Shaw Thing: Player of the Year honour to HSOB skipper

LEADER BY EXAMPLE: High School Old Boys captain Carl Shaw capped a memorable season for the club with individual honours at the Poverty Bay Cricket Association senior prizegiving. Having led his side to a clean sweep of the premier grade silverware, Shaw picked up the Player of the Year and bowling trophy for lowest average — 4.35 runs per wicket. Picture by Paul Rickard

To say that 2022-23 was a challenging season for Poverty Bay cricket is an understatement.

Cyclone Gabrielle, flooding and the loss of three playing days in scoring platform PlayHQ’s debut season nationwide had an impact on all three premier grade competitions — the Senior B grade, secondary schools and junior cricket. 

But the Poverty Bay Cricket Association’s popular call that the show would go on, as regards to its senior prizegiving last Saturday, was the right decision. 

Association life members Rose Doleman and Donald Cook awarded the prizes in three blocks.

Players from all 10 of the association’s senior sides were among the 200 at the prizegiving held at the Harry Barker Reserve pavilion.

Bollywood High School Old Boys, under the leadership of Carl Shaw, made a sweep of the premier grade championships. 

They won the 40-over Doleman Cup, two-day DJ Barry Cup and T20 Walker Shield.

The Nick Greeks-captained Coastal Concrete Old Boys’ Rugby won the Alhambra Shield as runners-up in the DJ Barry Cup and Phelps Trophy as runners-up in the Doleman Cup. 

Shaw beat teammate Baxter Mackay, Greeks and Teghbir Singh (Horouta) to the supreme individual men’s award — the Heikell Cup as Player of the Year. 

Mel Knight (Horouta) won the women’s individual award.

The Wilkie Cup for the most improved premier player went to left-arm orthodox spinner Daniel Torrie (HSOB), ahead of off-spinner Daniel Stewart (OBR) and stylish Horouta Te Waka batsman Bruno Judd.

Another left-arm orthodox spinner, Greeks, won the Stewart Cup as premier cricket’s top all-rounder.

Teammate Josh Adams won the Boon Cup for the fastest 50 (23 balls). 

The Boom-Boom Trophy as the T20 Walker Shield’s heaviest run-scorer went to Teghbir Singh of Horouta. He also won the PBCA Trophy for the highest batting average (40.33 runs). 

Mackay (249 runs) claimed the Fraser Shield for batting aggregate in the Doleman Cup and DJ Barry Cup.

Seamer Shaw won the Chrisp Cup as the premier bowler to take a minimum of 20 wickets with the lowest average (4.35 runs per wicket). 

Jimmy Holden (OBR) won the Hayes Family Cup as premier cricket’s leading wicket-taker with 22 scalps.

Off-spinner David Castle won the Block-hole Trophy as the most economical bowler.

HSOB club captain Glen Udall won the WB Miller Award for fielding.

In the senior B awards, Mel Knight’s Horouta won the the SK White Cup for Efficiency. 

OBR youngster Jonah Reynolds pipped Connor Starck (Campion College first 11) to win the Bradley Cup as the most improved player in the grade.

Udall scored 187 runs at an average of 46.75 to claim the HH Barker Cup.

Rawhiti Legal OBR captain Craig Christophers won the Carroll Cup for the lowest bowling average (13 wickets at 6.46). 

Horouta opening batsman Stanley Blake claimed the PBCA Shield as the grade’s No.1 all-rounder and the Hayes Family Cup for batting aggregate with 261 runs. 

Hope Cup overall champions were Civil Projects Solutions Ngatapa Green Caps skippered by Ryan West. OBR won the Khyber Cup as runners-up.

In the age group awards, Johnathon Gray (OBR) beat another excellent left-arm pace bowling prospect in Gisborne Boys’ High School second 11’s Caleb Taewa to claim the Wynn Barton Memorial as most promising Year 9-10 cricketer. 

Starck edged Reynolds for the boys’ under-16 player of the year.

The girls’ u16 player of the year was Keeley-Rose Smiler.

Alex Shanks, of the GBHS first 11 won the u17 boys’ award ahead of Reynolds and Campion’s Taye McGuinness. 

Grace Kuil won the award as the most promising ladies’ cricketer. Grace Levy was the women’s u18 player of the year. Keeley-Rose and the two Graces are Tairāwhiti Women’s Cricket Club and Poverty Bay age group representatives. 

Nathan Trowell won the u19 men’s award over Reynolds and former GBHS first 11, now OBR teammate, Cohen Loffler. 

The last bracket of awards presented saw Bay men’s senior rep Udall win the Rees Scragg Memorial Trophy for service to cricket.

Loffler beat fellow Bay men’s senior opening bowler Jak Rowe of HSOB for the Naden Family Cup as men’s senior representative player of the year.

PBCA committee member Lexi Cheyne ran the event as smoothly and efficiently to time as many could recall.