A LITTLE-known cricketing entity from Gisborne stands between City Cricket Club and the top tier of club competition this season. City complete a hectic weekend schedule on Sunday by travelling to Rotorua to play the Poverty Bay champion side OBR, with the winner bound for the national club championships at Auckland'sCornwall Park next month. City professional Owain Hopkins says the team have little idea what to expect from the Gisborne side but they won't be taking them lightly. "We know absolutely nothing about them other than they've had a pretty easy run through to the [Northern Districts] final and they have a few Poverty Bay players in their squad." Hopkins said with the return of Joe Yovich to the side, they are as strong as they have looked all season and City now want to add to the one-day and two-day Whangarei club cricket titles they have won already this season with an appearance in the Cornwall Park event. "Joe's pretty disappointed to have been dropped from the ND squad given that he's been bowling superbly, but obviously because he's not there, he's playing for us and we're over the moon about that," Hopkins said. City beat a very strong Otumoetai Cadets side in a rain-shortened match at Cobham Oval last Sunday to reach the Northern Districts final with Yovich in the thick of the action. The match was shortened to 44 overs and even though City lost the toss, they reached 207 for the loss of six wickets, with Brad Chard, Bert Horner, Hopkins and Yovich all scoring 30s in conditions that favoured the bowlers. Former Northern Districts opener Llorne Howell top-scored with 79 in reply but good bowling spearheaded by Yovich and Tim Anderson, who both took three wickets, saw the Cadets chase fall short when they were dismissed for 180. City start their weekend programme off with a Twenty20 match this evening at Cobham Oval before travelling to Kaipara Flats for a one-day match tomorrow and then on to Rotorua's Smallbone Park for their 50-over match against OBR. The other premier grade matches tomorrow see Kamo play Whangarei Boys' High School and Onerahi play Maungakaramea. Both matches are being played at Kensington Park.
