Cadets' season off to winning start

WINDING UP: Donovan Deeble took five wickets for Cadets in their win against Greerton at Waipuna Park. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK

Cadets were in impressive form in the opening weekend of the Baywide cricket competition, defeating defending Baywide Cup holders Greerton by nine wickets.

Greerton had first use of the artificial wicket at Waipuna Park and were bowled out for a modest 110. Bay of Plenty representative bowler Donavan Deeble did most of the damage with the ball taking five wickets, while Gupreet Singh, in his first outing for Cadets, returned 2/24.

Cadets cruised to victory for the loss of a solitary wicket with Sean Davey and Joe Carter in good form with the bat. Davey top scored with an unbeaten 63 while Carter was still there at the end with 38 runs to his name.

Mount Maunganui, who failed to win any Baywide silverware last season, made an emphatic statement on the opening day of the season taking out a winning draw by a big margin against Te Puke at the weekend.

Batting first in a replay of last season's Williams Cup title decider, Mount Maunganui were in a solid position at 115/3 courtesy of solid contributions from the team's two Northern Knights batsmen in Dean Brownlie (46) and Daniel Flynn (37).

The entry of new recruits Brenton Thompson and Ben Musgrave took the momentum way from the Te Puke bowlers, with the home team posting an impressive 264/3. Musgrave flailed away with the willow to finish with an unbeaten 88 with his partner posting 67 not out.

Te Puke were in early trouble before the middle and lower order set their sights on picking up some points from the encounter. In spite of a dogged attempt from the Mount to bowl the visitors out, the Te Puke batsmen batted out their overs to finish at 113/8. Josh Earl top scored with 26 not out with Knights attack bowler Tony Goodin finishing with three wickets at a cost of 39 runs.

Tauranga Boys' College chased down Central Indians 152 all out for the loss of five wickets. Bharat Popli top scored for the Rotorua combined team, with Iman Singh and Josh Ormrod grabbing three wickets apiece for the Tauranga students.

Tauranga Boys' keeper Tom Renouf top scored with 42, with Charles Williams and Tim Clarke, the side's joint player/coaches, also making solid contributions. Popli was also the best of the Rotorua side's bowlers taking two wickets for just two runs.

Results:
Baywide Cup
Eves Realty Greerton 110 (Shane Wineti 21, Craig Budd 20; Donovan Deeble 5/19, Gupreet Singh 2/24) lost to Element IMF Cadets 111/1 (Sean Davey 63no, Joe Carter 38no)
Bayleys Central Indians 152 (Bharat Popli 60, Andrew Gibbs 29, B Sandford 26; Josh Ormrod 3/25, Iman Singh 3/31, Rhys Mischewski 2/10 lost to Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College 153/5 (Tom Renouf 42, Charles Williams 41, Tim Clarke 36; B Popli 2/2)
Carrus Mount Maunganui 264/3 (Ben Musgrave 88no, Brenton Thompson 67no, Dean Brownlie 46, Daniel Flynn 37) winning draw v New World Te Puke 113/8 (Josh Earl 26no, Jonty Grigson 21; Tony Goodin 3/39, Dale Swan 2/19)
Points Table (Provisional)
Element IMF Cadets 20, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College 20, Carrus Mount Maunganui 16, New World Te Puke 8, Bayleys Central Indians 0, Eves Realty Greerton 0.