Club cricketers praying for sun

Reaching out....Gisborne Boys’ High first 11 batsman Alex Shanks chases a wide delivery in Doleman Cup action. The students face defending champions High School Old Boys tomorrow. Picture by Liam Clayton

Let there be cricket.

That is the refrain from all 10 of Poverty Bay’s club teams ahead of what they are praying will be Round 6 in the Premier Grade 40-over Doleman Cup and Senior B 30-over Hope Cup competitions tomorrow.

Of the prems fixtures to start at 12 midday, Breakers Horouta Te Waka under David Situ will host Coastal Concrete Old Boys Rugby, led by Nick Greeks, on Harry Barker Reserve No.1.

Bekko Page’s Gisborne Boys’ High School team are to face Dave Castle’s Bollywood High School Old Boys on HBR2.

Poverty Bay umpires’ head Jason Trowill will stand in the Boys’ High-HSOB game, and Stu Patrick has the Horouta-OBR match.

On the concrete pitches at Nelson Park from 2pm, Rawhiti Legal OBR will play defending champions Civil Project Solutions Ngatapa Green Caps on NP1, Campion College will play Chicking HSOB Presidents on NP3, and GBHS (2) will play Breakers Horouta Te Waka on NP4.

Senior cricketers have two more weeks of play this year — semifinals and the grand final of the Doleman Cup, and rounds 7 and 8 of the Hope Cup.

The quest for the Hope Cup is to resume on January 13, which is also the start date of the Premier Grade two-day competition for the DJ Barry Cup.

With the Blues and Royals having beaten the Life Guards by four wickets in the all-GBHS final of the T20 Challenge Cup at Nelson Park on Wednesday night, the season has its first local champions.

If the weather holds, tomorrow will see Year 1 to 4 Super Smash and Year 3 to 6 softball cricket at the Harry Barker Reserve, with Year 5 to 6 primary hardball to be held at Nelson Park. Tomorrow morning, Year 7 to 8 hardball could be on for the first time in a fortnight.