Heading in the right direction

Stefan Hook-Sporry led the impressive Wairarapa attack. PHOTO FILE

WAIRARAPA senior men's cricket coach Neil Perry saw enough positive signs in his team's fourth placing in the zone two Hawke Cup competition to suggest they could be a force to be reckoned with next season.

The outright defeat at the hands of Taranaki in New Plymouth during the weekend was by Perry's admission a disappointing result and left Wairarapa on 21 points, trailing Hawke's Bay (41), Manawatu (36) and Taranaki (31) and ahead of Horowhenua-Kapiti and Wanganui, both of whom ended up with 8 points.

It was a still a significant improvement on last season when they failed to win a match and finished at the bottom of the points table.

"Obviously we would have liked to finish on a better note but overall we certainly made progress, and that was always the priority," Perry said.

"We're still a work in progress but at least we are heading in the right direction."

The performance in New Plymouth provided a classic illustration of the strengths and weaknesses of the Wairarapa squad.

To dismiss Taranaki for just 127 runs in their first innings and to have them 78-3 in the second, spoke volumes for the consistency of the bowlers, led in this case by pacemen Stefan Hook-Sporry, Dean van Deventer and Daniel Ingham.

"The bowlers were brilliant, you couldn't have asked for anything more from them," Perry said. "And that's been the case practically all season, taking wickets hasn't been a problem. We've got plenty of depth in the attack, they've gone a great job."

The batting, however, is a different story. Against Taranaki, Wairarapa came up with a paltry 92 in their first innings and 109 in their second and although the pitch did cause a few hassles, Perry was quick to emphasise that his team's main problem revolved around poor judgement in their shot making.

"We're struggling to come to terms with what is required from the batsmen to consistently succeed at this level," Perry said.

"It's not so much we lack the raw talent, it's more a case of identifying when certain shots should be played. And the importance of building partnerships, that's something we've got to improve on as well."

Perry had no quibbles with the attitude of his players, both on and off the field of play. "You couldn't ask for a better bunch, there was a real determination to do well and they worked hard for each other. They were very professional in that respect."

Looking ahead to next season, Perry said Wairarapa cricket was in the fortunate position of having several promising players waiting in the wings and it was vital to have regular training sessions during the winter which would help develop their potential.

"The future looks quite exciting but we can't stand still, we have to keep moving ahead."