirit all-rounder has also gone on to play for ND Under 18 & 21 Women, and in February 2021, she was selected for a New Zealand Women's XI that squared off with England Women in a two game series.

Nensi was the standout player at the 2020 Gillette Venus National Finals. In six matches, the Western Bay of Plenty player showcased her outstanding cricket skills, with 181 runs, 11 wickets, and three catches for good measure. A highest score of 85 not out helped produced an average of 36.20 with a strike rate of 112 (per one hundred balls).

Nensi's NZC Major Association statistics are amazing for one who has yet to reach her nineteenth birthday. Twenty-five List A (Fifty overs per side) have produced 137 runs and 18 wickets, complemented by twenty T20 games, that has contributed 77 runs and 17 wickets with best bowling figures of 4/19.

The Northern Spirit all-rounder wasn't fazed by her step up to international cricket against the English Women's side taking, two wickets at a cost of 39 runs in game two. 

Catching Up With Nick Smith

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui premier player Nick Smith, announced his retirement from the Baywide premier game, after Mount Maunganui won the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup on Saturday 27 March 2021.

Nick has been one of the real characters of Baywide Cricket for a remarkable twenty-four seasons. Whether giving some friendly advice to opposition bowlers or chirping away at the other sides batsmen with ball in hand - Nick never lost his cheeky grin or positive Mount Maunganui attitude, through his long and sterling Baywide career.

Tell us about where it all started in your junior cricket days?

I started my junior cricket as a 9 year old in Taupo, before moving to Mount Maunganui when I was 14, where I played for the Mount College fourth form team in the morning and for the First XI in the arvo. Tony Wellington was our 1st XI captain at the time, who was already affiliated with the Mount club, asked a few of the lads if we wanted to come down to club practice. We bowled for about two months straight, before making my debut in the nets with the bat, but it was all worth it, I was opening the batting for the premier side, three weeks later !!! 

 

When did you make your premier debut all those long seasons ago.

Greerton at Pemberton Park in 1997. I got hit me first ball for four, second ball cleaned bowled Tom Morrison. Jimmy Pamment got us home with a 102 not out.

 

How many Williams Cup titles have you won and what did the 2021 victory mean to you?

Six Williams Cup wins. 2021 was right up there, as we hadn't won "The Old Bill" for quite a while.

 

Can you remember some of the players you played with and against in your first premier season?

James Pamment was my first captain, Northern Districts great Grahame Aldridge was in there, along with a few other Mount stalwarts in Blair Parlane, Derek Beard, Danny Sczygiol, Tony Wellington and Roger Child. When it came to opponents that first season, Grant Manners, Campbell Wilson and Andrew Dixon from Cadets. Leighton Hammond from Rotorua, Ben Williams, Mathew Hart, Bruce Shaw from Te Puke, Mitchell Sweetman Albion and Johnny Harris and Tom Morrison from Greerton.

 

Who is the best player you have played with and the best against?

Hard to single out a best player I’ve played with and against, as there have been so many great players that have come through the Bay pathway over the years. A number that spring to mind  that I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the shed with over the years, are the likes of Jimmy Pamment , Grahame Aldridge, Daniel Flynn , Peter Drysdale, Bharat Popli, Brett Randell, Dale Swan and Mathew and Robbie Hart in Attrill Cup cricket to name a few. Against, includes Kane Williamson for Tauranga Boys and later Te Puke, Cadets Trent Boult, Lorne Howell and Corey Anderson and Peter Bocock Hamilton Marist reeling off a few.

 

Is there one particularly match that stands out for you over the 24 seasons?

The first and last Williams Cups will always be right up there, but the game vs Karaka in the ND Club Champs qualification just before lock down last year holds a special place in my heart. A beauty of a game it was, with a van ride home that was just as epic as the game itself.

 

Tell us of some of your special moments in the game?

Individual moments are getting  a ton off 54 balls against Whakatane is right up there (dropped four times), along with a six-far in the Williams Cup final against Cadets a few years ago. Any other time that we won trophy’s for the club were always special. One thing that the Mount club has always been good at in my time, is celebrating our success rigorously, when a trophy is won.

 

Tell us about some of the characters in the game that you have come across over the seasons?

There have been a few believe me. A couple that spring to mind, are the likes of, Danny “Mr Giggles” Sczygiol, even going through the drive through at Burger King, was a voyage with that man. But his cricketing ability was incredible, won us games multiple times, single handed. Andrew Hoogstraten was another, had more conspiracy’s on and off the cricket field, like no other. Andrew in his prime was class, played for the Netherlands for a little bit there, great player.

 

What is your favourite ground and why?

The  old Blake one will always be the home of cricket for me. It had a two-story club house , with a balcony, showers that were fit for kings and a ground that was very unique, in so many ways. Skinners corner, us Mounties use to call it, a 50 metre hit to the oval corner, if you were good at hitting to cow or whipping them as a lefty behind square, the treats were always there !! So many great memories on the  old Blake One

 

What ground did you least enjoy playing on?

To be be honest it’s a Mount  ground. Once we lost the ol Blake one we got moved to the rugby grounds where they installed a wicket in between the rugby pitch’s - and she was horrible. We’re very grateful to be up the top now, that’s for sure!

 

You played for the Bay of Plenty Development side - what stands out for you in your Development representative encounters.

Mark Jasper from Cadets, was my first Bay representative captain, a great man who unfortunately is no longer with us. I have some good memories from development games that have gone by. I remember opening the batting with Alex Yates from Whakatane against Northland in one game, where we put on an opening century partnership in 10-15 overs from memory. I was struggling down one end on about 15 or 20 odd with Yatesy around 90. Yatesy made the game look easy when he was in good touch.

 

Who is the best coach you have been associated with?

The current Mount coach to be honest in Russ Williams. Can't say enough about Russ, he knows his stuff.

 

What was your go-to saying on the field?

Haha,  tough question to answer. Unfortunately I’m well known for some exaggerated chat on the park 'win or lose we’re on the booze’, comes to mind '.

 

Where to from here in cricket for Nick Smith?

A little bit of reserve grade next season, which gives me a chance to spend more time at my young boys games, come Saturday morning’s, which was a huge factor in stepping down from the prems. More family time too, which will keep the wife at bay.

MOUNT MAUNGANUI COLLEGE Mike Wright Y9-10 T20 Tournament

Mount Maunganui College hosted a Year 9-10 T20 cricket tournament on Sunday and Monday 28th & 29th March 2021, named in honour of Bay of Plenty Cricket legend Mike Wright, who is an old boy of Mount College.

MJE Wright played 102 games in the Bay of Plenty uniform, from the 1966/67 season until retirement beckoned in 1990/91 season. Michael Wright still sits at the top of the BOPCA all-time runs with 3950 runs, with four centuries and 179 not out against Counties in the 1983/84 season.

Rangitoto College Raiders took out the inaugural Mike Wright T20 tournament, defeating Mount Maunganui College Mana in the final, under lights at the Bay Oval on Monday  (29 March 2021) evening.

The Auckland school batted first and reached 118 for the loss of four wickets. Max Neil and Logan Ferguson top scored with identical knocks of 27 not out, with Angus Tustin taking three wickets for the local representatives.

Raiders bowler Alec Waldron did plenty of damage grabbing four wickets for 9 runs, as Mount Maunganui College Mana were bowled out for 58, to hand Rangitoto College the inaugural Mike Wright title.

Rosmini College and Mount Maunganui Mana finished on equal points in pool one with Mount College winning the semi-final to progress to the inaugural Mike Wright T20 title decider.

Mount Maunganui College Mana, opened their tournament with two wins on day one in pool one, with Auckland visitors Rosimini College posting victory winning two from two encounters. In pool two, Rangitoto College Raiders defeated Mount Maunganui College Aroha and Katikati College Chargers, with Katikati College and Aquinas College finishing day one with a win apiece.

Wet weather saw just one round three game completed, with Cambridge High School setting St Peters a very large target in reaching 207 for the loss of seven wickets. Cambridge then restricted St Peters to 68/7 to claim a big 139 victory.

