Cricket: Angus Schaw confident there will be no repeat of 2014

Angus Schaw (left) will have brother Scott (right) alongside him when he plays his 50th match for Hawke's Bay on Sunday. Photo/John Velvin

Any hints of complacency within the unbeaten Hawke's Bay cricket team will be quickly dealt to during the countdown to Sunday's Kirk Cup match against Poverty Bay at Napier's Nelson Park.

The Pay Excellence-sponsored Hawke's Bay team players will only need to be reminded of the 2014 edition of the fixture which Poverty Bay won by seven wickets at Gisborne's Harry Barker Reserve. That was a day when Hawke's Bay were skittled for a paltry 57 runs in the 50-over match.

A then 17-year-old by the name of Jak Rowe claimed seven scalps for a miserly 14 runs from seven overs when bowling for the hosts. Just three weeks earlier the schoolboy had a foot in a moon boot after he fractured it while playing touch.

"We got hammered," recalled CHB's Angus Schaw, who will have off-spin bowling and middle-order batting roles with the Hawke's Bay team on Sunday.

Schaw will have an extra incentive to help the hosts retain the Kirk Cup this weekend. It will be his 50th outing for the team since his 2012 debut. He has played in winning Hawke's Bay teams against Poverty Bay on two occasions since the 2014 debacle.

"Reaching 50 games is something I've always wanted to do. It's a pretty good feeling to get there."

"We've got some really good young players this weekend with all but a couple under 25. At the same time, there is heaps of depth and we all know the importance of producing a winning performance before our Furlong Cup campaign begins," added the stock agent before attending a training with his club side last night.

Coach Colin Schaw has been forced to make a late change with captain Jake Smith unavailable with a calf injury. He has been replaced by Central's Dom Thompson, who will bat at No 7.

"It's more a precautionary move as we want Jake right for the first of our Furlong Cup matches against Wairarapa in Masterton the following weekend. He picked up the injury while playing for his Cornwall club and we're not too concerned about his absence with the depth we've got. It's important we him right for future games," coach Schaw said.

Experienced Napier Technical campaigner Liam Rukuwai, who led the Bay to two T20 wins against Bay of Plenty in Tauranga at Labour Weekend, will again have the captain's job. Ironically Rukuwai was the Hawke's Bay captain in the 2014 loss.

Havelock North's James Field will have his first outing of the season for the Bay. With Smith unavailable, Field will open with the in-form Napier Technical player and former New Zealand under-19 rep Christian Leopard.

Napier Technical's Stevie Smidt is again unavailable with his ankle injury collected during the Chapple Cup weekend. Smidt hopes to be available for the trip to Masterton.

"Poverty Bay are always a side who can give Hawke's Bay a fright. We're taking this game very seriously," coach Schaw said.

"We've named a team which can bat right through. We're carrying an extra batsman in case we have to chase runs in short periods if the weather turns nasty."

Taradale's Ben Stoyanoff will spearhead the seam attack with assistance from the Napier Technical trio of Todd Watson, Rukuwai and Leopard.

All of the Hawke's Bay players will play for their clubs during tomorrow's round of white ball 50 over matches.

The Hawke's Bay team is:
Liam Rukuwai (captain, Napier Tech), Matt Edmondson (Napier Tech), James Field (Havelock North), Dean Foxcroft (Taradale), Christian Leopard (Napier Tech), GC Pretorius, Angus Schaw, Scott Schaw (all CHB), Ben Stoyanoff (Taradale), Dom Thompson (CHB), Graeme Tryon (Havelock North), Todd Watson (Napier Tech).