Cricket reps return for club showdown

IN FORM: Cadets and Mount Maunganui will be boosted by the return of several Bay of Plenty reps, including Cadets allrounder Sean Davey pictured, in the Williams Cup semifinal tomorrow. PHOTO: FILE

The business end of the 2016-17 Baywide cricket season is upon us with the Williams Cup plus WBOPCA Reserve Grade and B Grade semifinals taking place this weekend.

Rotorua City Cricket Club was the first name engraved on the Williams Cup in the 1932/33 season with Te Puke winning 16 titles and Otumoetai Cadets nine to top the list of successful clubs.

This season Element IMF Cadets have finished at the top of the standings and will play Carrus Mount Maunganui in the major semifinal at the Tauranga Domain. The winner of the match will progress straight through to the Williams Cup Grand Final on Saturday March 25, with the loser given another bite of the cherry against the minor semifinal winner on Sunday.

With the highly successful Bay of Plenty representative campaign completed after last weekend's retention of the Hawke Cup against Southland, Cadets and Mount Maunganui will be at full strength with the return of their top quality rep players.

Cadets are likely to have allrounder Sean Davey, who posted over 623 runs in 12 Bay of Plenty games this season, along with Donovan Deeble and Northern Knight Jono Boult.
Deeble impressed with his seam bowling and also posted a maiden Hawke Cup century against Counties Manukau, with off-spinner Boult grabbing six wickets in the last two Hawke Cup defences of the season.

Mount Maunganui will welcome back Bay of Plenty skipper Peter Drysdale, Tony Goodin, Ben Musgrave, Chris Atkinson and Brenton Thompson. Drysdale brought up 80 games for his province against Southland and has hit over 500 runs this rep season.

Across town a sudden death match-up will take place at Pemberton Park between home team Eves Realty Greerton and New World Te Puke. The prize at stake is a place in the preliminary final on Sunday against the loser of the clash between Otumoetai Cadets and Mount Maunganui.

Opening batsman Tom MacRury and Northern Knights allrounder Brett Hampton will bolster the Greerton eleven while Te Puke captain Stephen Crossan returns to his side after Hawke Cup duty last weekend.

Leading the Te Puke batting will be Tai Bridgman-Raison, who tops the Williams Cup batting stakes with 348 runs and a highest score of 178. Cam Riley sits in second place on the Williams Cup wickets total with 16 and best figures of 5-29.

BOPCA Williams Cup Playoffs, Saturday

Major Semifinal: Element IMF Cadets v Carrus Mount Maunganui, Tauranga Domain.
Minor Semifinal: Eves Realty Greerton v New World Te Puke, Pemberton Park.
Williams Cup Points Table: Element IMF Cadets 52, Carrus Mount Maunganui 46, Eves Realty Greerton 40, New World Te Puke 28, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College 16, Bayleys Central Indians 15.

WBOPCA Reserve Grade and B Grade draws, Saturday
Reserve Grade Championship: Lake Taupo CC v Te Puke, Kaimanawa Reserve, Whakatane United v Sikh Sports, Rex Morepeth Park.
Plate: Greerton v Katikati, Fergusson 2; Tauranga Boys' College v Geyser City, Blake 3.
Final: Mount Maunganui v Aquinas College, Fergusson 3.
B Grade Championship: Wanderers v Tauranga Boys' College thirds, Blake 2; Mount Maunganui v Singh XI, Blake 4.
B Grade Plate: Grasshoppers v Mount Maunganui Colts, Mitchell Park; Albion v Punjab Warriors. Fergusson 1.