Cricket: Year 8 bowler shines in senior debut

RUN MACHINE: Joe Carter is one of Bay of Plenty Cricket's Player of the Month award winners.PHOTO/FILE

An extremely talented youngster and one of the best Bay of Plenty representative batsmen will receive the Bay of Plenty Cricket Association's January and February Player of the Month Awards at the BOPCA prizegiving on April 1.

Bay of Plenty Cricket introduced the awards in 2006 to recognise excellence in cricket during each month of the playing season.

Nensi Patel, a Year 8 student at Tauranga Intermediate, made her Bay of Plenty senior women's team debut during January, making an indelible impression in her first two games in the ND Women's Championship. Nensi gave a taste of her influence in the 30 over matches over Auckland Anniversary weekend posting 21 runs against Waikato Valley. However, in the Waikato Valley turn at bat, Nensi showcased her immense potential taking 4/26. Her bowling scalps included White Fern Nicola Browne and Northern Spirit players Brooke Kirkbride and Emma Parker.

In the second 30-over encounter against Hamilton, Nensi grabbed a further three wickets at a cost of 28 runs.

The other award goes to Bay of Plenty and Northern Knight batsman Joe Carter. He produced a superb, hard-fought century when the Bay First XI chased down more than 300 runs to defeat Hamilton in a Fergus Hickey Rosebowl two-day game in February.

The Waikato side won the toss and elected to bat going on to declare late on day one at 313/9. Rain on day two delayed the start to 12.30pm, with the first Bay wicket falling at the 25-run mark. The arrival of Carter batting at three turned around the Bay side's momentum. When he was dismissed for a neat 100, Bay of Plenty were right in the game at 186/4, going on to post 317/5 and take vital first innings points.

In 30 games for the Bay of Plenty first X1, since plucked from Tauranga Boys' College five years ago, Carter has smashed 1641 runs with a highest score of 215 not out. The Bay master blaster sits in 10th place on the all-time batting honours list.