Cricket: Nth Otago message needs no decoding

Hamish McMurdo.

"We're not just going to give it to you. If you want it then come and get it."

That's the message from North Otago senior men's cricket team manager, Hamish McMurdo, before their Hawke's Bay counterparts arrive in Oamaru to throw down their challenge for the Hawke Cup.

The champions of minor cricket association supremacy are out to create history in defending their crown after wresting it off fairytale side Buller a fortnight ago.

The district has only ever won the cup once before - 2009-10 - when they won the last game of the season, but lost it the following summer in their first defence.

"We had a lot of retirements that time so at the first defence we had a different team, not that I'm making any excuses for them," McMurdo said last night.

The Jordan Horrell-captained North Otago have three professional coaches in home-grown Ben Cant and South African pair of Stephan Grobler and Francois Mostert, although Grobler is now settled in the region with his partner and expecting a child.

"The rest of them are locals who are living in and around Oamaru," he said.

The side had come off two eventful seasons so it was a conscious build up to winning the cup.

"To finally come through and win it was thoroughly satisfying for us."

McMurdo said the region was humming from the victory and the code wanted to establish itself there in summer in the same mould as rugby has in the Heartland Championship over winters.

"The town's really excited with displays and the schools also so it's quite a big deal," he said, revealing children, especially those who had players as their age-group coaches, wanted to emulate their heroes.

"You can expect some pretty big support and some parochial stuff here."

With the trappings of the Southern Lakes, McMurdo said youngsters had many distractions, such as waterskiing, to counter cricket, considering the code required lengthy spells on the field.