Cricket: Lakelands to take on Western Bay of Plenty in special reserve grade rep match

Central Indians batsman Jake Rowe will captain Lakelands against Western Bay of Plenty this weekend. Photo / File

A unique reserve grade representative match between a Western Bay of Plenty XI and a Lakelands selection drawn from the Rotorua and Taupo regions will take place tomorrowin Rotorua.

The 50-over per side match will be played at Smallbone Park, with play kicking off at 10.30am.

Western Bay of Plenty Cricket administrator Don Warner said: "The game has been brought about from discussions between Mathew Love-Parata from Taupo and myself, to give the Bay of Plenty region second-tier club players an opportunity to experience sub-association representative cricket.

"If the match is a success, Western Bay of Plenty Cricket will look for opportunities to play matches against teams such as Waikato Valley and perhaps Hamilton," Warner said.

The Western Bay of Plenty team will be captained by long-time Greerton all-rounder Richie Earl, who has played Baywide premier cricket for many seasons, before dropping down a grade a couple of years ago.

At the other end of the spectrum, Aquinas College youngsters Carson Wills, George Catto, Finn Dempsey and Darcy Hoskin will be playing senior men's representative cricket for the first time.

The Lakeland side will be bolstered by Lake Taupo CC players Habib Malik and Moko Rivers, who have moved up to the Baywide ranks this season after their team success in the Western Bay of Plenty reserve competitions last season.

Lakeland youth are represented by two sets of brothers in Josh and Louie Love-Parata and Cam and Sean Ingram along with Tu Winsor.

WBOP Reserve Grade Representatives v Lakeland at Smallbone Park

Western Bay of Plenty:
Richard Earl (captain), Carson Wills, George Catto, Finn Dempsey, Darcy Hoskin, Harkaran Gujral, Amritpal Singh, Sunil Gaur, Ben Hunter, Mikey Galappaththi, Olly Smythe, Jim van der Vorm.

Bay of Plenty Lakelands:
Jake Rowe (captain), Habib Malik, Ryan Neeves, Moko Rivers, Cam Ingram, Josh Love-Parata, Nathan McNeish, Louie Love-Parata, Sean Ingram, Ayden Maxwell, John Dolan, Tu Winsor.