Hawke’s Bay gets chance to win back cricket’s Hawke Cup

Brad Schmulian, pictured in 2016 and best known as a record-breaking batsman, on Sunday bowled three batsmen in a row to claim a rare all-bowled hat-trick for Hawke's Bay against Taranaki. Photo / NZME

Hawke’s Bay secured a new challenge for national minor associations cricket trophy the Hawke Cup by just a single point in a dramatic elimination series end involving two games 230km apart on Sunday.

Playing at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, Taranaki was dismissed on Saturday for 213, to which Hawke’s Bay replied with 315 all-out mid-afternoon on Sunday.

But the game stretched into the early evening before stumps were pulled with Taranaki, series leaders beforehand, at 118-6 and unable to win, but with enough to make the Bay bat again if necessary.

Simultaneously it was learned a defiant Wairarapa had denied Manawatu what could have been a series-winning outright win in Palmerson North.

Wairarapa, an unlikely ally for Hawke’s Bay which had dismissed it for just 29 in one innings earlier in the series, batted first in its match and scored 187, to which Manawatu replied with 303-4dec. Wairarapa knocked-off the 116-runs deficit without loss in its second innings, and was 266-3 when stumps were pulled early.

With on-line score systems failing, it was an anxious wait for the Bay and coach Christie Van Dyk, who said: “It took 40 minutes to find out.”

He wasn’t surprised that Wairarapa had managed to avoid an outright defeat, explaining: “They did it against us when we got them out for 29. We couldn’t get them out in the second innings.”

Hawke’s Bay now has a Hawke Cup challenge on February 24-26, a chance for some redemption after being dismissed for under 100 in each innings in losing the Cup to Canterbury Country in Napier in November.

Canterbury Country has its next defence on January 27-29 against the Zone three challenger, either Buller or Nelson, the winner defending against the Bay.

Van Dyk, still smarting from the way in which the Cup had been lost, said it would be nice to win the Hawke Cup back in the same season as it had lost it.

“We were a bit underdone at the time,” he said. “We’re not going to let it happen again. We’re a bit smarter now.”

It’s been a season of difficulty, with Hawke’s Bay having possibly the busiest season in its history amid constantly having to relinquish players to the upper levels of both Black Caps international cricket and Central Districts commitments to four-day Plunket Shield cricket, one-day 50-overs-a-side matches and Twenty20.

When captain Angus Schaw and Will Clark were called-up midweek to debut for the Stags in a Twenty20 Super Smash game against Auckland Aces on Saturday it took to nine the number of players who have appeared for both Hawke’s Bay and the Stags this summer.

But still Hawke’s Bay was able to produce, the impetus for the weekend success driven by opener Jack Boyle, who hit two 6s and eight 4s in a 96-minutes, 84-balls innings of 61, before being second to go with the score at 84 in the 27th over.

Having on Saturday taken 2-17, including the wicket of Taranaki top-scorer Mattie Thomas (50), caught by Christian Leopard, Boyle shared a 77-runs opening partnership with Jonathan Whitley, who scored just 19.

Leopard then played his part with the bat, featuring in a 55-runs partnership and scoring 46.

The best was still unfolding, Bailey Foote on debut batting at No 8 and hitting nine 4s in an innings of 60 off 101 balls, and Todd Watson hitting two 6s and three 4s in an unbeaten 44 batting at No 9.

But the very best was kept for last, with Brad Schmulian, best known as a batsman who in 2017 for Central Districts hit the highest debut score in over 130 years of New Zealand first-class cricket, turning to his left breaks to claim a rare all-bowled hat-trick as Taranaki went from 56-1 to 56-4 in the 14th over soon after ea on the last afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Hawke’s Bay women’s side bounced-back to winning form in the Mike Shrimpton Trophy Central Districts minor associations competition.

Having lost all three previous matches in the limited-overs competition this season, Hawke’s Bay dismissed Wairarapa for 51 in Palmerston North on Saturday and won with a reply of 54-1 in the 14th over, and on Sunday scored 104-5 to beat Nelson which it had dismissed for 101.

Anelia Apperley (3-7) and Emma Findlay (3-8) did the bulk of the damage against Wairarapa,

Niamhi Muldowney took 3-22 to be the chief wicket-taker against Nelson, and then opener Sophie Pyott and first-drop Cate Pedersen, having shared an unbeaten partnership of 27 against Wairarapa, set the scene for victory against Nelson with a 65-run second-wicket partnership, Pedersen being dismissed for 24 and Pyott soon afterwards for 33.