MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Poverty Bay Year 7 opening bowler William Edginton, who took 4-16 from four overs in the six-wicket win against Horowhenua-Kapiti Old Foundry Year 7 Blue. Picture by Christine McInnes
The Daniel Williams-coached Poverty Bay Year 7s played magnificent cricket last week.
The first 30-over game having been rained out, they won four out of five over the next three days at the Riverbend/Hawke's Bay White Grade tournament.
They beat Naenae Valley United by four wickets and then Johnsonville by 12 runs on Thursday, but on Friday morning lost to Super League Manawatu Whio by 15 runs. That afternoon they beat Napier Old Boys Marist by 34 runs and on Saturday finished like a house on fire with a six-wicket win against Horowhenua-Kapiti Old Foundry Year 7 Blue.
The Bay took 46 of a possible 50 wickets and the only game in which they scored fewer than 100 runs as a total was the first match, chasing down Naenae Valley United's 85.
Poverty Bay captain Harvey Reynolds said he never expected his side to achieve the results they did.
“Just to win two games would have been amazing enough, but four is incredible,” he said.
“We had good weather, we played awesome and that experience has made us want to play more cricket. Our coach was positive and so were we, in our preparation, fielding drills, everything. It was excellent.”
Horowhenua-Kapiti Blue captain Monty Parr won the toss and chose to bat first on Windsor Park, the 'Nua then posting 105-8.
The 46-run stand between wicketkeeper and second-drop Sam Grannetia (26) and Austin Pearson (17) for the fifth wicket was a quality effort, with Mitchell Parker, seventh man in, also playing a great knock with his unbeaten 31.
Every member of Poverty Bay's attack rose to the occasion one last time but their MVP (most valuable player) was in a class of his own on the day: pace bowler William Edginton took 4-16 off four overs, one of which was a maiden.
He received excellent support from fellow medium-pacers Archie Gillies (2-5 from two overs) and Raffaele Colucci (2-10 from three).
Edginton's new ball partner, Patrick McInnes, latched on to a sharp catch at gully for Gillies, and Conrad Parkes snaffled two at square leg, the second of which did for No.9 Parr, who made an eight-ball duck, to end the innings.
McInnes was one of six players given a chance to open the batting last week. Against Horowhenua-Kapiti Blue, he excelled, hitting three fours in his 34 runs off 59 balls in 83 minutes. He made the game-high individual score and put up 51 with Thomas Coleman (8) for the first wicket in the biggest partnership of the match.
Four Horowhenua-Kapiti bowlers took a wicket apiece and an excellent standard of positive umpiring (fair to bowlers) saw them given two leg-before-wicket decisions. The notion that young batsmen should not be given out lbw and that cricket is first and foremost a batsman's game is wrong-headed.
Poverty Bay chests can swell with pride at the fact that No.3 James Redpath (15) and No.6 Taylor Kijowski (19) were the batsmen to see them home with six wickets in hand.
Skipper Reynolds and another leg-spinner, Conrad Parkes, both made unbeaten half-centuries while Jack Williams played equally well for 46 against Johnsonville in a great week with the bat for the Bay.
It is significant that players were given a chance to shine in different positions and that those players took their opportunities.
Development cricket or not, positive experience or not, there is no substitute for runs.
Redpath took a single to square leg off the fourth ball of fast bowler Thomas Nel's third over to bring up the win in 27.4 overs.
Horowhenua-Kapiti Blue coach Brent Morris said: “We backed ourselves going into the match but Poverty Bay bowled good line and length — to a plan. We were 20 runs short.
“We chose Thomas Coleman as our MVP for the opposition because he anchored their innings against our three quicks — Harrison Morris (1-6 from three overs), Thomas Nel and Austin Pearson.
“Poverty Bay chose as our MVP a batsman, Benjamin Arthurs, who brought us back in the game with the ball. He bowled two maidens in four overs, and conceded only three runs.
“The sportsmanship from Poverty Bay was fantastic too — our game against them was my favourite game of the tourney, as a coach-umpire.
“We'd like to meet them again.”
The Year 6s may be the first team to get six games of cricket in.
Poverty Bay under Grant Walsh began their campaign at the 30-over Riverbend/Hawke's Bay Black Grade cricket tournament yesterday with a loss to the Hawke's Bay Invitation 11 by 120 runs.
In excellent conditions, Poverty Bay captain Jack Roberts won the toss and chose to bowl on the artificial wicket at Napier Boys' High School.
Hawke's Bay put up 164-7, due in greatest part to second-drop Hunter Cameron and left-handed No.3 Zayden Stoddart scoring 31 and 30 respectively. Both batsmen retired.
Stoddart and Cameron put on 87 runs for the third wicket — a top-drawer effort to which Poverty Bay's Jed Reynolds put a stop with a superb spell: 3-7.
Reynolds has pace and an outswinger. His new-ball partner Ruben Walsh took 1-24. Both bowled four overs.
Second-change seamer Ged Cook took 1-9 from three overs and leg-spinner Arthur Cave, 1-11 from two.
Max Egan and Cave shared wicketkeeping duties and were good value behind the stumps, at a modest cost of seven byes.
Nathan Putter took two excellent catches for the Bay. He held a cut-shot that opener Jack Innes (18) smashed to him at point off the bowling of Reynolds three balls into the third over, and took a difficult chance given by gloveman Charlie Durham off Cave.
Durham miscued a pull-shot and it was a fine judgement by Putter at mid-on.
In the run-chase, Poverty Bay were dismissed for 44 in 12.1 overs.
Roberts (11) got his crew off to an explosive start by flicking the fourth ball of Invitation 11 spearhead Innes's first over beyond long leg for six.
The biggest partnership in the run-chase was 13 for the second wicket between Roberts — the only Poverty Bay batsman to score in double-figures — and first-drop Hunter Irwin (6).
Malachi Herries reduced the Bay to 40-5 with the first ball of the ninth over and took three wickets in the 11th over to further hobble the visitors.
Innes's new-ball partner Fletcher Witheford (2-14 from two overs) also bowled tidily at good pace.
Five Poverty Bay batsmen were out without scoring.
Today, the Bay were to play Cornwall of Hastings at Haumoana Memorial Park and Havelock North at the boutique Clifton County ground.
Poverty Bay's MVP in the clash with Hawke's Bay was Reynolds, while fast bowler Herries was MVP for Hawke's Bay.
Herries took his first ever wicket, that of Bay No.5 Cody McMurray (1), in that haul of 4-2.
Hawke's Bay's Marjorie Kirby was the latest in a long line of coaches at the Riverbend/Hawke's Bay tournaments this season to commend Poverty Bay for the respect they showed opponents, umpires and spectators: “They're great boys. They're here for the right reasons.”