Ticking all the boxes is the Taradale CC premier men's team after winning the inaugural Lake Taupō CC Twenty20 tournament today. Photo / Supplied
Ticking all the boxes is the Taradale CC premier men's team after winning the inaugural Lake Taupō CC Twenty20 tournament today. Photo / Supplied
Taradale premier men's club cricketers have made their intentions clear this summer after winning the inaugural Lake Taupō CC Spring Twenty20 Cup today.
The You Travel-sponsored Maroons beat the hosts by 51 runs at the Owen Delany Park after scoring 132-8 in their allotted 20 overs before skittling their opponents for 81 runs.
Having won the toss, Lake Taupō asked the Luke Kenworthy-captained Taradale to pad up but Taradale opener Callum Hewetson must have got them ruing their decision as he scored 41 at almost a run a ball.
No 7 Harry Warke chimed in with a hard-hit 36 from 19 balls. Lake Taupō bowler Moko Rivers advanced his tournament wicket haul to a dozen, taking 3-12 in the final.
"We started getting much better towards the end of the tournament to play some good cricket in our fourth game," said stand-in coach Dale Smidt, stepping up from mentoring juniors after regular coach Robbie Quinn was unavailable due to illness.
"We have ticked quite a few of our boxes while carrying out a balancing act," Smidt said.
He said Taradale had found a balance between giving the young and restless some opportunities while eking out victories.
Smidt said the tourney was brilliant with the players finding some pre-season mojo and the organisers had been instrumental in ensuring everything went swimmingly well.
Former Hawke's Bay senior men's coach Dale Smidt mentors Taradale CC youngsters but stepped up to help the premier men at the weekend. Photo / File
The former Hawke's Bay Cricket administrator harked back to the five years ago when Taupō were a robust outfit under the leadership of an English professional but said they had since lost their footing a little at premier men's club level.
"There were some good boys up there so it was a really, really good set up with a nice prize giving, lunches provided and good umpires."
The fertile HBCA annual Kilbirnie Sports Twenty20 premier men's tourney starts at Nelson Park, Napier, this Friday.
Smidt said while they had four teams at Taupō at the weekend the organisers intended to boost it to eight next year and hoped more Hawke's Bay teams would enter it.
"It's only an hour and a half up the road for us so leading into next weekend for us it's ideal, really," he said.
Taupō fall in the Northern Districts catchment area while the Bay come into the equally scattered Central Districts one.
The Lake Taupō side's reply got off to a poor start today, losing their first two wickets with just three runs on the board. At five down for 34 runs, they were in serious trouble, with Taradale bowlers stifling them.
Oliver Kyle and Matt Quinn were the chief destroyers with 3-14 and 2-7, respectively.
The hosts reached the tournament decider with an unbeaten record in the three preliminary rounds, dispatching Karaka CC, Taradale and Te Puke.
Rivers was pivotal, taking two four-wicket bags, with overseas batsman Michael Mitchell posting two scores in the 40s.
The Hawke's Bay side's only defeat came against Lake Taupō, in a match that went down to the penultimate ball of the Lake Taupō reply, after Taradale had posted 127-5.
The previous day, Taradale batsman Luke Kenworthy unleashed a batting blitz against Te Puke, smashing 99 runs of just 47 balls in a innings that contained nine fours and eight big heaves over the boundary ropes.
Te Puke skipper Stephen Crossan smashed the highest score of the weekend tournament, smacking 102 from the 65 balls he faced against Karaka. The master blaster hammered 11 fours and fives sixes.
Smidt said with five youngsters it was an opportune time to integrate them into the club's elite equation with such cricket leagues.
"It beats being indoors and just [training] all the time."
Two youngsters, Logan Hill and Logan Trower, had a CD Under-19 trials in Palmerston North today so we lost them last night.
Veteran Taradale skipper Luke Kenworthy kept wickets but also handed his gloves over to a youngster in Taupō. Photo / File
RESULTS
Rd 1 yesterday:Karaka CC 91 (LC Williamson 27; Moko Rivers 4/7, Shaun Davie 3/13) lost to Generation Homes Lake Taupō CC 92/1 (Michael Mitchell 47, Shaun Davies 27).
You Travel Taradale 218/5 (Luke Kenworthy 99, Logan Trower 30; Iman Singh 2/37) bt New World Te Puke 139/9 (Tai Bridgman-Raison 37; Thomas Davie 3/5).
Rd 2: Karaka CC 138/7 (SV Varcoe 49; R Kruger 2/28, Iman Singh 2/15) lost to New World Te Puke 143/1 (Stephen Crossan 102).
You Travel Taradale 127/5 (C Hewetson 30; Moko Rivers 4/18) lost to Generation Homes Lake Taupō CC 129/2 (Michael Mitchell 45no, Shaun Davies 35).
Rd 3, today:New World Te Puke 151/4 (G Singh Samra 39, Blair McKenzie 37, Daniel Price 31; P Kulaar 2/12) lost to Generation Homes Lake Taupō CC 153/3 (Roger Urbahn 60, Jack Wiggins 40; Reinhardt Kruger 2/30).