Mike Wright Year 9/10 T20 Finals

Grand Final: Rangitoto College Raiders 118/4 (Max Neil 27no, Logan Ferguson 27no; Austin Tustin 3/18) defeated Mount Maunganui College Mana 58 (Alex Waldron 4/9)

Semi-Final: Mount Maunganui College Mana defeated Rosmini College

Plate Playoffs

Cambridge HS 105/7 (Cameron Cross 45) defeated Aquinas College 63/7 (Will Syme 23)

St Peters School 96/7 defeated Mount Maunganui College Aroha 63

Pool One

Round One (28 March 2021)

St Peters School 37 (Fraser Tustin 3/3, Angus Tustin 3/6) lost to Mount Maunganui College Mana 38/3

Rosmini College 121/9 Jayden Clarke 30, Eli Paterson 3/33) defeated Cambridge HS 115/8

Round Two (28 March 2021)

Cambridge HS 83 (Angus Tustin 3/7) lost to Mount Maunganui College Mana 85/5 (Angus Tustin 24)

Rosmini College 154/5 (Radeesha Da Silva 57, Fergus Maling 31) defeated St Peters School 65/8

Round Three (29 March 2021)

Cambridge HS 207/7 (Rayhan Perris 47, Cameron Cross 36) defeated St Peters School 68/7

Rosmini College 0/0 – Mount Maunganui College Mana 0/0

Pool Two

Round One (28 March 2021)

Rangitoto College Raiders 229/1 (Cooper Harrison-Tubb 53 retired, Connor Mccarthy-Morrogh 50 retired) defeated Mount Maunganui College Aroha 25/11 (Logan Ferguson 4/14, Alex Waldron 3/1)

Katikati College Chargers 145/2 (Flynn Warren 67no, Nishi Ravji 33) defeated Aquinas College 124/4 (Eli Banbury 52, Will Syme 25)

Round Two (28 March 2021)

Mount Maunganui College Aroha 56/9 (Ruben Syme 2/1) lost to Aquinas College 57/3

Katikati College Chargers 110/8 (Taurian McConnochie 34) lost to Rangitoto College Raiders 111/4 (Cooper Harrison-Tubb 41)

Round Three (29 March 2021)

Katikati College Chargers 0/0 – Mount Maunganui College Aroha 0/0

Rangitoto College Raiders 0/0 – Aquinas College 0/0

Taylor Bettelheim Wins Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Year

The recent Bay of Plenty Cricket Prizegiving saluted the achievements of players and officials during the 2020-21 cricket season.

Taylor Bettelheim, was presented with the Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Year, for his achievements with his willow weapon during the season. Taylor became just the third (and youngest) player since Bay of Plenty affiliated to New Zealand Cricket in 1931, to break through the 200 run barrier, when he smashed a unbeaten 211 against Waikato Valley.

The double century followed, 133, against arch-rivals Hamilton just four weeks previously. Bettelheim was the leading run scorer in the ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl competition and has belted four centuries in just 16 Bay of Plenty appearances. For good measure he also posted a NZC Provincial A three figure score.

The BOPCA First Class Player of the Year was awarded to Black Cap Captain Kane Williamson, for the sixth successive year. Some of the Black Cap skippers achievements in the last twelve months, included two double hundreds, ICC Number One ranked batsman and leading New Zealand to the ICC World Test Championship Final.

Taylor Bettelheim, took out the BOPCA Mike Wright batting award with 474 runs and two centuries to his name. Peter Drysdale, who leads the Bay of Plenty appearance with 115 games has developed over the years into a genuine spin bowling option, was awarded the BOPCA Derek Beard bowing trophy taking 18 wickets.

Bay of Plenty Development honours, were taken out by Michael Mitchell with 289 runs and Finn Dempsey taking eight wickets including a highly sought after six wicket bag.

Niven Dovey was presented with the Brendan Bracewell Most Promising Player trophy, with the citation saying that Niven was recognised for leading the Bay of Plenty Development team, to win the ND Development competition prize of the Basil McBurney Trophy. His ability was recognised outside the region with selection in the ND Under 19 team, with the undoubted highlight being 106 against Otago, at the National age-group tournament.

2020/21 Bay of Plenty Cricket Awards                               

Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Year       Taylor Bettelheim       

Bay of Plenty First Class Player of the Year  Kane Williamson                                                                                                                                                                   

BOPCA Senior Men’s Representative Team                          

Mike Wright Batting Trophy                             Taylor Bettelheim 474 runs     

Derek Beard Bowling Trophy                           Peter Drysdale 18 wickets                                             

BOPCA Development Team  

Development Team Batting Trophy               Michael Mitchell 289 runs                  

Development Team Bowling Trophy             Finn Dempsey 8 wickets                                              

Brendan Bracewell Most Promising Player    Niven Dovey

Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Month Awards 2020/21

November 2020: Tom MacRury (Greerton CC Premier team) - 114 v Central Indians, 110 v Geyser CC.

December 2020: Nathan Hall (Central CC Resere Grade team) - 250no v Taupo Old Boys

January 2021: Cameron Neal (Greerton Cricket Club) – 202no v Mount Maunganui

February 2021: Taylor Bettelheim (BOPCA Representative Team) – 211no v Waikato Valley

March 2021: Bharat Popli and Blair McKenzie (BOPCA Representative Team) - B Popli 191 & B McKenzie 165no v Counties Manukau 

Significant Representative Milestones (Centuries & Five Wickets or better)

Batting

211no  Taylor Bettelheim v Waikato Valley

191      Bharat Popli v Counties Manukau

165no  Blair McKenzie v Counties Manukau

133      Taylor Bettelheim v Hamilton

Bowling

6/48     Tim Pringle v Hamilton

6/32     Finn Dempsey v Hamilton Development

5/42     Peter Drysdale v Counties Manukau

BOPCA Service Awards: Colin Rampling, Crispian Stewart, Jake Ryan, Stu Martin, Grant Manners.

Hart Family Trophy (Baywide Champion of Champions) – Mount Maunganui CC

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup (Baywide Premier One-Day Championship) – Mount Maunganui CC

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Plate – Te Puke CC

Bay of Plenty Cup (Baywide First Round) – Greerton CC

The Havana Eatery (Baywide Twenty 20 – Mount Maunganui CC

McNaughton Trophy (Baywide Reserve Grade Championship) – R&A Sangha CC

Two Bay of Plenty Representative Batsman Earn March BOPCA Player of the Month Award

The March 2021 Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Month Award, will be presented at the BOPCA Prizegiving on the 1st April 2021, to two Bay of Plenty representative batsmen who smashed a all-time partnership record against Counties Manukau at the Te Puke Domain on the 20/21 March 2021.

Bay of Plenty Cricket introduced the BOPCA Player of the Month Award in 2004.  The purpose of the award is to recognize excellence in Bay of Plenty Cricket during each month of the playing season.

After winning the toss, the home team made a conservative start, in losing their first two wickets with 86 runs on the board. Enter Bharat Popli and Ben McKenzie, who batted their opponents out of the encounter, with a new Bay of Plenty partnership record of 269 runs.

Both Bay batsmen were in majestic form, with Bharat Popli batting at three, blasting his twelfth provincial century in finishing with 191 runs to his name. His big three figures score, came from 240 balls with nineteen 4's and five 6's. 

McKenzie was a little less patient, smacking 165 not out, from 218 balls, with thirteen 4's and nine big heaves over the boundary ropes. Bay of Plenty declared at 445 for the loss of six wickets, late on the opening day's play, with Counties Manukau losing one wicket for 18 runs.

The big third wicket partnership eclipsed the previous record of 208 posted by Bharat Popli and Joe Carter against Hamilton in 2013. Another Bay of Plenty all-time mark set by the pair, was the first time that two Bay batsmen had broke through the 150 plus run barrier in a game.

The two very big turns at bat, propelled Popli into fourth place and McKenzie grabbing the eighth position, behind the all-time highest score of 223 belted by Alex Lees, in a Hawke Cup defence against Counties Manukau in 2017.

The record partnership, played a big part in the Bay of Plenty Senior Men’s team winning the Northern Districts Cricket big prize of the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl for the seventeenth occasion.

Bharat Popli, highest score since his representative debut against Hamilton in December 2008, takes his list of BOPCA centuries to twelve, five ahead of Joe Carter, who sits with seven three-figure scores to his name.

 

Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Month Awards 2020/21

March 2021: Bharat Popli and Blair McKenzie (BOPCA Representative Team) v Counties Manukau.

February 2021: Taylor Bettelheim (BOPCA Representative Team) – 211no v Waikato Valley

January 2021: Cameron Neal (Greerton Cricket Club) – 202no v Mount Maunganui

December: Nathan Hall (Central CC Resere Grade team) - 250no v Taupo Old Boys

November: Tom MacRury (Greerton CC Premier team) - 114 v Central Indians, 110 v Geyser CC.

BOND & CO MOUNT MAUNGANUI WIN 2021 VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, won the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup for the seventh time on Saturday (27 March 2021), when they defeated Element IMF Cadets by six wickets in the season finale at the Bay Oval.

Two good-sized crowds of parochial club supporters, decked out in club colours were on the sideline, as Cadets took first use of the wicket at the Blake Park international ground.

