Havelock North CC wicketkeeper Liam Shackleton watches as bowler Rhythm Sharma shatters the bails but the Horowhenua-Kapiti Bears batsman is not out. Photo/Duncan Brown
Havelock North CC wicketkeeper Liam Shackleton watches as bowler Rhythm Sharma shatters the bails but the Horowhenua-Kapiti Bears batsman is not out. Photo/Duncan Brown
Three home teams are in the playoffs of the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association's annual Twenty20 competition in Napier tomorrow.
After two days of Kilbirnie Sports-sponsored competition, Ruahine Motors Central Hawke's Bay CC booked a semifinal in the pre-season tournament against the only outsiders, North Shore CC, at Nelson Park No 3 in a 10am start.
On the adjacent No 4 wicket, Heretuanga Building Society Cornwall CC will face Havelock North CC in a Hastings derby.
The winners will play in the final at Nelson Park 3 while the losers will play on No 4 from 1.30pm.
Tournament organiser and HB Cricket chief executive Craig Findlay said tonight this year, with the first-class season scheduled to start on October 10, teams were probably not as strong as previous years.
"North Shore are, by all accounts, Dale was saying, one of the better T20 teams from Auckland so they are pretty useful," he said of Dale Smidt, the coach of Innovate Electrical Napier Technical Old Boys CC.
NTOB were with North Shore, Russell Properties Ltd Johnsonville CC (Wellington) and Parnell CC (Auckland) in what can be billed as the "pool of death" in the 16-team tournament.
Johnsonville had Wellington Firebirds player Luke Woodcock in their equation and, like Parnell, were first timers to the event while North Shore are regulars.
However, every team in pool 3 lost a game. North Shore had the best run rate to make the cut for the semifinals.
Feisty Central Districts seamer Blair Tickner had played for CHB but was unlikely to turn out in the playoffs today because the Stags were playing a pre-season match against the Auckland Aces from Monday.
"Christian Leopard played today but he wasn't allowed to bowl," Findlay said, of the Stags allrounder who plays for NTOB.
Consequently he said fans wouldn't be able to see the best of domestic cricketers this weekend.
"When I put them together I had no idea who was stronger than the others," Findlay said in his defence.
Cornwall CC batsman Bayley Wiggins walks back to his crease after scoring 50 runs against Taita CC, of Lower Hutt, at Frimley Park, Hastings, today. Photo/Duncan Brown
However, he revealed there was a conscious effort to ensure teams who had faced each other last year weren't reloading against each other again this weekend.
"There's no real seedings or anything but just a pre-season tournament where we're trying to get together to play some cricket."
From that perspective, Findlay said every team that played on grass wickets at Nelson Park, Cornwall Park, Frimley Park, Anderson Park, all in Hastings, and Forest Gate Domain in Ongaonga, were all winners.
"I think that if you're lucky enough to qualify for the finals so it's good and they can all try to put it together on a Sunday.
"But if they don't then that's not the first thing on the clubs' minds because the priority is to play some pre-season cricket on grass wickets, really."
Considering he had called off the tourney due to atrocious weather a few years ago, Findlay was delighted with the sunny 19C climes this weekend.
Last year's final also was abandoned after seven overs due to rain with CHB and Onslow CC (Wellington) sharing the spoils.
"Just a few days weeks ago Nelson Park and Frimley Park were under water after we had had so much rain," he said, saluting the Hastings District and Napier City council ground staff for their sterling work in producing classy wickets so early in the season.
While an all-Bay final will be great, Findlay warned North Shore looked like contenders to spoil that party.
The winners will claim $1000 of vouchers from Kilbirnie Sports. The runners-up will receive $500 of vouchers and the third placegetters $250.
He thanked the sponsors for supporting the tourney since its inception in 2011.
All teams at the tourney were guaranteed four games each so the non-playoff sides will play their last matches tomorrow morning.
Karori v Ellerslie at Nelson Park 1, Johnsonville v East Coast Bays at Nelson Park 2, Taradale v Hutt Districts at Frimley Park 3, NTOB v Taita CC (Lower Hutt) at Nelson Park 5, Eden Roskill v Horowhenua-Kapiti Bears at Frimley Park 4, Parnell v The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist at Frimley Park 1.
Findlay said last year they hosted 14 teams but this year they had reached their capacity 16 for four pools of four.
"I had to tell a few of them that they couldn't come so this is a tournament that many teams want to come to."
Findlay said 16 entries enable them to follow an easy round-robin format with the top qualifiers going straight to the semifinals.
"We've been really lucky with umpires, too. We've had a few come from out of town this year so we were able to man every game."
