The atmosphere was tense as the opening round of the most anticipated sports tournament of the year was held last Sunday. Photo / Jacqueline Cudby
The atmosphere was tense as the opening round of the most anticipated sports tournament of the year was held last Sunday. Photo / Jacqueline Cudby
Viewer ratings reportedly plummeted for the Rugby World Cup and Cricket World Cup once word got out that the opening round of the most anticipated sports tournament of the year was being held on Sunday.
Now in its third year, the CHB Social T20 Cricket Competition – the Stevenson & Taylor Cup – has expanded, adding two new teams to meet the demand of the growing number of has-beens and never-will-bes that want to play the “gentleman’s game”.
Let it be said, though, that very few “gentlemen” turned up but rather a collection of CHB’s tradies, farmers and even the odd insurance salesman.
Onga-Tiko at bat during the Stevenson & Taylor Cup at Central Hawke’s Bay College. Photo / Paul Taylor
Three games were played simultaneously on the three artificial wickets at CHB College in windy but mostly fine conditions. The wind was later said to be a godsend as frequent plumes of dust were popping out of middle-aged men’s shoulder joints as they rolled their arms over for the first time in seven months.
Losing the toss and put into bat, it wasn’t long until relief was seen in the faces of the new Waipukurau team’s captain Wilbur Redward, as they quickly discovered that the playing quality was not as high as it was made out to be by certain Waipawa players who can be frequently found propping up the bar at Skinny Mulligans.
The match played quite evenly until Waipawa’s middle order used the crosswind to send the ball for six multiple times in three overs, giving them a comfortable win.
The Argyll Cricket Club, the other new team to the competition, sent a message right from the first over that they would not be the forgotten town of CHB.
Brian Robinson blasted 29 from the first three overs and made the Wallingford team wake up very quickly from the champagne breakfast they’d had to celebrate an All Blacks victory.
Dylan Scott bowling for Waipawa v Waipukurau at the Stevenson & Taylor Cup at Central Hawke’s Bay College. Photo / Paul Taylor
Fortunately for Wallingford, the copious amounts of blue Powerade and service station pies that Joe Murphey supplied at the change of innings did sober them up to chase down Argyll’s total with four wickets in hand.
Last year’s Stevenson & Taylor Cup winners Sherwood Cricket Club played neighbours Onga-Tiko for bragging rights of State Highway 50′s top cricket team.
Onga-Tiko captain Tom Holden had been busy in the off-season securing big-money contracts for high-quality players and gave Sherwood quite a shock as they found themselves 12 runs short at the end of their innings, giving Onga-Tiko their first win over Sherwood in the competition’s history.
Sherwood’s newly appointed club captain, Tom Tennant, stated that the club may inquire as to whether Onga-Tiko’s salary cap had been breached.
It was another great start to a wonderful tournament that brings small CHB clubs together for more than a game – it’s a social outing that can be hard to make time for in our increasingly busy lives.
Many thanks to major sponsor Stevenson & Taylor for putting on the after-match BBQ and drinks and to CHB Cricket Club for running the competition and laying the new artificial wicket on CHB College’s top field.
There are five more rounds of games to come, with a final being held in late March.