Cadets lost their first wicket with just 16 runs on the board and were in some trouble at four down for 75 runs. The mire deepened for the Tauranga Domain based side at 6/81, before keeper Taylor Douglas and Mayura Galappththi batting at ten, came together to try and salvage their sides innings.

Galappththi posted a handy 18 runs, with Douglas the last man to be dismissed with 24 runs in the book, as Cadets were bowled out for a very gettable 142. Long-serving Mount bowlers, Tony Goodin and Dale Swan, both finished their spell with three wicket bags with all-rounder Peter Drysdale returning 2/13.

Mount Maunganui made their intention clear from the start of their reply, with their first wicket falling at the 46 run mark, when Ben Pomare was bowled for 26. Ben Musgrave kept the pressure on, with opener Peter Drysdale, to reach 31. However the Mount innings belonged to Drysdale, who anchored his sides six wicket Williams Cup victory, with an unbeaten 59 off 89 balls.

Mount Maunganui Captain Matt Golding said “Our keys to success was the overall strength of our team being able to bat right down the order and also having at least seven very good bowlers”. 

“Our standout players were every bowler, being asked to bowl first on a flat track; they did very well and it was a whole team effort. Pete (Drysdale) anchored the innings and Ben (Musgrave) played a match winning knock.

The Mount Maunganui win, added the Williams Cup to their Baywide T20 Championship, and also gave them the Hart Family Trophy Baywide Champion of Champions title for the tenth time.

“It was a great way to finish the season, winning the Williams Cup, which sums up our season and what we have achieved”. “It is awesome to send Nick Smith into retirement with a Williams Cup win. He has contributed  a lot to the club and we will always grateful for it and there was no better way to send him off than winning the ‘Old Bill’.

Flying Mullet Te Puke, finished the Baywide season with the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Plate, after beating Holland Becket Law Tauranga Boys College by three wickets at the Te Puke Domain.

Tauranga Boys batted first and were bowled out for 196. Isaac White top scored with 46 with Liam Collett posting 39 not out. Mikare Leef was the best of the home sides bowling attack taking three wickets for 27 runs.

Devon Surrurier was in grand touch, anchoring the Te Puke innings with a 94 runs at a run a ball. Blair McKenzie belted a neat half century with Jamie Oakley chipping in with 32 runs.

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Final 27 March 2021

Element IMF Cadets 142 (Chris Mascall 24, Taylor Douglas 24, Fergus Lellman 22; Dale Swan 3/20, Tony Goodin 3/33, Peter Drysdale 2/13) lost to Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 145/4 (Peter Drysdale 59no, Ben Musgrave 31, B Pomare 26; Tim Pringle 2/34)

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Plate

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 196 (Isaac White 46, Liam Collett 39no, Blake Pentecost 26, Charles Williams 25; Mikaere Leef 3/27) lost to Flying Mullet Te Puke 198/7 (Devon Surrurier 94, Blair McKenzie 50, Jamie Oakley 32; Blake Pentecost 3/15, Charles Williams 3/38)

R&A Sangha Defeat Greerton Kings by 72 Runs in 2020/21 McNaughton Trophy Final

A century belted by GS Mahal, simply took the 2021 McNaughton Trophy Final away from the Greerton Kings, at the Bay Oval at Mount Maunganui on Thursday (25 March 2021) evening.

The McNaughton Trophy presented by Te Puke's McNaughton Trophy in the 1980's, is considered by many to be the Baywide Reserve Grade Championship, with a record sixteen sides starting the chase for the big prize in December 2020.

The Sangha XI, who were chasing their fourth McNaughton prize in five seasons, batted first and lost their first wicket with 48 runs on the board. GS Mahal then took charge of his teams fortunes, to belt 111 runs off 90 balls, with twelve 4's and four big shots over the boundary.

Mahal received plenty of support from Vikas Mohan (37) and Deepak Singh, as they went on to reach 270 for the loss of eight wickets, in the McNaughton regulation forty overs. Gurtej Billing and Michael Rowland both took two wickets in the Greerton bowling attack.

Greerton were in touch with the required run rate in the early stages of the game, however the Sangha team bowlers upped the ante to slow the reply. At five down for 146, the Kings were some fifty odd runs behind their opponents. The Sangha bowlers further tightened the screws, to end the Greerton chase at 198 for the loss of seven wickets, after the allotted overs.

Captain Michael Rowland top scored with 49 runs, with Jaskirat Singh (43) and Loki Gahlan (34) making useful contributions.  Manvir Singh was the best of the Sangha bowlers taking three wickets for 33.

The Sangha eleven have just two days rest, before they endeavour to add the WBOPCA Reserve Grade Championship to their McNaughton crown, when they play Sikh Sports on Saturday in the Western Bay title decider.

BOPCA McNaughton Trophy Final @ Bay Oval 25 March 2021

R&A Sangha 270/8 (GS Mahal 111, Vikas Mohan37, Deepak Singh39; Gurtej Billing 2/41, Michael Rowland 2/42) defeated Greerton Kings 198/7 (M Rowland 49,Jaskirat Singh 43,Loki Gahlan 34; Manvir Singh 3/33)

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP Title Decider to be Fought Out at the Bay Ova

The big prize in Bay of Plenty premier club cricket is up for grabs on Saturday (27 March 2021), when the 2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Championship title will be fought out at the Bay Oval.

Bay of Plenty Williams Cup cricket dates back to the early days of Bay of the Plenty Cricket Association in the 1930's. The first name engraved on the time-honoured cricket silverware, was the City Cricket Club in the 1932/33 season.

This years Williams Cup title decider, will see Bond & Co Mount Maunganui and Element IMF Cadets, engage in a head to head battle to lift aloft the Baywide big prize in victory on early Saturday evening.

Both contenders have impressive Williams Cup winning credentials in the past. Cadets have won the trophy on eleven occasions, since their first success in 1995, that kicked off with five Williams Cups in a row. The Mount Maunganui name has been engraved on the silverware, on six occasions, dating back to 1988.

Both team captains in Cadets Andrew Mascall and the Mount's Matt Golding, are leading their troops in to Williams Cup battle for the first time.

Andrew Mascall said "Our expectations are to go out there on Saturday and continue our form and momentum, we have built up in this years Williams Cup campaign". "The strength of our side is our batting depth in that we bat right down to number 11. Our team is a young enthusiastic side mixed in with a couple of experienced old heads"

Matt Golding came back with "We are expecting to put up a strong performance in the final as we have done most of the season". "Our team bats a long way down and our first, second and third change bowlers are very strong in their own rights. Experience is a big key for us, with bucket loads of club cricket games in the bank and hopefully we can call on some of that experience, in tough times on Saturday".

Looking at the quality of the opposition the Mount captain said "Cadets have some serious quality through their side with (Donovan) Deeble, (Jono) Boult, (Tim) Pringle and (Fergus) Lellman who are four of the best all-rounders in the Bay. Any of those four are capable of carrying their side a long way to victory on Saturday".

Andrew Mascall replied "The Mount are a very well balanced team with a very good seam attack and a strong top order". “A Williams Cup victory for our club would be massive, as we came into the current season with a new look young side, with which no one gave us a chance of success. The lads have put in plenty of work and developed as cricket players and into great blokes".

Matt Golding summed up saying "The Williams Cup is without doubt the pinnacle of Bay of Plenty Club cricket. I know that it means a lot, especially to some of the older guys in the team. Opportunities to win it are essentially why some of the older guys still play the game. Victory on Saturday would taste sweet out of the 'Old Bill".

The inaugural Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Plate, will be fought out at the Te Puke Domain, between Flying Mullet Te Puke and Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College. Last weekend Te Puke beat Papamoa in the semi-finals, while Tauranga Boys won a nail-biter by just four runs, in their encounter with Generation Homes Lake Taupo.

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Final 27 March 2021

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui v Element IMF Cadets, Bay Oval.

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Plate

Flying Mullet Te Puke v Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College.

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Titles

Otumoetai Cadets (11) 1995, 1996. 1997. 1998. 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2017. 2019.

