Cricket: Canadian exchange players to shift from Whanganui to Manawatu club cricket next year

Tech vs United club cricket in Premier 1.

The exchange of Indian-Canadian players from Ontario Cricket Academy to club and occasional representative level in Cricket Whanganui is up in the air for next season, with the word the current crop of younger players will be switching to the Manawatu club scene.

Former Cricket Wanganui general manager Dilan Raj, now the Director of Cricket in Manawatu, said he was unsure how the partnership will pan out next season.

"The Canadian boys are moving to Manawatu next year after copping some ugliness on the cricket field in Whanganui.

"Unfortunately some real nasty personal stuff from United. [It] Has put off the younger Canadians from coming back to Whanganui."

Wanganui United and Tech Old Boys met in three matches this summer – the Twenty20 competition game on November 16 when the representative players were away, the Coastal Challenge pool match on December 14, and then the semifinal on February 15.

The Whanganui Chronicle contacted the United club, and received a statement denying that any sledging in the playoff match, given or received, was beyond what might be accepted in such an important game.

"That's interesting, as it appeared during the match the only people to take offence to things said were the non-Canadian players.

"It's more likely they are just following Dilan to Manawatu and see it as an opportunity to further their careers in a bigger centre, rather than anything to do with United.

"If they are going to progress in cricket they will have to deal with much harsher criticism than they received from any United player."

The intense Victoria Park semifinal, where third-place United pulled a slight upset by beating second qualifier Tech by 94 runs, did see an exchange of words between the sides.

The most noteworthy was Tech skipper Dominic Lock briefly stopping leaving the field after his dismissal to speak back to the United fielders.

The clubs will not play again this summer, as for the second season a planned Long Format red ball competition for Premier 1 is not going ahead due to lack of numbers.

The Ontario cricket exchange was one of a handful of big initiatives set up by Raj for Cricket Wanganui in the last five seasons, with another being the invitational Whanganui Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments held annually in April, which will now switch to Manawatu this year.