Cricket: Seven rounds lead to Williams Cup shootout

Seven straight rounds of Williams Cup qualifying play will be followed by a four-team shootout to find who will lift aloft the oldest Bay of Plenty Cricket trophy still in the competition.

The Williams Cup, first presented in the 1932/33 season, gets under way this weekend.

Two Western Bay of Plenty 2019 contenders stand out like beacons on the Baywide cricket prize, which was first contested nearly nine decades ago. Te Puke Cricket Club is one of the oldest in the country, having been formed in 1888 and has a proud Williams Cup record over the seasons.

Te Puke has won the Williams Cup a record 16 times with their first victories in the shadows of World War II.

Their most recent success came in the 2015/16 season, when they chased down the Mount Maunganui total of 136, in a rain-affected match.

Otumoetai Cadets kick-started their Williams Cup winning streak with five successive wins from 1994/95 to 1998/99.

They have since won the Baywide trophy on a further five occasions.

Cadets last success came just two seasons ago when they posted 210 for the loss of four wickets and then restricted Mount Maunganui to 198/9.

Defending Williams Cup Champions Evers Realty Greerton, who will sit on the sideline courtesy of drawing the round one bye, will keep a wary eye on the other six contenders.

Carrus Mount Maunganui, who won the Baywide Twenty 20 competition two weeks ago, could have a good battle on their hands when New World Te Puke pays a visit to Blake Park.

A Bay of Plenty central region derby will take place at Smallbone Park in Rotorua, with Bayleys Central Indians hosting GM Painters Lake Taupō CC.

The Rotorua combined side have had a solid season with their latest effort a third-place finish in the Baywide Twenty 20 competition.

Element IMF Cadets will meet Bond & Co Tauranga Boys College, who are coming off a very busy week with four days of competition in the Super Eight secondary school competition.

Meanwhile, the business end of the McNaughton Trophy, the biggest prize in Bay of Plenty reserve grade cricket, gets underway this Sunday with quarter-final action.

Williams Cup 2 February 2019 - Round One Draw

Bayleys Central Indians v GM Painters Lake Taupo CC, Smallbone Park; Carrus Mount Maunganui v New World Te Puke, Blake 3; Element IMF Cadets v Bond & Co Tauranga Boys College, Tauranga Domain; Eves Realty Greerton the bye.

BOPCA McNaughton Trophy Quarter-Finals 3 February 2019 – 11am start

Mount Maunganui v Papamoa, Blake3; R&A Sangha v Aquinas College, Blake 2; Greerton v Te Puke, Pemberton Park; Geyser City Sports v Greerton Sikh XI, Smallbone Park.

24 February – Semi-Finals
17 March – McNaughton Trophy Final