Mount Maunganui (6) 1988, 1992, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015,

NZC-ND Schools Playoffs 22-26 March 2021 - Day Five

Day Five 26 March 2021

NZC Junior Secondary Schoolboys National Finals @ Palmerston North

John McGlashen College 153/9 defeated Tauranga Boys College 133 (Luke Scrimegour 39)

 

Day Four 25 March 2021

NZC Junior Secondary Schoolboys National Finals @ Palmerston North

Tauranga Boys College 184/6 (Luke Scrimegour 48, Billy Ramsden 35no, Jake Riley 34) lost to Silverstream College 187/6 (Bryn Robertson 5/24)

ND Gillette Cup Finals @ Jansen Park, Hamilton

Third/Fourth Playoff: St Peters School 196 (Loughlin Keaney 3/12, Darcy Collett 3/29) lost to Tauranga Boys College 197/6 (Isaac White 93, Sam Clode 35)

Fifth/Sixth Playoff: St John’s College 353/5 (Ethan Chamberlain 2/91) defeated Mount Maunganui College 201 (Sam Wilson 57, Kade Smit 37, Ethan Chamberlain 30)

Whangarei BHS 197/7 (Spencer Wills 3/20, Asa Banbury 2/24) lost to Aquinas College 199/3 (Spencer Wills 84no, Jordy Smith 60)

 

Day Three 24 March 2021

NZC Junior Secondary Schoolboys National Finals @ Palmerston North

Tauranga Boys College 102 (Luke Scrimegour 23, A Aryal 21) lost to Auckland Grammar 106/4 (JH Stott 2/11)

ND Gillette Cup Finals @ Jansen Park, Hamilton

Whangarei BHS 149/9 (Conor Wells 5/20, Angus Tustin 2/11) lost to  Mount Maunganui College 151/1 (Conor Wells 71no, Harry Burns 62no)

St Paul’s Collegiate 205 (Isaac White 5/38, Ben Vyver 3/45) defeated Tauranga Boys College 154 (Isaac White 38)

St John’s College 253/9 (Spencer Wills 3/28, Luc Adsett 3/34) defeated Aquinas College 88 (Spencer Wills 27)

ND Gillette Venus Cup @ Bruce Pullman Park, Takanini – T20

Round Five: Waiuku College 82/7 (Aimee Unwin 2/12, Amy Clegg 2/20) lost to Tauranga Girls College 83/2 (Sarah Jane Stone 62)

Final Points: Gisborne GHS 12, Tauranga Girls College 9, Waikato Diocesan 9, Morrinsville College 9, Whangarei GHS 6, Waiuku College 0.

 

NZCDay Two 23 March 2021 Junior Secondary Schoolboys National Finals @ Palmerston North

Christ’s College 181/8 (Luke Srimgeour 2/27, Oliver Norwood 2/32) defeated Tauranga Boys College 155 (Luke Scrimgeour 36, Dylan Henderson 26)

ND Gillette Cup Finals @ Jansen Park, Hamilton

Mount Maunganui College 126 (Kade Smit 60) lost to St Peters School 127/0

St John’s College 228 Harrison Leach 4/49, Liam Collett 3/30, Isaac White 2/32) lost to Tauranga Boys College 229/7 (Ben Vyver 90, Isaac White 46,  Darcy Collett 35)

St Paul’s Collegiate 307/7 (Daniel Coster 2/32) defeated Aquinas College 128 (Jordy Smith 30, Daniel Coster 20)

ND Gillette Venus Cup @ Bruce Pullman Park, Takanini - T20

Round Three: Waikato Diocesan 121/6 (Elle Archer 2/15, Sarah Jane Stone 2/20) defeated Tauranga Girls College 90/9 (SJ Stone 31)

Round Four: Morrinsville College 94/6 (Sarah Jane Stone 2/13, Ellie Archer 2/8) lost to Tauranga Girls College 95/2 (Amelia Harvey 35no, Aimee Unwin 30no)

 

Day One 22 March 2021

NZC Junior Secondary Schoolboys National Finals @ Palmerston North

Tauranga Boys College 144/8 (Dylan Henderson 48) lost to Napier NHS 148/8 (Harry McKinlay 2/6, Luke Scrimguour 2/30

ND Gillette Cup Finals @ Jansen Park, Hamilton

Mount Maunganui College 127 (Kade Smit 44, Harry Burns 41) lost to Hamilton BHS 111/2 (Conor Wells 2/521)

Aquinas College 31 (Daniel Coster 24no) lost to Tauranga Boys College 32/2

ND Gillette Venus Cup @ Bruce Pullman Park, Takanini - T20

Round One: Gisborne GHS 110/6 (Elle Archer 4/18, Mikyla Keane 2/21) lost to Tauranga Girls College 129/3 (Aimee Unwin 43, Amelia Harvey 29)

Round Two: Whangarei GHS 82/8 (Mikyla Keane 3/32, Aimee Unwin 2/32) defeated Tauranga Girls College 55

MOUNT MAUNGANUI AND CADETS TO FIGHT OUT THE 2021 VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, took the short route to the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Final, when they beat Eves Realty Greerton in the major semi-final on Saturday (20 March 2021).

Mount Maunganui won the toss and elected to bat, in the encounter between the two top qualifiers, where the loser was headed for a sudden-death elimination game the following day. 

Opener Peter Drysdale, weathered the early storm where two Mount wickets fell with just seven runs on the board, going on to anchor his sides innings with 86 runs off 126 balls. Batting at six, skipper Matt Golding posted an unbeaten 58 with Brett Randell also claiming a half century. Mitchell Rush was the best of the Greerton bowlers taking three wickets for 53 runs.

The vaunted Greerton top order came under early attack and at 29/3 were in some trouble. Greerton were behind the eight ball throughout, being bowled out for just 116, to gift Mount Maunganui a direct path to the Williams Cup title decider at the Bay Oval, next Saturday (27 March 2021).

Umesh Ranaraja, was the best of the Greerton batting attack with just 23 runs, while 200 game plus veteran spin bowler Dale Swan took three wickets for 24 runs.

The minor semi-final saw Element IMF Cadets travel to Rotorua to defeat Bayleys Central Indians. Cadets reached 255/8, with Marcel Collett and Tim Pringle posting half centuries. Pringle backed up his batting feats to take three wickets for just 8 runs as the combined side were removed for 142. Bharat Popli top scored for Central Indians with 60 runs.

Mount Maunganui 's opponent in the 2021 Williams Cup Final, will be Cadets, who came from fourth place in the qualifying competition, to defeat Greerton in Sunday's sudden-death preliminary final.

Cadets batted first and after a considered start to their innings, set Greerton a solid target,  reaching 255 for eight wickets. A hard fought 89 from Fergus Lellman, that included ten 4's and three 6's led the way, with Donavan Deeble (42) and opener James McCabe (35) also entering into the run-scoring action. Michael Rowland and Cameron Neal took three wickets apiece.

Greerton made a solid start, with their opening pair of Tom MacRury and Taylor Bettelheim putting on a 43 run opening stand, before MacRury was removed for 27. Thirteen boundaries anchored the Bettelheim turn at bat, before he was bowled for 91, with Greerton at 160/6. 

The Cadets bowlers upped the ante and bowled the top qualifier out, with just 195 runs on the board, in the 45th over. Tim Pringle finished with three wickets for 19 runs, while Donovan Deeble and Jono Boult both took two wickets.

Flying Mullet Te Puke and Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College, will meet in the Williams Cup Plate Final after winning through the semi-final action.

Te Puke posted 224 for the loss of eight wickets against Papamoa before removing their near neighbours for 105. Bibin Babu, batting at nine, top scored for Te Puke with 39 not out, with Cameron Riley grabbing a five wicket bag, as Te Puke cruised to a 119 run win.

Tauranga Boys College post section victory, over Generation Homes Lake Taupo, was a cliffhanger that was finally decided with just four balls to spare. Tauranga Boys reached 183 for the loss of eight wickets, with Charles Williams and Blake Pentecost both reaching the forties.

A Jack Wiggins half century, kept the Taupo side right in the match, before they were removed just four runs short of victory. Charles Williams and Ben Vyver both bowled with enthusiasm to be rewarded with three wickets apiece. 

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup 20 March 2021

Major Semi-Final: Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 242/8 (Peter Drysdale 86, Matt Golding 58no, Brett Randell 52; Mitchell Rush 3/53) defeated Eves Realty Greerton 116 (Dale Swan 3/24)

Minor Semi-Final: Element IMF Cadets 255/8 (Marcel Collett 58, Tim Pringle 57, Donovan Deeble 47, Andrew Mascall 32no; Lovely Sandhu 3/35) defeated Bayleys Central Indians 142 (Bharat Popli 60; Tim Pringle 3/8)

Preliminary Final 21 March 2021 

Element IMF Cadets 255/8 (Fergus Lellman 89, Donovan Deeble 42, James McCabe 35; Michael Rowland 3/31, Cameron Neal 3/33) defeated Eves Realty Greerton 195 (Taylor Bettelheim 91, Tom MacRury 27; Tim Pringle 3/19)

Williams Cup Plate 20 March 2021

Flying Mullet Te Puke 224/8 (Bibin Babu 39no, Tai Bridgman-Raison 39, Hamish Wilde 30) defeated Papamoa 105 (Cameron Riley 5/24)

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 183/9 (Charles Williams 49, Blake Pentecost 47; Joe O'Donoghue 3/42) defeated Generation Homes Lake Taupo 179 Jack Wiggins 54, C Williams 3/15, Ben Vyver 3/32

2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Final @ Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui 27 March 2021 – Bond & Co Mount Maunganui v Element IMF Cadets

FOUR BAYWIDE TEAM CHASE THE 2021 VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP TITLE

Four Baywide premier cricket teams will start out on a mission on Saturday (20 March 2021), which will end with one side lifting aloft the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup aloft in victory at Bay Oval, seven days later.

