BoP Lakelands beat Poverty Bay cricketers by seven wickets in Rotorua

Poverty Bay men (in blue) took on Bay of Plenty Lakelands in a representative 40-over cricket game in Rotorua last weekend. Lakelands won by seven wickets.

A door has opened for Poverty Bay Cricket.

Poverty Bay fielded a men’s senior representative team for the first time in three years at Smallbone Park in Rotorua last Sunday.

The prospect of selection and competition for a PB side next season is one players and the cricket community will welcome.

Their previous three outings - all at Harry Barker Reserve in Gisborne - resulted in an eight-wicket win to Poverty Bay over Hawke’s Bay Mavericks for the Kirk Cup in 2021, a 26-run loss to the Mavericks in 2022 and a 10-run win against Northern Districts Māori in 2023.

The home team stepped up on all three of those occasions.

On Sunday, Bay of Plenty Lakelands beat captain James Birrell’s Poverty Bay outfit by seven wickets in a 40-over game after Lakelands skipper Micheal Walmsley won the toss on a wicket that helped the spin bowlers.

Lakelands’ three leg-spinners - Kunal Mahajan (3 wickets for 22 runs off seven overs), Kai Turkington (1-24-6.1) and Kaiden Young (3-21-7) - excelled.

Poverty Bay’s two most successful batsmen adopted different tactics.

First-drop and left-hander Hansa Fernando, 25 in 50 balls, looked a classic act on the front foot once he settled in.

Gautam Sareen, sixth man in, made Poverty Bay’s highest individual score, 37 from 55, featuring a mixture of drives, cut shots and singles.

Poverty Bay’s right-hand, left-hand opening pair of Joel Kirkpatrick (18) and Martin Worndl (17) put on 31.

The next best partnership, the second wicket between Kirkpatrick and Fernando, was worth 28.

Poverty Bay were dismissed for 143 in 32.1 overs.

Spinners took all three wickets to fall in Lakelands’ chase.

Off-spinner Birrell picked up 2-11-6 at second change.

Leggie Sareen (1-31-7) took the first wicket to fall, that of hard-hitting No.2 Mitchell Kane (40), caught by gloveman Fernando.

Lakelands put on 68 for the opening partnership and 54 for the second wicket before Birrell had leftie Jesse Russ (38) caught by Johnathon Gray.

Harry Singh (40) was the last man out, caught by Nathaniel Fearnley at short fine leg.

The home team wrapped the game up four balls into the 28th over, second-drop Hamish Wilde (14) wiping an off-break from Worndl through mid-wicket for two and the win.

Birrell and his personnel are capable of far more than 143 runs in 32.1 overs, but he regarded the day as a step in the right direction for Poverty Bay Cricket’s future.

Northern Districts community cricket manager Peter Zanzottera was pleased to see the first Poverty Bay-Lakelands clash at one of New Zealand’s boutique grounds.

“It was great to see teams represent two of our smaller regions within Northern Districts and play good cricket,” he said.

“We’re looking to create a framework for a Heartland Championship for the competing regions, such as Poverty Bay, and in line with different formats to be considered during the off-season.”