Cadets captain Jono Boult bowls to Central Indians in the Williams Cup final. Photo / Andrew Warner
Cadets captain Jono Boult bowls to Central Indians in the Williams Cup final. Photo / Andrew Warner
Two battle-hardened warriors of Baywide cricket played key roles in Element IMF Cadets winning their 11th Williams Cup when they beat Bayleys Central Indians in the final on Saturday.
Cadets veterans Jono Boult, the captain, and Joe Carter were the stars as they led their side to a six-wicket victory. Boult took four wickets for 18 runs while Carter kept the run chase on track as he top scored with 82 runs.
Boult says it means a lot to the team and the club to win another title.
"It was great, a good end to the season. It was good work from the boys today, Joe batted well and all the bowlers played their part.
"[The difference was] a bit of patience and a bit of experience in finals. They got off to a great start, but we pulled them back through the middle with some good bowling and good fielding. Then Joe and Fergus [Lellman] got us off to a good start."
The Rotorua-based Central Indians won the toss and, after electing to bat, got away to a grand start - losing their second wicket with 90 runs on the board.
Captain Stephen Nicholls led from the front and was rewarded with his side's top score of 36.
The dismissal of Lovely Sandhu for 31 saw the Cadets bowlers start to apply the pressure with good effect.
Cadets skipper Boult cleaned out the opposition middle order at little cost to play a big hand in dismissing Central Indians for 172.
Cadets young gun Lellman also did damage with the ball taking, two wickets for 29 runs.
Bay of Plenty representative captain Joe Carter, who is another long serving Cadets player, anchored his side's run chase as he took control after coming to the crease when the first wicket fell with just nine runs on the board.
Carter was part of four title-winning partnerships with Lellman, Sean Davey, Boult and Marcel Collett.
Carter was there when the game's end came in the 35th over, with 82 runs to his name.
His score came from a tad over a run a ball, with 10 fours and one six during his time in the middle.
Central Indians' Lovely Sandhu lines up a shot against Cadets in the Williams Cup final. Photo / Andrew Warner
Cadets are entitled to be ranked as one of the heavyweights of the long-time Bay of Plenty Cricket title race, which dates back to the 1930s.
Their 11th trophy win cements second place overall behind Te Puke's 16 Williams Cup crowns.
The Williams Cup final wrapped up the 2018/19 Bay of Plenty Cricket season in which the Baywide premier championship honours were split between three Western Bay of Plenty clubs.
The Baywide Cup, played in the first half of the season, was taken out by Greerton who defeated Cadets in an absolute thriller, with Greerton getting home with a solitary wicket to spare.
Mount Maunganui went back-to-back in the Baywide Twenty20 championship, chasing down Greerton's total of 98 for the loss of just three wickets, while Cadets took out the white ball 50-over Baywide finale on Saturday.
Baywide Williams Cup final
Central Indians 172 (Stephen Nicholls 36, Lovely Sandhu 31, Sahil Rana 26; Jono Boult 4-18, Fergus Lellman 2-29) lost to Cadets 175/4 (Joe Carter 82, Fergus Lellman 34).
