Cricket: Geyser in McNaughton Trophy semifinal

Joe O'Donoghue, left, and Manny Kumar will co-captain Geyser City in a McNaughton Trophy semi-final this weekend. Photo / File

Geyser City are one step away from playing in their first McNaughton Trophy final.

Having already beaten the Greerton and Te Puke reserve teams, Geyser go up against R&A Sangha in a semifinal at Smallbone Park tomorrow.The origin of the Baywide reserve grade prize was the donation of a trophy by the McNaughton family in Te Puke for competition between second tier teams from the Tauranga and Te Puke sub-associations.

A number of years ago, the competition was expanded to include all reserve and B grade sides in Bay of Plenty cricket and is effectively the Baywide Reserve Grade Championship.

R&A Sangha are the defending champions - they beat Lake Taupo in a super over tie-breaker after both sides scored 141 in the 2017 final.

With Geyser City's two 'old boys' teams going from strength to strength in the Rotorua/Taupo reserve grade competition this season, picking a top XI for the McNaughton Trophy games is becoming increasingly harder for team selectors.

In their game against Greerton, Geyser batted first and scored 164 all out. Cam Ingram led the way with 48 while Matt Collier scored a handy 26.

They then dominated with the ball to have Greerton all out for 102. Satpal Singh was the best of the bowlers with four wickets for 27 runs.

Against Te Puke, Geyser bowled first and had their opposition all out for 138 runs. Amit Kumar and Kerry Hingston took three wickets each.

In the chase it was again Ingram who led the way with 29. Karl McKnight, Ben Atwood, Collier and Kumar scored double digits to get Geyser across the line and into the semifinal.

Geyser City co-captain Manny Kumar said the team had performed well to make it to the semifinals of the competition for the first time.

"The first two games we did the basics well, we batted, bowled and fielded well. That will be the key again this Sunday.

"Last year we were knocked out in the first round, so it's a pretty good turnaround this year. It would mean a lot to every single player and member of the club to get to the final, everyone is excited and looking forward to the semi-final," Kumar said.

He said the team's run in the McNaughton Trophy was a product of the Western Heights High School and John Paul College Old Boys teams set up last year.

"It has been a really good success and some of the school kids coming through are playing some really good cricket. It's good to see them getting a taste of a slightly bigger competition and going up against some strong Bay of Plenty teams."

Kumar said Ingram, who had top scored in both games, was a talented young player.

"He's only Year 12, he has a bright future. That was the whole point of us putting in two teams and linking up with the schools, to give kids like him a platform. He is now being recognised in the Bay of Plenty area as well."