Cricket: Greerton and Mount Maunganui square off in Williams Cup

Redemption will be on the agenda for Eves Realty Greerton when they play Carrus Mount Maunganui in the third round of the Williams Cup at Pemberton Park tomorrow.

Last weekend, the defending Williams Cup titleholders opened their title defence, after sitting out the first round bye, when they were outplayed by Rotorua's Bayleys Central Indians.

The Rotorua side set the home team a big target when they reached 234 for the loss of nine wickets, before removing the hosts for 103 to claim a 131-run win. Huge pride in their club, established in the early 1960s, will ensure that the premier unit reflect on last week and focus on nothing but defeating Mount Maunganui this week.

Mount Maunganui will only have to look back four weeks for any extra incentive they might need to defeat their long-time rivals. This weekend's combatants squared off in the Baywide Twenty20 title decider on January 19.

The Mount bowlers, led by Peter Drysdale and skipper Dale Swan, who each took three wickets, removed Greerton for just 98 before their side got home with seven wickets to spare. Umesh Ranaraja and Henry Collier, who stood out like beacons in the vanquished Greerton batting line-up in the T20 title decider, won't need reminding of the Mount victory.

To give the Baywide encounter an extra edge, the Western Bay of Plenty Challenge prize of the Baker Cup will be on the line. Greerton have held the former Tauranga Cricket Championship trophy, since beating Element IMF Cadets for it a year ago.

Bond & Co Tauranga Boys' College and New World Te Puke meet at Tauranga Boys' headquarters Nicholson Field. Both sides have a batsman in their ranks who has made cricket fans sit up and take notice in recent weeks.

Tauranga Boys' all-rounder Tim Pringle belted an unbeaten 101 for his school in the Super 8, while Te Puke's Blair McKenzie blasted 121 against Cadets last Saturday.

Cadets will have their annual road trip, when they hit State Highway 1 to play GM Painters Lake Taupō CC at Owen Delaney Park in Taupō. The Tauranga Domain based side sit at the top of the standings, with an unbeaten start to the 2019 Williams Cup competition, along with Mount Maunganui and Central Indians.

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Williams Cup - Round Three Draw
Eves Realty Greerton v Carrus Mount Maunganui, Pemberton Park; GM Painters Lake Taupō CC v Element IMF Cadets, Owen Delaney Park; Bond & Co Tauranga Boys' College v New World Te Puke, Nicholson Field; Bayleys Central Indians the bye.

Points Table
Mount Maunganui 12, Cadets 12, Central Indians 12, Te Puke 0, Tauranga Boys' College 0, Lake Taupō CC 0, Greerton 0.