Loffler had special praise for Jimmy Holden.
“The boys were all delighted to see Silverado (Holden) playing for the Bay again. He’s an awesome out-swing bowler, with a smooth approach to the wicket and easy action.
“If he was a few yards quicker, he probably would have played more games at a higher level.
“He has a lot of knowledge of the game and even though he’s maybe in the twilight of his career, he’s never bowled better.”
Holden picked up 3-17 off six overs in Poverty Bay’s 35-overs match win against Northern Districts Maori at Labour Weekend.
Luke Hayes will again captain Pirates, with skipper Brad Reynolds not available until next week.
Club captain Wynsley Wrigley said final team places would not be confirmed until today.
“Hopefully we will get to 11,” Wrigley said. “It’s situation normal. Life is pretty tough until the university students are home.”
Wrigley said Daniel Torrie, Scott Hollinshead, Richie Needham and Tayla Hollis would support Hayes.
“School leaver Ryan Nepe is a welcome addition to the bowling attack .”
¦ Coastal Ultrasound Horouta and Campion College will be looking for their first wins off the season when they clash at Harry Barker Reserve.
“We were happy with one component in the two T20 games (two weeks ago),” said Horouta opener Greg Taylor. “We restricted OBR at the business end of the contest to give ourselves a chance, with Keegan Martin and Tushar Balat getting us within 23 runs of winning.
Against HSOB, we scored a useful 116-7 but our bowling let us down, so there’s plenty to work on.”
Taylor said his team were relishing a return to 40 overs but would not be complacent against Campion, who beat Horouta in the Hope Cup semifinal last season.”
Taylor was not sure about tomorrow’s line-up but said he was looking to new players David Situ and Keegan Martin to feature in the runs.
“Clarence Campbell and Mel Knight, our spin twins, will look to secure wickets and the pace quartet of Chad Collins, Tushar Balat, Keegan Martin and Phoebe Taylor should round out the attack.
Campion player-coach Mark Naden will not have the services of strike bowler Sam Patterson.
“Sam’s out with ligament damage in his knee for another few weeks,” Naden said.
“We learned a lot from our two losses in the Walker Shield games. Five ducks in our first game and eight in our second obviously means batting has been a focus at training. But I was proud of the way the boys kept their heads up in defending 21.
After eight overs, OBR were 3-18, with Luke Hurlstone taking 3-6, backed up by tight bowling from Nathan Andrews (0-1 off four overs).
“We enjoy playing Horouta. They’re an awesome team to play against and always give us a real challenge. They make sport fun.
Naden said former Campion student Michael Rowland was in town for the weekend and would play for the school.
“The boys are keen to show that despite being very young, they can realise their potential.”