The Williams Cup, is the oldest Bay of Plenty Cricket trophy contested each year and dates back to the affiliation of the Bay of Plenty Cricket Association to New Zealand Cricket in 1932.

Eves Realty Greerton, emerged from eight rounds of qualifying play in the top spot and will play Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, at Blake Park in the major semi-final.  The winner of the top two contest, will progress directly to the Williams Cup Grand Final to be held at the Bay Oval, on Saturday 27 March 2021.

Greerton lead the head to head record between the two sides this season, two games to one, winning both the Bay of Plenty and Williams Cup encounters. However, Mount Maunganui secured the Baywide T20 Championship, defeating Greerton, in the title decider under lights at the Bay Oval.

The Greerton verses Mount Maunganui playoff is shaping up as classic batsmen verses bowlers contest. Greerton big-hitters in Cameron Neal (320 runs) and Tom MacRury (297) have been in grand form in the Williams Cup preliminary action, with each belting a truckload of runs. Mount Maunganui will have painful memories of their Williams Cup game where Neal blasted 202 not out.

Mount Maunganui, has a well synchronized lineup of pace and spin bowlers, who have done plenty of damage throughout the season. Mount Maunganui pace bowlers Tony Goodin and Chris Atkinson, usually open the Mount bowling attack, with Dale Swan, Peter Drysdale and Nick Smith joining the encounters with their slower action cutters.

Smallbone Park in Rotorua, will host the minor semi-final between Bayleys Central Indians and Element IMF Cadets, who finished in third and fourth spot in the qualifying race. The winner, will play the major semi-final losing side on Sunday (21 March 2021) for the second place in the Bay Oval Final.

Central Indians player/coach Bharat Popli, has become a run scoring machine in the current seasons Williams Cup . In six outings he has smacked 489 runs, with two centuries and a highest score of 144, in producing a outstanding average of 122.5. The combined side pair of Andrew Gibbs (17) and Stephen Nicholls (14) sit in first and third spots on the bowling list and are likely to prove a thorn in the side of the Cadets batsmen.

A extremely young Cadets team, which includes two New Zealand Under 19 representatives in Fergus Lellman and Tim Pringle, are coming off last weeks last round,  where they provided Greerton with their solitary loss of the Williams Cup round robin play. Keeper Taylor Douglas has been in superb touch behind the stumps, with 13 catches and five stumping's in eight games.

 

2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Playoffsn 20 March 2021

Major Semi-Final: Eves Realty Greerton v Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, Blake Park

Minor Semi-Final: Bayleys Central Indians v Element IMF Cadets, Smallbone Park.

21 March 2021

2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Preliminary Final: Loser of Major Semi-Final v Winner of Minor Semi-Final.

 

2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Final @ Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui 27 March 2021

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS Win the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl for the Seventeenth Occasion

A record breaking performance from the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty representative team, earned them the ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl, for the seventeenth occasion since their first victory in 1980.

Bay of Plenty Coach Daniel Flynn said, “The Fergus Hickey victory is probably something that’s been in the making for a few years now, due to the work done by Charles (Williams) and Russ (Williams) to help the players develop. It’s certainly a talented group with great work ethic and strong leader. Last year playing alongside these guys, I could see all the ingredients were there to be a successful team, so it’s nice to have seen it all come together and the players get the rewards they deserve”. 

Entering the match at the Te Puke Domain over the weekend (13/14 March 2021) against Counties Manukau, the Bay side required first innings points with maximum batting bonus points, to win the trophy they last raised in triumph four seasons ago.

After winning the toss, the home team made a conservative start, in losing their first two wickets with 86 runs on the board. Enter Bharat Popli and Ben McKenzie, who batted their opponents out of the encounter, with a new Bay of Plenty partnership record of 269 runs.

Both Bay batsmen were in majestic form, with Bharat Popli batting at three, blasting his twelfth provincial century in finishing with 191 runs to his name. His big three figures score, came from 240 balls with nineteen 4's and five 6's. 

McKenzie was a little less patient, smacking 165 not out, from 218 balls, with thirteen 4's and nine big heaves over the boundary ropes. Bay of Plenty declared at 445 for the loss of six wickets, late on the opening day's play, with Counties Manukau losing one wicket for 18 runs.

“It was a very polished performance, and a nice way to finish the season. Bharat and Blair both played exceptionally well. Great to see Blair perform the way he did as he’s had to wait in the wings a bit for the opportunity. It is a credit to him and the work he’s put in, that he stood up in what was a must win game”.

Day two completely belonged to the Bay of Plenty bowlers, with the visitors bowled out for 206, in their first turn at bat. Long-serving all-rounder Peter Drysdale grabbed his first five wicket bag, of his 115 game Bay of Plenty representative career, in taking five wickets for 42 runs. Tim Pringle also did plenty of damage with three wickets.

Asked to follow on, Counties Manukau managed to stave off outright defeat, in reaching 143 for the loss of seven wickets, when the umpires called full time on the encounter. Peter Drysdale added another two wickets to finish the match with seven, with Tim Pringle taking a second three wicket haul.

“Certainly our best performance with the ball on what was a good batting surface. Pete and Tim were consistent as they have been all season and got the rewards, but the seamers did a fantastic job sticking to their plans and creating pressure. They also were rewarded with crucial breakthroughs when we needed them most”.

“It was nice reward for all the effort the players have put in over the summer. They’ve all worked hard on their games individually, but the way they’ve come together as a team and performed has been very pleasing” said Coach Flynn.

The povincial fixture, established a number of Bay of Plenty Cricket all-time representative records since the Bays first match in 1932. In addition to the record partnership, the game was the first occasion that two Bay batsmen at the crease had posted 150+ runs in an innings.

Bharat Popli extended his record number of centuries to twelve, four ahead of Joe Carter, while Bharat and Blair's scores became the fourth and eighth highest in Bay of Cricket history. 

The Bay of Plenty, Fergus Hickey victory, capped a sterling Northern Districts representative season, where the Bay side posted a massive 1517 runs and took ten wickets against ND heavyweight Northland and Hamilton plus the seventeen wickets in the weekend encounter.

 

ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl @ Te Puke Domain 13/14 March 2021

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 445/6 (Bharat Popli 191, Blair McKenzie 165no, Peter Drysdale 32)

Counties Manukau 206 (S Varcoe 54, Peter Drysdale 5/42, Tim Pringle 3/66) & 143/7 (K Clarke 48; Tim Pringle 3/39, Peter Drysdale 2/22)

Bay of Plenty Cricket All-Time Representative Records (v Counties Manukau 13 March 2021)

 

Highest Partnership                 269 Bharat Popli/Blair McKenzie

First 150+ x two in a match    191 Bharat Popli – 165no Blair McKenzie

Fourth Highest Score              191 Bharat Popli

Eighth Highest Score 165no Blair McKenzie

 

Highest Scores (150 Runs +)

223      Alex Lees                    v Counties Manukau               2017 (Hawke Cup)

215no  Joe Carter                    v Poverty Bay                         2014

211*    Taylor Bettelheim         v Waikato-Valley                     2021

194      Brett Hampton            v Hamilton                              2013 (Hawke Cup)

191      Bharat Popli                v Counties Manukau               2021

187      Joe Carter                    v Hamilton                              2013 (Hawke Cup)

181      Simon Winter              v Central Otago                      1997 (Hawke Cup)

179no  Mike Wright                v Counties                               1983/84

165no  Blair McKenzie           v Counties Manukau               2021   

157      Kane Williamson         v Counties Manukau              2013

152no James Mitchell             v Poverty Bay                        2007

 

Most Centuries

12 Bharat Popli, 8 Joe Carter, 4= Richard Shrimpton, Mike Wright, Mathew Hart,

Tom MacRury, Taylor Bettelheim.

