Cricket: Hawke's Bay U15 representative team return as champions of Central Districts

HB U15 boys' representative cricket co-coaches Dale Smidt and Indika Senarathne (back row, right) and their charges taste gold after winning the CD tourney last week. Photo/supplied

Representative is generally a term used to recognise a level of excellence from a region or country to a sporting domain.

But how often is the team truly representative of a province in terms of how widespread the depth and talent can be?

Complete Paints Hawke's Bay Under-15 boys' representative cricket team coach, Dale Smidt, believes his young charges embody such plurality from the province after they returned from the annual age-group Central Districts tournament, in and around Levin, as champions last Thursday.

"It's quite interesting the make up of the team in terms of schools so that is something that sticks out for me," says Smidt of the Bay squad of 12 who include three players each from Hastings Boys' High School and Lindisfarne College, two each from Napier Boys' High School and St John's College and one each from Havelock North High School and Taradale High School.

"Normally Napier Boys' and Hastings Boys' are the dominant schools so we have six schools in there now and that's quite unusual for a Hawke's Bay rep side."

Based on that spread of talent, he had quite high expectations heading off to the four-day tourney from last Monday and the teenagers had commendably lived up to it.

Smidt says his schoolboys had played "some very good cricket and I was delighted with the standards".

They had a nomadic existence during the tourney, moving to different parks between Levin, Waikanae and Paraparaumu.

While it broke the boredom of asking for middle and leg at the same venue, he says the different wickets offered their own share of challenges with myriad conditions.

"Where Rogan Ross got that five wickets it was particularly different from the other wickets because it rained overnight and it was very slow, holding and nipping around so it suited him," he says of the five-wicket bag Ross took in the 82-run twenty20 walloping of Horowhenua-Kapiti.

Overall, though, it pleased Smidt that different players put their hands up on different days to put up the figures on the scoreboard rather than relying on a couple of marquee players to do the job day in, day out.

It helps the Bay boys have been playing as a unit for a couple of summers and have built a sense of affinity and understanding of what individuals bring to the park.

"Even in the two-run loss we played pretty good cricket ... because we got on top for a little bit and then they did for a bit so it was a really good game," he says in the Bay's only defeat - to Manawatu in a T20 affair where Jorvan Bath spearheaded the run chase with 50 runs and Lovepreet Padda added 38 but they fell shy at 141 all out in 20 overs.

They didn't play Manawatu in a 50-over game but Smidt says that may be do-able after Christmas for the James Rawnsley-captained side.

He had impressed on the boys after the victory that their performance was a fair endorsement of where Bay cricket was "moving forward".

"You know, you've got to keep doing the hard yards so we're in pretty good shape."

He says three other teenagers had missed the cull for the tourney team and they are equally capable so the selectors didn't have it easy either.

"They're good players but you can't take 15, just 12, so competition is healthy."

While a tourney paper team wasn't selected, Smidt says he would have expected at least seven of his players to be named in it purely based on results.

"I think that is quite realistic and not a one-eyed view."

However, he hastens to add some of the other CD region teams didn't have a huge player base to select teams.

"But we can't worry about other teams and just look at our own performances to maintain high standards so that was our help during the week."

The Bay beat Wairarapa by 96 runs, Marlborough and Nelson by eight wickets each, Whanganui by 233 runs and Taranaki by four wickets in the other games.

Smidt also lauds co-coach Indika Senarathne for his significant contribution.

"So I do most of the talking and he does all the drills so we have a good little system going there.

"He plays the bad cop and I play the good one, to be honest," he says with a laugh of the Sri Lankan-born cricketer who arrived here as an import several summers ago and plays for Innovative Electrical Napier Technical Old Boys premier men.

BOYS

Complete Paints HB U15 boys 182 all out in 42.2 overs (Lovepreet Padda 56, Sam Cassidy 44, Jorvan Bath 29; J Jonas 4-11) bt Lone Star Wairarapa U15s 86 all out in 35.4 overs (J Jonas 38; Jed Greville 4-6, Tyler Annand 3-22) by 96 runs.

Marlborough U15 49 all out in 16.2 overs (Harvey Ives, Pritpal Singh 3 wkts each) lost to HB U15 52/2 in 8.3 overs (Padda 17no, Bath 15no, Rogan Ross 11) by 8 wkts.

Nelson 98 all out in 18.5 overs (R Restieux 44; Ives 4-9, Annand and Josh Fairbrother 2 wkts each) lost to HB U15 102/2 (Padda 62no, Fairbrother 30) by 8 wkts.

HB U15 300/7 in 50 overs (James Rawnsley 34, Padda 23, Fairbrother 76, Sam Bartram 31no) bt Whanganui 67 all out in 24.1 overs (Annand 3-9; Ives, Hamish James 2 wkts each) by 233 runs.

Manawatu 143/7 in 20 overs bt HB U15 141 all out in 20 overs (Bath 50, Padda 38) by 2 runs.

HB U15 139/6 in 20 overs (Fairbrother 21, Cassidy 40, Padda 38) bt Horowhenua 9-57 in 20 overs (Ross 5-13) by 82 runs.

Taranaki 78 all out in 27.4 overs (Singh 3-21, Greville and James got 2 wkts each) lost to HB U15 80/6 in 21.2 overs (Bath 29no) by 4 wkts.

GIRLS

Apache Jacks Wairarapa 1-135 in 20 overs (G Fairbrother 1-23) bt HB U15 78 all out in 14.4 overs (O McKnight) 22, Z Kireka-Russell 19) by 57 runs.

HB U15 1-150 in 20 overs ( A Kaya 57no, Fairbrother 46no) bt Anndion Lodge Whanganui 8-107 in 20 overs (McKnight and M Potts-Tyro 2 wkts each) by 43 runs.

Horowhenua v HB abandoned.

Manawatu 32 all out in 15.3 overs (C Wakefield 3-5, Fairbrother 3-4) lost to HB U15 0-33 in 5 overs (R Drager 24no, Kireka-Russell 4no) by 10 wkts.

Taranaki 9-113 in 20 overs (A Apperley, McKnight and Fairbrother 2 wkts each) bt HB U15 3-91 in 20 overs (Apperley 42, Fairbrother 24, Drager 15no) by 22 runs.

Nelson 8-104 in 20 overs (Fairbrother 3-24, Wakefield 2-25) bt HB U15 9-84 in 20 overs (McKnight 24, Fairbrother 21) by 18 runs.

The Hawke's Bay under-15 girls' representative cricket team competed with mix success at their tournament in Palmerston North last week. Photo/supplied