With a logjam at the top of the Williams Cup standings there is extra pressure on the contenders tomorrow as they eye the four spots in the March Baywide playoffs.
The 2015 Williams Cup has become a five-horse race with just three rounds remaining in the round-robin competition. City SportsBar Te Puke, Element IMF Cadets, Eves Realty Greerton, Carrus Mount Maunganui and Rotorua Central are locked in a battle for the four semifinal berths on offer. Defending champs Te Puke face a big test when they play Cadets at the Tauranga Domain. Te Puke batsman Tai Bridgman, who is chasing Andy Roberts record of most centuries for the club, will be a real target for the Cadets bowlers. Cadets representative batsmen Ben Christensen and Joe Carter have been in outstanding form, with Carter smashing 116 not out off 53 balls in the first round.
Mount Maunganui play Whakatane United at Rex Morepeth Park in Whakatane. Mount skipper Peter Drysdale leads the way in the Williams Cup batting stakes this year with 256 runs and a highest score of 111 not out. Alex and Tom Yates along with Stephen Ford are all in good touch for Whakatane. Mount Maunganui bowler Dan Hill is well ahead in the Williams Cup bowling stakes with 24 wickets.
Newly crowned ND Club champions Eves Realty Greerton will square off with Tauranga Boys' College at Nicholson Field. Greerton had a dream two days last weekend, defeating archrivals Mount Maunganui before backing up to beat Maungakaramea from Northland in the ND club title decider.
Tauranga Boys' go through a rebuilding phase each season after the school leavers depart, but have shown some real fight in the Williams Cup in spite of sitting near the bottom. Rotorua Central should win the Rotorua derby with BoP Indians at Smallbone Park. Key players are Central skipper Jason Trembath with both bat and ball and BoP Indians rep batsman Bharat Popli who smashed a century a couple of weeks ago.
Williams Cup draw, Saturday: Central v BoP Indians, Smallbone Park; Tauranga Boys' College v Eves Realty Greerton, Nicholson Field; Element IMF Cadets v City Sports Bar Te Puke, Tauranga Domain; Whakatane United v Carrus Mount Maunganui, Rex Morepeth Park. Points: Mount Maunganui 18, Cadets 18, Te Puke 18, Central 18, Greerton 18, Tauranga Boys College 3, BOP Indians 3, Whakatane Utd 0.