 

Highest Partnerships

269      Bharat Popli/Blair McKenzie (3rd wicket) v Counties Manukau 2020/21

208      Joe Carter/Bharat Popli (2nd wicket)   v Hamilton      2012/13

203      Tom MacRury/Peter Drysdale (1st wicket) v Poverty Bay 2016/17

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS WIN THE FERGUS HICKEY ROSEBOWL FOR THE SEVENTEETH OCCASION

A record breaking performance from the Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty representative team, earned them the ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl, for the seventeenth occasion since their first victory in 1980.

ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl @ Te Puke Domain 13/14 March 2021

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty 445/6 (Bharat Popli 191, Blair McKenzie 165no, Peter Drysdale 32)

Counties Manukau 206 (S Varcoe 54, Peter Drysdale 5/42, Tim Pringle 3/66) & 143/7 (K Clarke 48; Tim Pringle 3/39, Peter Drysdale 2/22) - Story to Follow.

TRENT BOULT PROVIDES A MASTER CLASS IN VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP ACTION

Black Cap Trent Boult gave a master-class in pace bowling, for his club Element IMF Cadets, when they provided Eves Realty Greerton their first loss of the Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup on Saturday (13 March 2021).

Playing alongside elder brother, Jono Boult, the world cricket star took the opportunity of  time-out from New Zealand duty, to turn out for Cadets whom he first joined a decade and a half ago.

Cadets batted first at Greerton headquarters at Pemberton Park and set a reasonably sized good target, after being removed for 182. Jono Boult top scored with 47 runs with Chris Mascall chipping in with a handy 33.

Trent Boult opened the Cadets bowling, taking his first wicket with his fourth ball and grabbing four of the first five wickets, to have the home side in desperate trouble at 31 for the loss of five wickets.

Mitchell Rush (30) and Brendan Laurenzi (25) steadied the ship somewhat. Jono Boult chipped in with two bowling scalps, before Trent returned to finish his spell with five wickets at a cost of 38 runs, as Greerton were rolled for 109.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo, would have fancied their chances of upsetting Bond & Co Mount Maunganui at Blake Park, after the Great Lake region side bowled the home side out for 145. Conor Well was the best of the Mount batting attack with 32 runs, with the Lake Taupo wickets shared around.

Long serving Mount bowler Dale Swan, weaved more magic with the ball, with a match winning performance of five wickets at a cost of just 8 runs, Brett Randell also did plenty of damage with three wickets, as the Taupo side were dismissed with just 85 runs on the score board.

Craigs Investment Partners Geyser, made a valiant attempt to chase down the Bayleys Central Indians total of 250/4. Nadeera Nawela top scored for the combined side with 84. Gordon O’Donoghue led the chase with a half century, as the Geyser reply fell just fell 28 runs short of their target.

Flying Mullet Te Puke won the encounter with near neighbours Papamoa, after Te Puke posted 272/6. Stephen Crossan, Jamie Oakley and Tai Bridgman-Raison all reached the sixties with Ben Goodall taking a four wicket bag for the home side. Papamoa were dismissed for 194 to hand Te Puke a solid 78 run victory.

The final qualifying round of the 2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup, has resulted in Greerton hosting Mount Maunganui in the preliminary final, where the winner takes a direct path to the title decider. Cadets travel to Rotorua to play Central Indians in the qualifying final.

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup 13 March 2021

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 145 (Conor Wells 32) defeated Generation Homes Lake Taupo 85 (Dale Swan 5/8, Brett Randell 3/15)

Element IMF Cadets 182 (Jono Boult 47, Chris Mascall 33) defeated Eves Realty Greerton 109 (Mitchell Rush 30; Trent Boult 5/38)

Bayleys Central Indians 250/4 (Nadeera Nawela 84, Lovely Sandhu 59, Stephen Nichols 37, Jeff Simmons 35no) defeated Craigs Investment Partners Geyser 223/9 (Gordon O’Donoghue 51, Scott McKnight 34)

Flying Mullet Te Puke 272/6 (Stephen Crossan 69, Jamie Oakley 68no, Tai Bridgman-Raison 62; Ben Goodall 4/64) defeated Papamoa 194 (Paul Inglis 55no, Ashish Dhameliya 39; Bibin Babu 3/32)

Points Table (Final) Greerton 49, Mount Maunganui 47, Central Indians 43, Cadets 37, Te Puke 30, Tauranga Boys College 23, Lake Taupo 19, Papamoa 17, Geyser 0.

2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Playoffs 20 March 2021

Major Semi-Final: Eves Realty Greerton v Bond & Co Mount Maunganui

Minor Semi-Final: Bayleys Central Indians v Element IMF Cadets

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS Bay of Plenty Chase a Seventeenth Fergus Hickey Rosebowl

The Bay of Plenty Senior Representative team, have the opportunity to join their Bay Development counterparts with a piece of Northern Districts silverware, this weekend (13/14 March 2021).

A Fergus Hickey Rosebowl catch-up match against Counties Manukau, at the Te Puke Domain, gives the Bay side a chance to claim the ND two-day title for the seventeenth time in the last four decades. Entering the final Fergus Hickey Rosebowl match of the season, the Bay of Plenty representatives sit five points in arrears of Northland, with a game in hand.

An outright victory or a big first innings points advantage with bonus batting points, would see the home side overtake Northland on the standings, to lift aloft the Fergus Hickey prize in victory.

Few NZC provincial sides, have the quality batting firepower in their side as the Bay of Plenty flagship team. Long serving Bay of Plenty batsman Bharat Popli, has hit his way to a magical eleven centuries during his 88 games in the Bay of Plenty strip.

Peter Drysdale, who made his Bay debut in November 2009 holds the record for Bay of Plenty appearances with 114 games, sits second on the all time runs list with 3631 runs, behind the legendary Mike Wright.

Bay of Plenty young gun Taylor Bettelheim, has made his mark in just 15 matches in the Bay uniform, with four centuries and a highest score of 211 not out. Blair McKenzie, rounds out the Bay top order with a three figure score to his name, with a best of 110 against Waikato Valley in the 2018/19 season.

 

ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl – Bay of Plenty v Counties Manukau @ Te Puke Domain 13/14 March 2021

Craigs Investment Partners Bay of Plenty (Caps in brackets)

Ben Pomare (Captain -16) Peter Drysdale (114) Taylor Bettelheim (15) Bharat Popli (88) Blair McKenzie (17) Fergus Lellman (12) Niven Dovey (3) Tim Pringle (25) Iman Singh (20) Cameron Riley (6) Josh Earle (12) Henry Conway (1)

2020/21 Fergus Hickey Rosebowl Points: Northland 28, Bay of Plenty 23, Waikato Valley 22, Hamilton 21, Counties Manukau 11.

VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP HAS REACHED THE BUSINESS END OF THE SEASON

The Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup has reached the business end of the season, with the four Baywide teams to fight out the 2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup, booking their playoff berths last weekend with one week remaining in the qualifying competition.

This Saturday's (13 March 2021) round robin contests, will determine who will meet in the coveted preliminary final the following weekend, where the winner will earn a direct path to the Williams Cup title decider, at the Bay Oval on Saturday 27 March 2021.

Eves Realty Greerton, have already booked their berth in the preliminary final, with seven straight wins in the current Williams Cup title race. This Saturday, the reigning Williams Cup champions will engage in another round of a four-decade rivalry with Element IMF Cadets, at Pemberton Park.

Cadets, who sit in fourth place on the standings and cannot improve their position on the points table with a win on Saturday, are already headed for the qualifying final in seven days time. However the nine-time Williams Cup title holders, will want to be the only side to lower the colours of Greerton, with a hard fought battle on the horizon at Pemberton Park.

An extra treat for cricket fans catching up with the Greerton verses Cadets game, at the Tauranga suburban park, is that Black Cap Trent Boult will be in action for Cadets.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, will rubber stamp their appearance in the preliminary final if they defeat Generation Homes Lake Taupo, at Mount headquarters at Blake Park. Mount Maunganui are no stranger to Williams Cup success with six titles, and will need little motivation to dispatch the Taupo side, to finish in second place in the qualifying competition

Bayleys Central Indians should have little trouble securing third place in the final round robin standings, when  they square of with cellar dwellers Craigs Investment Partners Geyser, in a Rotorua derby at Smallbone Park. The Central Cricket Club who make up one half of Central Indians, have held the Williams Cup on two occasions over the decades.

During the 1999/00 season, Central were one half of AC (Arawa CC & Central CC)  United that took out the Baywide big prize, while they won the time-honored trophy that dates back to 1932, in their own right in 2007.

