Hawke's Bay eye Hawke Cup challenge after Furlong win

Hawke's Bay took the Hawke Cup off North Otago five years ago in Oamaru - can they repeat the feat at the end of February? Photo / File

The Hawke's Bay Pay Excellence senior men's cricket side are ready to step up for a Hawke Cup challenge having won the regional Furlong Cup two-day competition in dominant fashion.

Head coach Dave Castle's side needed just three competition points from their match against Taranaki in New Plymouth at the weekend to secure the trophy.

"We got put in to bat first on what was a pretty tough wicket," Castle said.

With three points awarded to teams each time they score 250 runs, Hawke's Bay made 269, which was also enough to give them the win on first innings when they later bowled Taranaki out for 142.

The side can now look forward to a three-day match against Hawke Cup holders North Otago in Oamaru in a couple of weeks.

Castle said it would be an exciting new challenge, although five players from the current squad were in the Hawke's Bay side that took the cup from North Otago in Oamaru five years ago.

"There's a little bit of knowledge and experience about where we're going, but not necessarily a lot about who we're playing, so a couple of weeks to do a bit of research," Castle said.

He added the players would probably have liked to play Nelson for the trophy before North Otago won it off them over the weekend, having lost the Chapple Cup final to that association in November.

Castle said his players are pretty confident in what they can do against any opposition:

"We've been put in some pressure situations this year and had guys who really stood up on the back end of batting innings in Dom Thompson, Angus Schaw and Todd Watson."

He said he has been engaged in conversations about higher honours for the latter two all-rounders, something he would like to see for more of his squad as well.

"It'd be nice to see these guys who have dominated this competition given a chance to go up and dominate another one," Castle said.

While a few players have stood out, the coach said his "exceptional" squad and depth had been key to their overall success.

He credits the fact that he has used 21 players over the season, including four debutants, to the work Hawke's Bay Cricket and all the clubs are doing to develop players.

"We've done really, really well, and that's a credit to the wider squad and not just the guys who were playing on the weekend," Castle said.