Three teams unbeaten at end of first day’s play

Waikato Valley will take some beating.

The Valley were in mighty form first-up at the Northern Districts Emerging Youth Cricket Tournament at the Harry Barker Reserve yesterday.

They, Counties-Manukau and 2021 champions Bay of Plenty Coastlands won their first two T20 matches at the tourney.

Coastlands, under long-serving coach Peter Swan, beat the Northern Districts Invitation side by six wickets in Round 1 and former Northern Knight Neal Parlane's Northland by 26 runs yesterday afternoon.

Counties-Manukau, for Shane Patel-Ponda, finished the first day with victory by eight wickets over ND Invitation.

Counties began with a 95-run win against home team Poverty Bay.

The South Auckland crew won the toss and made 152-3 on a Harry Barker Reserve representative turf wicket best-suited to front-foot play. Opener Tayden Smit (60) and towering second drop Fraser Farrell (44 not out) were workmanlike and hit the ball hard.

The Bay made a spectacular start to the game with the introduction of Seb Wilson at first change. The 6ft 5in Wilson (2-22 from four overs), right arm over the wicket, pitched the ball on the line of left-handed opener Rakesh Patel's leg stump and bowled one of the best batsmen at the tournament for 13 with the total at 31.

James Kingham (16), who batted at No.3, and Farrell shared partnerships with Smit of 40 and 51 respectively.

Poverty Bay opening bowler Nathan Trowell was good value without taking a wicket. He conceded only 18 runs from four overs.

Off-spinner Daniel Stewart had catches go down, with one not attempted. He went for 28 but kept the ball up to the bat and bowled well to his field.

Counties left-arm medium-pacer Oscar Anderson then took centre stage with 4-14, bowling out. Third-change bowler Henry Harkness got in for 2-10 from three overs as the Bay made a hard start to Day 1 with the bat at 16-5. They lost two wickets with the score at 27 and two with the total at 57. Their biggest partnership was one of 24 for the eighth wicket between George Gillies (13no) and Hamish Swann (5). These two young players were placed under pressure by very capable opposition and showed urgency, although the Bay were bowled out for 57 in 18 overs.

Poverty Bay produced two remarkable pieces of cricket in their Round 2 meeting with Waikato Valley.

The first was an amazing delivery from Trowell (1-29 from four overs), right arm over the wicket, to dismiss another left-handed opening batsman, Riley McCullum, for nought second ball. The wicket delivery swung a foot to clip leg pin.

The second was an out-of-this-world leaping catch on the midwicket boundary by Stewart to dismiss McCullum's partner, Cam O'Leary (56 off 45 balls), from the bowling of off-spinner George Gillies (1-26 from two overs). Stewart made the catch with the off-hand, his right hand. Magnificent grab though it was, nothing could impede the progress of the tournament's first centurion, Xavier Bell (104no), whose innings began in comical fashion — he had forgotten and had to retrieve a vital piece of equipment: an abdominal protector.

Bell's strokeplay from then on was superb, though he might have fallen to Stewart, stumped, second ball of the 11th over. It would never do to forget that standing up to the spinners — especially to complete that dismissal after the ball turns back through the gate — is some ask.

Bell and O'Leary put on 130 for the second wicket.

Waikato Valley won the toss and posted 176-2 on a rep wicket that was starting to slow down a touch.

The representative wicket then saw a magical performance from the visitors.

Both Poverty Bay opener Trowell (1) and wicketkeeper Alex Shanks (0), the eighth man in, were run out; Stewart (0) fell leg-before-wicket to a full-toss from Flynn Morey (4-5 from four overs), while No.10 Hamish Swann (7) was caught by a leaping Max Makeham at silly mid-off. No.6 Luke Fisher (11 off 15 balls), was the last man to fall, to giant left-armer Reilly Benefield (2-12 from 1.5 overs).

Fisher and his captain, Cohen Loffler (1 run off 10 balls), were the only batsman to face 10 balls, the home team being bowled out for 30 in 10.5 overs.

Valley spearhead Jake Morey, an impressive speedster, took 2-3 in four overs, two of which were maidens.

The Bay lost their first three wickets with the score at 5, three with the score at 6 and were 14-9.

Six Bay batsmen were outbowled in Round 2, seven having gone that way in Round 1. Two Bay batsmen were run out in each game, with only one Bay batsman being out caught in each match.

Bay coach Josiah Turner said: “Our fielding and bowling have been pretty good — Dan Stewart bowled very well — and our boys thought hard about their field settings. I'm hoping that the boys bat without fear today.”

Poverty Bay are capable of playing much better cricket than they did on Day 1. Today on HBR 1, they were to line up against ND Invitation in Round 3 and Northland in Round 4, with Round 4 to start at 2.30pm.

On the rep wicket, Coastlands were to play Zac Corban's Hamilton and have a BoP derby match against Lakelands under Tyler McGladdery this afternoon.

Counties-Manukau were to stay on HBR 3 to play both Northland and Hamilton.

Waikato Valley were set to face Bay of Plenty Lakelands and ND Invitation on HBR 2.

With the conclusion of today's T20 games, the tourney will move into 50-over mode. Tomorrow, Waikato Valley have BoP Coastlands on HBR 1, Counties-Manukau face BoP Lakelands on HBR 2, Poverty Bay play Hamilton on HBR 3, and the ND Invitation side meet Northland on the rep wicket.

The players in the Poverty Bay Emerging Youth squad are: Cohen Loffler (captain), Alex Shanks (wicketkeeper), Seb Wilson, Liam Barbier, George Gillies, Nathan Trowell, Nathaniel Fearnley, Kelan Bryant, Bekko Page, Daniel Stewart, Luke Fisher, Travis O'Rourke, Keegan Jooste, Hamish Swann and Jarrod Ormiston.