Near neighbors Flying Mullet Te Puke and Papamoa, will round out the weekends Baywide matches, when they meet at the Alice Johnson Oval in Papamoa. The Papamoa representatives, can be well pleased with their Baywide debut season, winning three Bay of Plenty Cup and two Williams Cup encounters. It would be the icing on the cake for the new recruits if they could topple sixteen Williams Cup champions on the weekend.

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Draw 13 March 2021

Bond & Co Mount Mauganui v Generation Homes Lake Taupo, Blake1; Eves Realty Greerton v Element IMF Cadets, Pemberton Park; Craigs Investment Partners Geyser v Bayleys Central Indians, Smallbone Park; Flying Mullet Te Puke v Papamoa, Te Puke Domain; Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College the bye.

Points Table: Greerton 49, Mount Maunganui 41, Central Indians 37, Cadets 31, Te Puke 24, Tauranga Boys College 23, Lake Taupo 19, Papamoa 17, Geyser 0.

 

2021 Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Playoff Format

Preliminary Final (Saturday 20 March) Game One: Q1 v Q2.

Qualifying Final (Saturday 20 March) Game Two: Q3 v Q4.

Major Semi-Final (Sunday 21 March) Game Three: Loser Game One v Winner Game Two.

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup Final @ Bay Oval, Saturday 27 March 2021

Winner Game One v Winner Game Three

Two Gillette Cup Qualifying Competitions Take Centre Stage in the Bay of Plenty During Term One

Term One of the school year, brings the Bay of Plenty qualifying rounds for the Gillette and Gillette Venus Cups, which are widely regarded as the NZC Secondary School Championships.

Mount Maunganui College, won the 2021 Bay of Plenty Secondary School Super Smash championship, played during February 2021, which gave them entry to the next level of the ND Gillette Cup playoffs.

Squaring off in the T20 Final, Mount Maunganui College batted first and were removed by John Paul College for a gettable 128. Kade Smit top scored with 41 with Ethan Chamberlain posting 38 runs. Sean Gapes was the best of the Rotorua teams bowlers with three wickets for 23 runs. 

John Paul College made a determined bid for victory, but were bowled out 31 runs short of their target. Cohen Stewart and Sean Gapes both reached the twenties, with Tyler Perry taking three wickets for the winners. 

Aquinas College took third place in the competition in a hard fought battle with Trident High School. The Eastern Bay of Plenty team, posted 129 for the loss of nine wickets with Harry Jones effort of 66 runs standing out like a shining beacon. Sol Robinson did the damage with the ball with four wickets at a cost of just of just 12 runs.

Spencer Wills, led Aquinas home to victory with a gritty 58 as his side posted a four wicket win. Ethan Forbes was the best of the Trident bowling attack with two wickets for 29 runs.

Katikati College, took out fifth place in the Bay of Plenty Gillette Cup qualifying competition, after they defeated Bethlehem College. The team from the extremities of the Western Bay of Plenty batted first, and set their opponents a substantial target, in reaching 172 for eight wickets. Cameron Pooley, was in grand touch with his willow weapon top scoring with 65 runs, while Taurian McConnochie made a solid contribution of 36 runs. Katikati College then restricted Bethlehem College to 149/6, to claim a 32 run win.

Papamoa College had their day in the sun taking out seventh place in their T20 final. Otumoetai College reached 108/9, with Mathew Ireland posting a beat half-century. Papamoa College cruised to a seven wicket triumph courtesy of a sold 44 runs from Pieter Osborne.

Mount Maunganui College, went on to join Tauranga Boys College and Aquinas College, who qualified by way of a top six finish last season, in the 2021 ND Gillette Cup Finals, when they beat Hauraki Plains College in a ND Super Smash playoff on the 8th March 2021.

Batting first, the Bay of Plenty representatives reached 126 for the loss of seven wickets, with Conor Wells leading the way with 70 runs off just 53 balls. Mount Maunganui College, made reasonably easy work of ending the Waikato Valleys representatives challenge, when they restricted them to 93/8 to claim a 33 run win,

Tauranga Girls College won through to represent the Bay of Plenty at the ND Gillette Venus Cup playoffs, after taking out the BOPCA championship on Tuesday 9th March 2021, at Macville Park and Mount Maunganui College.

Round One resulted in Mount College defeating John Paul College with Brittany Jenkins (43no) and Sabine Attrill (25), leading the way to their sides nine wicket victory. Tauranga Girls bowled Aquinas College out for 33, with Amy Clegg grabbing four wickets for 12 runs, before cruising home without loss.

Aquinas College posted a nine wicket win against John Paul College in round two, after bowling their opponents out for 62, with Annie Nolan taking three wickets and top scoring with 28 not out. Tauranga Girls College repelled a strong challenge from Mount Maunganui, with Tauranga Girls reaching 110/7 before restricting their opponents to 80 for the loss of two wickets. Sarah Jane Stone top scored for Tauranga Girls with 41 runs, with Brittany Jenkins continuing her golden run of form on the day with four wickets and 41 not out.

Tauranga Girls College franked there winning form with victory over John Paul College in round three. After removing the Rotorua school for 36, courtesy of Lily Milner four wickets for just 3 runs, they lost only two wickets on the way to victory. Aquinas College bowler Sarah Hodgson four wickets, played a big part in restricting Mount Maunganui College to 81/7, before posting a seven wicket triumph.

 

BOPCA Super Smash (T20) 2021 Finals Day 24 February 2121 @ Gordon Spratt Reserve

Bay of Plenty Championship: Mount Maunganui College 128 (Kade Smit 41, Ethan Chamberlain 38; Sean Gapes 3/23) defeated John Paul College 97 (Cohen Stewart 24, Sean Gapes 22; Tyler Perry 3/18)

Third Place: Trident HS 129/9 (Harry Jones 66, Travis Harte 29; Sol Robinson 4/12) lost to Aquinas College 130/6 (Spencer Wills 58; Ethan Forbes 2/29)

Fifth Place: Katikati College 172/8 (Cameron Pooley 65, Taurian McConnochie 36) defeated Bethlehem College 140/6 (Mathew Tapper 22; Ayrton Hodson 2/13)

Otumoetai College 108/9 (Mathew Ireland 50; Michael Condor 2/9) lost to Papamoa College 113/3 (Pieter Osborne 44; Jaxton Brett 2/29) 

ND Super Smash (T20) Playoffs 8 March 2020 @ Janson Park, Hamilton

Mount Maunganui College 126 (Conor Wells 70) defeated Hauraki Plains College 93/8 (Ethan Chamberlain 2/14)

BOPCA Gillette Venus Cup 9 March 2021 @ Macville Park & Mount Maunganui College

Round One (16 over per team)

Mount Maunganui College 109/1 (Brittany Jenkins 43no, Sabine Attrill 25) defeated John Paul College 67/7 (Faith Anderson 2/7)

Aquinas College 33 (Amy Clegg 4/12) lost to Tauranga Girls College 34/0

Round Two

John Paul College 62 (Amie Nolan 3/13) lost to Aquinas College 63/1 (Annie Nolan 28no)

Tauranga Girls College 110/7 (Sarah Jane Stone 41, Brittany Jenkins 4/19) defeated Mount Maunganui College 80/2 (Brittany Jenkins 41no)

Round Three

John Paul College 36 (Leah Milner 4/3) lost to Tauranga Girls College 37/2

Mount Maunganui College 81/7 (Sarah Hodgson 4/17) lost to Aquinas College 83/3

N.B. Aquinas College played in the Super Smash by invitation to alleviate a bye. Aquinas won all three preliminary matches but didn’t participate in the final as they had already qualified for the ND Gillette Cup playoffs.

Two Bay Batsman Earn BOPCA Player of the Month Awards with Double Century Performances

The January and February Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Month Awards, will be presented to a Baywide premier and Bay of Plenty representative batsman, who both posted double centuries in the second half of the season.

Bay of Plenty Cricket introduced the BOPCA Player of the Month Award in 2004.  The purpose of the award is to recognize excellence in Bay of Plenty Cricket during each month of the playing season.

Greerton premier batsman Cameron Neal produced a battering ram attack, on the Mount Maunganui bowlers, in a Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup match on the 23rd January 2021 at Blake Park, Mount Maunganui.

Batting at four, Cameron Neal turned the encounter on its head, when he hammered a chanceless 202 not out. Neal, who had recently returned to the Greerton club after four years of playing cricket Auckland, took no prisoners with his huge total coming from 126 balls.

A massive sixteen 6's, were accompanied by twelve 4's, as Neal fired some of the biggest blows ever seen at Blake Park. The 202 runs, eclipsed the previous best double century marks posted by Cadets Jono Boult (200no) and Mark Divehall (200) from Mount Maunganui, in the first decade of the new millennium.

