Otumoetai Cadets Celebrates 40 years

Posted: Tuesday, 21 November 2017

This Saturday (25 November 2017) night, brings a significant highlight in the history of the Otumoetai Cadets Cricket Club, when they hold a celebratory dinner as part of the clubs 40th Anniversary celebrations. The cricket club originated from Otumoetai Cadets Rugby Club, with a rugby jersey of the time on the wall at Cadets headquarters at the Tauranga Domain, recognizing the link between the two clubs.

Otumoetai Cadets was formed in 1978 with the Tauranga Domain becoming home base. While success was moderate in the early years, the clubs first Williams Cup in the 1994/95 season started a significant winning streak. A five straight Williams Cup titles from their initial success was followed by further titles in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2017 to take their record to ten in two decades.

Numerous Baker Cup titles accompanied the Williams Cup triumphs. In the 2015/16 season, they became the first Baywide Club to have their name engraved on all three Baywide Premier Trophies. The Baywide T20 title in March 2016, accompanies the Williams Cup success and the Baywide Cup in the 2007/08 and 2011/12 seasons.

In 2004, Cadets became the only Bay of Plenty club (and ND team) to win the New Zealand Club Championships, which are played at Cornwall Park in Auckland around Easter each year.

Former Black Cap Lorne Howell became a prolific run scorer when he arrived at Otumoetai Cadets in 2004. Thirteen centuries in much less than a decade, testified to his success with the bat at the Tauranga Domain based club. Jono Boult was the first Bay of Plenty premier batsman to reach two hundred runs in an innings when he posted 200 not out against Mount Maunganui a few seasons ago.

Cadets best premier bowling figures were set nearly thirty years ago with T Grey becoming the only Cadets bowler to take nine wickets in an innings. Long time Cadets player, coach and member Rick Spratt holds the record for the most six wicket bags of eleven, with another club stalwart in Campbell Wilson achieving the feat on seven occasions.

One of the rarest feats in cricket took place in December 2006, when a (then) seventeen year old Trent Boult took, a rare as hens teeth, two hat tricks in one innings at the Tauranga Domain. Trent was playing for the Tauranga representative team against Eastern Bay of Plenty in the BOPCA Attrill Cup (Sub-Association) Final.

Trent was almost unplayable, achieving two-hat tricks in his dismissal of seven Eastern Bay batsmen. In a frightening display of pace bowling, Boult removed the Eastern Bay top order of Barry Kilgariff, Brook Simpson and Tom Yates with successive balls. Less than twenty minutes later it was the turn of James Mitchell, who had taken a hat-trick in club cricket the previous day, Dean Butterworth and Joe Taylor to fall to three successive balls unleashed by Boult.

While Trent Boult is a Bay of Plenty home-grown Black Cap, Cadets are entitled to acknowledge Corey Anderson, as their second club of origin New Zealand player. While Corey transferred north from Canterbury, he was a member of Otumoetai Cadets when first selected for the Black Caps in October 2013.

Today Cadets field four senior men's team each Saturday during the summer cricket season. The flagship has always been the clubs premier side, with Element IMF Cadets currently holding a narrow lead in the 2017 Baywide Cup title race. Cadets Reserve Grade team have won multiple championship titles over the years, while this season long-time B Grade contenders Grasshoppers and new recruits Punjab Warriors are playing under the club banner.

Past Cadets members and supporters are invited to attend the anniversary dinner, which will be held will be on Saturday 25th November 2017. The evening will kick off at 6.30pm, with old boys also coming down in the afternoon for the premier sides match against Tauranga Boys College at the Domain. Tickets for the evening event are $40 (including a catered meal and band) and can be pre-purchased through Jono Boult 027 313 8014 or at the club on Saturday. Anniversary polo shirts for the celebration are also available for sale at $46 each.

Otumoetai Cadets Record Holders
Premier Most Centuries – (13) Lorne Howell (8) Ben Christensen (7) Jono Boult
Highest Score – (200no) Jono Boult (178) Ben Christensen (160) Lorne Howell
Most Six Wicket Bags – (11) Rick Spratt (7) Campbell Wilson
Best Bowling – (9/47) T Grey (8/25) Trent Boult

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