Greerton clash with Mount in Williams Cup

MATCH WINNER: Greerton's Cam Neal scored 99 for Greerton last weekend. PHOTO: FILE

The big mover in the second half of the Baywide cricket season are Eves Realty Greerton who sit in second place on the Williams Cup standings.

While they have failed to beat recent Baywide heavyweights Element IMF Cadets and Carrus Mount Maunganui this season, they will get few better opportunities to lower the colours of Mount Maunganui than tomorrow at Blake Park.

The Williams Cup competition front-runners have lost four players to the Bay of Plenty team who play Hamilton in a Fergus Hickey Rosebowl encounter over the weekend. Last Saturday Greerton's big-hitting batsmen Cam Neal flexed his muscles and smashed 99 runs as his team chased down 239 to beat New World Te Puke. Neal's quick-fire innings included 12 fours and three big shots over the boundary rope at Pemberton Park.

Mount Maunganui's strength is their second eleven, who have a number of players who make the jump up to premier cricket with ease. The Mount have uncovered another match-winner this season in Brenton Thompson who is playing his first season in the gold and yellow uniform. Thompson leads the Williams Cup batting stakes with 199 runs with a highest score of 97.

Few players have made a more spectacular Williams Cup debut than Bayleys Central Indians Preet Singh, who took 7-31 against Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College last Saturday.

Playing in just his second game of Baywide cricket, the Rotorua youngster ripped through the Tauranga Boys' batting, removing their last seven batsmen.

Tomorrow Central Indians, the only Rotorua team in the Baywide Championship, host Cadets at Smallbone Park. Cadets have also lost a number of players to the Bay of Plenty game and will also go to their reserve grade side for replacements.

Cadets bowler Kamal Bains took three wickets against Mount Maunganui last week, to move into third equal place on the Williams Cup bowling table with eight bowling scalps.

One Baywide team will leave the Te Puke Domain with their first victory in the 2017 Williams Cup title race. Te Puke and Tauranga Boys' sit in the Williams Cup cellar and both will be desperate to get off the bottom of the standings.

Both sides know how to attack at the batting crease. Last Saturday Te Puke posted 238/8 against Greerton with Tauranga Boys' blasting a massive 341/8 (in defeat) against Greerton.

BOPCA Williams Cup draw
Bayleys Central Indians v Element IMF Cadets, Smallbone Park; Carrus Mount Maunganui v Eves Realty Greerton, Blake1; New World Te Puke v Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College, Te Puke Domain.
Williams Cup Points Table
Carrus Mount Maunganui 28, Element IMF Cadets 21, Eves Realty Greerton 21, Bayleys Central Indians 12, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College 3, New World Te Puke 3.