Cricket: Cornwall secure home turf semifinal

Dale Smidt

The sun, moon and stars have aligned for the season's underdogs in the premier men's club cricket 50-over competition playoffs.

Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall CC have claimed the second berth in the season-ending Property Brokers-sponsored HBCA semifinals this Saturday after the final round of round-robin matches.

"It's very, very pleasing for us with the Hawke Cup selection taking a few guys out and students going back the senior guys stepped up," said a Cornwall team spokesman, Graeme Hodges, after they beat The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist (NOBM) by four wickets at Cornwall Park, Hastings.

Bar the loss to Complete Flooring Napier Technical Old Boys (NTOB) in between, Cornwall have won five games to finish a point above Ruahine Motors Central Hawke's Bay (CHB) on 44.

That left CHB and United Travel Taradale CC locked on 43 points each but the former took third place on a better net run rate.

"We were sitting around nervously yesterday waiting for CHB v Taradale details to go up [on CricHQ] so they missed out on the bonus points and we somehow managed to get through," said Hodges, after CHB pipped Taradale by 10 runs at Forest Gate Domain, Ongaonga.

Cornwall will host CHB this Saturday while NTOB, who were a country mile ahead on 80 points, will become visitors at Taradale Park because the Pay Excellence Bay senior men are playing Bay of Plenty in a cup defence match at Nelson Park from Friday.

"We knew three weeks ago that we can't play at Nelson Park so we're happy with Taradale's good wicket and we have a good record there," said NTOB coach Dale Smidt, after Bay Real Estate Havelock North upset them by by two wickets on Saturday.

"We needed a kick up the arse and we got it so I'm hoping it's timely because we've been complacent at training," Smidt said, after the loss broke NTOB's club record of 18 wins on the trot.