Waipawa Area Cricket Association W.A.C.A's it out of the park with new grounds

Waipawa's Tyson Wynn batting against Sherwood bowler Andy Hunt. Photo / Supplied

The first round of the Stevenson & Taylor country cricket tournament was held at the new cricket ground inside Waipawa's Coronation Park on Sunday, October 30.

Although the first of the two games was played under a light drizzle of rain, that didn't stop guest bowler Robbie Smith - CEO of Stevenson & Taylor - bowling the first official ball for the season. He did however have to repeat that ball as it turned out to be a wide.

First up Onga-Tiko had set 139 for five wickets, helped by Tom Holden carrying on his form from last season top scoring at 34 not out, whilst Wallingford bowler James Mackie made it very difficult for anyone to score with a bowling style that was described as having the pace of a falling autumn leaf.

Wallingford's chase did not start well, losing two wickets early on, but that would be the only bump in the road as from then on in they cruised to victory inside 13 overs with three batters retiring including a blistering knock from Willie Wilder only facing 12 balls to cross the 30 run limit.

The sun appeared for the second game of the day, in what was a rematch of last year's finalists Sherwood and Waipawa.

Sent in to bat first, Waipawa set a healthy score of 177 all out in the 19th over. Notable batting performances came from two of the three Wynn brothers, Tyson and Kade, both reaching 30 at more than two runs a ball whilst youngest brother Matt had to settle for a golden duck.

Sherwood's reply with the bat was something that Waipawa was not prepared for, smashing out the total with five overs to spare. Tom Tennant's huge sixes made the groundsman question whether the boundaries had been set far enough back and also made a few of the Waipawa bowlers question why they play the game.

In summary, it was a wonderful start to a great social competition that brings together the rural community and makes time for fun and socialising in such stressful and busy times. The new ground was a success and W.A.C.A (Waipawa Area Cricket Association) would like to thank all those involved for helping the project happen.

The rest of the competition will be played over the course of the summer, dates are yet to be confirmed but will be advertised on CHB crickets Facebook page and on Central FM.