Neal who likes nothing better than to put the ball over the boundary on the full, had previously come close to a double ton, with 196, in the 2013/14 season.

Bay of Plenty batsman Taylor Bettelheim, rewrote the BOPCA record book, in a ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl game against Waikato Valley 20/21 February 2021, with a unbeaten double century.

Bay of Plenty won the toss at Blake Park. While they lost their first wicket without a run being scored, Taylor Bettelheim and Bharat Popli, settled down to produce a record 189 run second-wicket partnership.

Bettelheim continued on and when the home side declared early on day two at 491/3, Taylor was resolute at one end with 211 not out to his name. 

Taylor Bettelheim, became just the third (and youngest) Bay of Plenty player, since the Bay's first representative game in 1932, to break through the 200 run mark. Bettelheim followed in the footsteps of Alex Lees (223) and Joe Carter (215no) in belting double centuries.

Taylor's huge total came from 325 balls with nineteen 4's and two 6's. What made the performance even more remarkable, was that it was his second successive Bay representative century, taking his tally to four from just 15 Bay of Plenty appearances.

Bay of Plenty Cricket Player of the Month Awards

January 2021: Cameron Neal (Greerton Cricket Club)

February 2021: Taylor Bettelheim (Bay of Plenty Representative Team)

CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS Bay of Plenty Development Team Lift Aloft the ND Trophy in Triumph

Bay of Plenty lifted aloft the Basil McBurney Trophy aloft in triumph at the Bay Oval, on Sunday 7 March 2021, after winning the ND Development title courtesy of a simply outstanding batting display.

Hamilton won the toss and went out to bat on a pitch that looked to reward good batting technique. The Waikato side took the game to Bay of Plenty from the opening ball, with Callum Hill (88) and former Bay Development player Rueben Clinton (78), putting on a 138 run opening stand.

Bay of Plenty Development Coach Russell Williams said, “We lost the toss and got put in to field first. The Hamilton top order made us work really hard for the first forty overs, losing just two wickets. We showed really good fight to then bowl them out and restrict them to 264”.

At 223 for the loss of five wickets, Hamilton were in control. However the Bay bowlers and fielders then dug deep and grabbed the last five wickets for just 41 runs, to remove their opponents.

Henry Conway bowled genuine line and length, to take four wickets, with Josh Earle, Fergus Lellman and Finn Dempsey each taking a wicket. Outstanding work in the field, resulted in three run-outs, which played a big part in stifling the Hamilton lower order batting attack.

Bay of Plenty openers Michael Mitchell and Blair McKenzie, set the platform for the big seven wicket victory, with a 148 run first wicket partnership. After McKenzie was removed for 74, Mitchell carried on to top score with 96 runs to his name. The Mitchell innings, capped off a superb ND Development competition for the Taupo batsman, who finished the competition with 289 runs from four encounters.

New Zealand Under 19 player Fergus Lellman continued the Bay of Plenty momentum, smacking an unbeaten 65, as Bay of Plenty got home with the last ball of the 49th over.

“Our batting performance was outstanding from our top three, of Mike, Blair and Fergus,  but I think it was the fight we showed through our bowling effort that gave us that really good chance to win”, said the Bay Development Coach.

The Basil McBurney victory, was the Bay's second in three years, sandwiched by a paper-thin margin second place last season.

“I'm so pleased for this group. The culture we have created is really special and it has been a pleasure to coach them again this season. The wins and the trophies are a reflection of how hard they have worked together”. “Like I have said before, I can't say enough about these young men, they are always getting better and better and that's all we can ask for”.

 

ND Development Final - Bay Oval Mount Maunganui 7 March 20210

Hamilton 264 (C Hill 88, R Clinton 78; Henry Conway 4/51) lost to Bay of Plenty 265/3 (Michael Mitchell 96, Blair McKenzie 74, Fergus Lellman 65no)

2020/21 ND Development Preliminary Competition Results

Round One - 15 November 2020 @ Bay Oval Mount Maunganui

Counties Manukau 191 (David Hancock 2/21, Craig Baldry 2/26) lost to Bay of Plenty 192/4 (Michael Mitchell 94no, Fergus Lellman 45no)

Round Two – 21 February @ Galloway Park, Hamilton (replayed rained-out fixture)

Bay of Plenty 217 (Ben Vyver 68, Michael Mitchell 51, Brandon Laurenzi 30) defeated Hamilton 196 (F Hill 56; Finn Dempsey 6/32)

Round Three – 14 February 2021 @ War Memorial Park, Manurewa

Northland 210/8 (B Peck 54; Habib Malik 2/31, Henry Conway 2/37, Iman Singh 2/44) lost to Bay of Plenty 212/7 (Blair McKenzie 60, Niven Dovey 52no, Michael Mitchell 48, Ben Musgrave 25)

GREERTON BOWLERS KEEP VERSATILE TAURANGA WILLIAMS CUP UNBEATEN SEASON RECORD INTACT

The Eves Realty Greerton bowlers, had to weave some magic to keep intact their teams unbeaten Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup unbeaten record, against Bayleys Central Indians at Pemberton Park on Saturday (6 March 2021).

Greerton batted first and were on the back foot for much of their turn at bat, before being bowled out for 137. Opener Tom MacRury anchored his sides total with 65 runs, with Mitchell Rush and Tom Renouf both reaching the twenties. Nawela Needera (4/37) and Andrew Gibbs (3/33) did plenty of damage with the ball, to give their side a real shot of the win points on offer.

A key wicket of Central Indians master blaster Bharat Popli for 4, gave the Greerton bowlers the incentive they needed for victory. The entry of the Greerton slow bowlers into the attack turned the momentum, with Michael Rowland and James Boyd taking three wickets apiece, as Central Indians were removed for 98.

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui leapfrogged Central Indians into second place on the standings, after they defeated Element IMF Cadets at the Tauranga Domain. Long serving Mount batsman Peter Drysdale led the way with 98 runs, with Ben Pomare (43) and Dominic Crombie (37) making solid contributions, as Mount Maunganui posted 249 for the loss of seven wickets.

The home side gave the solid target a good shot before falling ten runs short. For the second week in a row, Jono Boult led from the front with 74 runs with the Marcel Collett and Tim Pringle both reaching the thirties. Mount veteran attack bowler Tony Goodin took three wickets for 52 runs.

Papamoa, ensured that they wouldn't take out the competition wooden spoon, when they defeated Craigs Investment Partners Geyser by eighty runs. Batting first on the Alice Johnson Oval at Papamoa, the home side reached 248/8 in their allotted overs. Ashish Dhameliya and Paul Inglis both posted half centuries with David Cheater the best of the Geyser bowling attack returning 4/41.

A Michael Brown four wicket bag did the damage as the visitors were bowled out for 168. Geyser number nine Sathish Krisnawoorthy top scored with a neat half century.

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College, returned home from their trip to the Great Lake region with six points, after beating Generation Homes Lake Taupo, courtesy of the Duckworth/Lewis formula of deciding rain interrupted matches.

Charles Williams top scored with 92 runs as Tauranga Boys posted 222 for seven wickets. The encounter finished with the inclement weather stoppage, with the hosts stranded on 130/6. Prolific Taupo run scorer Michael Mitchell top scored with 44 with Blaine Inch reaching 34 before dismissal.

 

Versatile Tauranga Williams Cup 6 March 2021

Papamoa 248/8 (Ashish Dhameliya 58, Paul Inglis 57, Ben Goodall 42no; David Cheater 3/41) defeated Craigs Investment Partners Geyser 168 (Sathish Krishnamoorthy 50, Nathaniel Harrison 36; Michael Brown 4/13) 

Eves Realty Greerton 137 (Tom MacRury 65; Nawela Needera 4/37, Andrew Gibbs 3/33) defeated Bayleys Central Indians 98 (Michael Rowlands 3/15, James Boyd 3/25)

Bond & Co Mount Maunganui 249/7 (Peter Drysdale 98, Ben Pomare 43, Dominic Crombie 37) defeated Element IMF Cadets 239 (Jono Boult 74, Marcel Collett 35, Tim Pringle 30; Tony Goodin 3/52)

Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College 222/7 (Charles Williams 92, Isaac White 35, Tim Clarke 34) defeated Generation Homes Lake Taupo 130/6 (Michael Mitchell 44, Blaine Inch 34) by Duckworth/Lewis formula.

Flying Mullet Te Puke the bye.

Points Table (Provisional) Greerton 48, Mount Maunganui 40, Central Indians 36, Cadets 30, Te Puke 23, Tauranga Boys College 23, Lake Taupo 18, Papamoa 16, Geyser 0.