Western Bay local cricket gets under way with T20 comp

The Western Bay cricket competition got under way at the weekend.

Greerton sixth change bowler Scott Drabble will long remember the opening day of the 2024-25 Western Bay of Plenty Cricket season, after he took a hat-trick in his side’s encounter with Baaj Sports 2 in the Classic Builders Division 1&2 T20 competition.

Baaj Sports won the toss and elected to bat and, with 157 runs on the board, looked on track for a big total. Drabble stopped the Baaj Sports charge dead when he took three successive wickets with the third, fourth and fifth balls of the 18th over. Mani Panjetta top scored with 69 runs.

Greerton faced a target of 159, but were made to struggle for runs by the Baaj bowling attack, and were restricted to 113 for the loss of eight wickets.

Few players have the longevity in competitive cricket as Scott Drabble. Many of his current teammates weren’t born when he made his Greerton senior cricket debut 33 seasons ago. The three successive ball feat is his first in a long and illustrious time at Greerton.

The Baaj Sports first XI, who were the Division One front-runners last season in winning the Division One title and the Don Warner Challenge Trophy, laid down the gauntlet to the other contenders on Saturday.

First up they dispatched Sher E Punjab, after they posted 159 for the loss of six wickets, then kept their fellow Indian side to 136/6. Deepak Singh with 53 not out and Amapreet Singh 3/31 took the individual honours for the victors.

The Baaj Sports 1 afternoon game resulted in a five-wicket win against Hawks 2. Hawks were kept to 133/8, with the Baaj representatives getting home with eight balls to spare.

Cadets second XI posted better than 10 runs an over when they met Te Puke. Harrison Miles was in top form top scoring with a hard fought 72, backed up by Chris Mascall half-century, with Cadets reaching 212/4. The Tauranga Domain-based side then applied the screws to keep Te Puke to 95 for the loss of nine wickets.

At the end of opening day, Baaj Sports and United Indians ended the first weekend of the competition with two-win records.

WBOPCA Results

Classic Hits Division 1&2 T20 — Round One

Baaj Sports 1 159/6 (Deepak Singh 53no; Gurjant Singh 3/16) defeated Sher E Punjab 136/6 (Gurpreet Padda 45; Amapreet Singh 3/31)

Baaj Sports 2 158 (Mani Panjetta 69; Scott Drabble 3/9 including a hat trick) defeated Greerton 113/8 (Louis Morris 31; Ravinder Singh 3/6)

Cadets 2nd XI 212/4 (Harrison Miles 72, Chris Mascall 51) defeated Te Puke 2nd XI 95/9 (Simon Eves 39; Joshua Dempsey 3/14, Cameron O’Dea 3/15)

Katikati 122/7 (Max Morton 44) defeated Cadets 3rd XI 115/8 (Daniel Anderton 43)

Hawks1 176/6 (Kush Randhawa 68) defeated Mount Maunganui 3rd XI 126/5 (Louis Robinson 53)

Mount Maunganui 2nd XI 125/5 (Logan Carr 45no) defeated Hawks2 89/7 (Connor Martin 4/13)

Pāpāmoa 2nd XI 95/7 (Daniel Johnson 34no) lost to United Indians 96/5 (Amit Kalta 3/22)

Tauranga Boys’ College 2nd XI 144/7 (Nick Smith 58) lost to United Indians 2 148/3 (Gurpreet Singh 74no)

Round Two

Hawks 2 133/8 (Amritpal Singh 34; Gurinder Singh 3/30) lost to Baaj Sports 1 136/5 (Yogesh Yogi 34; Navi Sohal 3/26)

Papamoa 2nd XI 149/6 (Josh Parsons 37; Jared Carter 3/19) defeated Te Puke 72 (Amit Kalta 4/14)

Katikati 123 (Raghavendra Reddy 33; Jake Oglesby 3/7) lost to Tauranga Boys’ College 2nd XI 125/6 (Aarish Aryal 39; Harrison Morris 3/18)

Greerton 168/4 (Steve Jennings 67no) defeated Mount Maunganui 3rd XI 104 (Jake Stott 3/18)

Cadets 2nd XI 116/7 (Cooper Hurley 50no; Gurjant Singh 3/17) lost to United Indians 1 120/4 (Manjot Singh 41)

United Indians 2 155 (Gupreet Singh 36, Harjinder Singh 36; Adam Manners 3/35) defeated Cadets 3rd XI 139/5 (Jack Veale 42)

Baaj Sports 2 defeated Hawks 1

Sher E Punjab defeated Mount Maunganui 2nd XI