“If Carl and I get ‘in’, it’s crucial we bat the majority of the overs to set a good score. If Jak can take early wickets and our seamers bowl tightly to good fields, we’ll be able to put OBR under pressure — then we have to hold our catches. It’ll take a big effort all-round.”
OBR are led by Jonathan Purcell, who took 6-38 against Waikato Valley in Poverty Bay’s last Fergus Hickey Rosebowl game in Gisborne.
“We want to make sure we do the basics well,” Purcell, 25, said.
“For us, it’s about squeezing teams in the field — even though we’re playing T20. Our opening bowlers Timoti Weir and Jimmy Holden lead the way there and Matt Cook has been in really good form with the ball, too.”
Purcell — only the fourth leg-spinner to take six wickets for Poverty Bay at senior level after Murray Sharp, Northern Districts’ Robin Penhearow and Marist’s Bill Mabey — is looking to Craig Christophers, Kieran Venema and Ian Loffler to again lay a platform with the bat.
Venema — whose 30 from 25 at No.2 all but saw OBR home in their eight-wicket win against Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates on a lively deck in last Saturday’s semifinal — and Christophers complement each other at the top of the order. Christophers hits the ball cleanly; Venema is gritty.
In the semi, Holden took 2-8, Christophers 2-14, Cook 2-19 and Weir 1-7, all bowling four overs. That type of control plus committed fielding are among OBR’s keys to victory.
OBR won the last meeting, in November, by six wickets. Udall (43 off 47) was the only batsman to dig in, outscoring OBR’s Christophers (40 off 39) and Arun Kurup (32 off 24).
HSOB need another 43 off 41 — Shaw’s effort against Pirates in October — or 47 not out off 37 from Tallott, such as in the nine-wicket demolition of Coastal Ultrasound Horouta in Round 2. The HSOB captain hit six fours and a six that day.
The umpires will be Tony Lee and Gary Coutts.
“When I was playing as an opening batsman, if I got out early I was only too happy to go out and umpire — from then on to the end of the innings,” said Coutts, a life member of OBR who, at 76, turned out for Pirates before Christmas in both the Walker Shield and Doleman Cup.
“Tony Lee’s a very good football referee in addition to being a cricket umpire. He’s a gentleman and is always calm on the field. His quiet but effective control of the game makes him a pleasure to stand with.”
OBR: Jonathan Purcell (c), Craig Christophers, Ian Loffler, Jimmy Holden, Timoti Weir, Matthew Cook, Kieran Venema (wicketkeeper), Matthew Henwood, Arun Kurup, Joshua Adams, Cohen Loffler.
HSOB: Scott Tallott (c), Glen Udall, Brett Armour, Ryan Majstrovic, David Salmon, Carl Shaw, Jak Rowe, Jarrod Renouf, Michael Francis, Gagan Dhingra, Ajay Kumar, Marshall Norris-Watts.
