"Pāpāmoa submitted a very strong application for entry into the Premier Men's Competition and I am confident that they will be competitive and add value to the competition. I wish them all the best for the upcoming season."
At the other end of the age scale, Te Puke Cricket Club dates back to the early days of the sport in the Bay of Plenty, having been first established in 1887, with the first recorded match between Te Puke and Tauranga teams played in 1884.
Stability will be the key to success for the Flying Mullett Te Puke premier side this season, with Stephen Crossan again cemented as the team's captain and an unchanged line-up in the Te Puke First XI. The Te Puke side always target the time-honoured Williams Cup as their primary target each year, with the Te Puke Domain based unit holding the record of 16 titles, since their first victory in the 1938/39 season.
Te Puke will open their 2020-21 campaign with a bye, while Pāpāmoa have a home game against Rotorua's Central-Indians.
Changes have been made to the 2020-21 Baywide Premier cricket competition that are designed to up the ante and produce more action-packed cricket.
A narrower gap between winter and summer sport - a result of the Covid-19 pandemic - means there will be a delay to the start of the season, and a shorter season overall.
"With a shortened season this year and an extra team in the competition, we have had to adapt and be creative with the draw, to ensure that we can still offer all three Baywide Premier Competitions," Steward said.
"Midweek T20 cricket was well received last year, so the T20 competition will now run mid-week pool games and will culminate in a Friday night final under lights at The Bay Oval, which is exciting.
"The clubs have been very supportive of the changes to the competition formats."
The Bay of Plenty Cup leads the premier club competitions, with a Labour weekend start.
The first of the Baywide titles to be decided is a straight shoot-out to the line, and the competition points leader on December 19, 2020 will win the 2020 Bay of Plenty Cup.
The second-placed team will receive the Bay of Plenty Plate.
That will be followed by the Baywide T20 competition, where there have been innovative changes made to accommodate the competition in a congested calendar.
Three pools of three teams will play midweek twilight matches either side of the Christmas holiday season break.
The semi-finals will take place on January 31 and the final, at Bay Oval under lights, will be on February 5.
The Williams Cup, regarded as the big prize in Baywide Premier cricket, will be the third and final competition of the season. The opening round of games is on January 9 and the final is scheduled for March 27.
The Williams Cup has been contested under several different formats since the City Cricket Club was the first name engraved on the trophy in the 1932-33 season.
• The 2020-21 Baywide Premier teams are: Element IMF Cadets, Bayleys Central Indians, Eves Realty Greerton, Generation Homes Lake Taupo, Bond & Co Mount Maunganui, Geyser City Sports, Papamoa CC, Holland Beckett Law Tauranga Boys College, Flying Mullet Te Puke.
