HSOB skipper Scott Tallott said he regretted that.
“I jumped the gun, assuming everyone was in the same boat.”
HSOB are on 23 points, OBR 19 and Pirates 16 after Pirates got the better of OBR on Saturday.
OBR were keen to play and, after winning the toss, they sent Pirates in to bat.
Play got under way just before 3pm in marginal conditions, with some drizzle about.
After that, the rain was never heavy enough to force the players from the field, so they got in 20 overs each in a rain-reduced match.
Ngati Porou East Coast rugby halfback Sam Parkes had a good day out for Pirates, cracking an unbeaten 39, as well as holding on to a catch in the deep. He combined with captain Dane Thompson to put on 77 for the fourth wicket.
Thompson looked in control at the crease and his 42 came in 43 minutes, helping to get Pirates an imposing total of 127 for four.
At 63-3 after 14 overs, Pirates accelerated their scoring, earning a point for getting past 100 and a bonus point for exceeding 125.
For OBR, a couple of catches went down in the slippery conditions and the bowlers couldn’t get up to full pace.
In reply, OBR were in early difficulty with the bat at 10-3 and never looked like getting close to Pirates’ tally, ending on 41-4.
Pirates spinner Matt Crampton got through his overs quickly, taking 3-15 off nine.
Thompson said his bowlers did what was asked of them.
He was pleased with the overall performance and said it was nice to get runs himself after he’d been unable to buy a run earlier in the season.
“I’m pretty happy with us bouncing back,” Thompson said, referring to an up-and-down performance against HSOB the previous week.
He asked the batsmen to run well between the wickets and find gaps in the field, and they did.
“The batting was good and we worked hard in the field.”
The conditions were tricky, he said.
OBR batsman Ian Loffler said Pirates batted well when the ball was skidding on.
“Our bowling was pretty steady,” he said.
“Dane and Sam took the game away from us.”
After losing early wickets, OBR weren’t able to take risks with the bat.
On the conditions, Loffler said: “We were keen to get out there and play cricket. We’ve played in worse conditions than that.”
One game going ahead and the other not came down to what happened about 1pm at Harry Barker Reserve.
Poverty Bay Cricket operations manager Nic Hendrie told the teams that if both captains agreed, they could call off the fixture and record a “no result”.
However, if one wanted to stick around in case the weather improved, the other would need to default to send everyone home early.
Tallott shook the hand of Gisborne Boys’ High School skipper Paul Stewart immediately, declaring that game over before a ball had been bowled.
Pirates skipper Thompson then went to find his OBR opposite, Jonathan Purcell. They agreed to play.
Amid the drizzle, an unimpressed Tallott watched as Pirates and OBR racked up points for scoring runs and taking wickets. He said later it was fair enough that they were keen to get on the park.
“People are there to play cricket.”
The Hope Cup games were also cancelled.
Pirates 127-4 off 20 overs (Dane Thompson 42, Sam Parkes 39 not out; Hamish Evans 2-47) drew with Old Boys Rugby 41-4 (Matt Crampton 3-15).
