FOCUS: Poverty Bay captain Danny Gibbs plays a shot during his innings of 59 for the Northern Districts XI against Zimbabwe at Harry Barker Reserve in 2015. Picture by Paul Rickard
POVERTY Bay start their representative cricket season this weekend with two short-form games against Northern Districts Maori.
Bay coach and former New Zealand test all-rounder Lance Cairns says it will be the start of this group’s understanding of the team culture of playing for a rep side.
“It’s a hell of an honour,” he said.
“Cricket is a team game played by individuals, so the best way a cricketer can help his team is to know his role in the side and how to go about handling pressure.
“I’ll be talking to these guys, one on one, this week about what I expect from them and what their role in the team is.”
Bollywood Poverty Bay — so named after a sponsorship deal confirmed this week — will play the McCaw Lewis Northern Districts Maori at the Harry Barker Reserve on Sunday and Monday.
The teams will play a Twenty20 game on Sunday, starting at 1.30pm, and a 40-over game on Monday, starting at 10.30am.
Cairns wants captain Danny Gibbs to anchor a capable batting line-up selected for players’ ability in the shorter form of the game.
“Our batting order will be flexible, especially in the first 10 overs, as it relates to anchors — Danny, Carl Shaw, Jonathan Purcell, Richard Mills, Drew Scott — and ‘go-to’ players such as Scott Tallott, Craig Christophers, Thomas Hayes, Kieran Venema and Timoti Weir, who can be aggressive,” Cairns said.
Jak Rowe and Jimmy Holden will share the new ball for Poverty Bay, with Mills and Weir as supporting seamers, while the plan is for leg-spinner Gibbs and old hand Christophers to winkle out batsmen in the middle overs.
Cairns said that at this stage of the season, nowhere else in New Zealand are teams playing on the quality of grass wickets that local cricketers have enjoyed for generations. The low-cut outfield ensures that batsmen get value for money runs-wise while the No.1 pitch traditionally offers consistent pace and bounce for what should be two keen contests between bat and ball.
Cairns expects the home team to be athletic in the field, to read the game and anticipate.
Holden and Christophers have been brought into the squad for their experience and strong team values: the Bay have trained twice a week in the past fortnight, with a noticeable lift in practice intensity. As Poverty Bay Cricket Association director of coaching, Cairns sees this translating into better results over time.
He says the players want to show — through their pride in performance — that representing Poverty Bay means a great deal to them.
Poverty Bay captain Gibbs, 24, debuted for the senior side at 17. He and Mills, his Westbury & District Cricket Club teammate in Wiltshire in the past English summer, will both turn out for Fraser Tech against Morrinsville in Round 2 of the Hec Holland Plate before returning to Gisborne tomorrow.
Gibbs said he wanted his team to trust their ability and have the confidence to play instinctively.
“These two games are about a foundation for the season, competing hard in all areas of the game, with sustained discipline,” he said.
Otorohanga’s Leighton Parsons, ND District Association Player of the Year in 2010-2011 and Maori Player of the Year in 2015-2016, led the Maori in their first game against Waikato University in 2011 and is Maori captain again this long weekend.
“The camaraderie in this team is unique,” Parsons said.
“The environment is relaxed, welcoming and inclusive of all players, but with some guys being unavailable, we are proud to name two ‘honorary Maori’ in Waikato Valley’s Andrew McLean and Englishman James Nixon.”
Maori opening bat Bayden Morey will look to set an aggressive tone with Nixon and 15-year-old strokemaker Cooper Robinson to follow. Seamer Lachie Holt will lead the bowling attack. Maori vice-captain, off-spinner and team manager Keith Vincent will give Parsons another genuine wicket-taking option with the accuracy to restrict.
ND cricket development officer Cliff Dickeson says Northern Districts has a bigger catchment of Maori than any of the other major associations.
“We want to engage this strong group of talented young players and promote cricket in that demographic,” he said.
Current Northern Districts Plunket Shield representative Zak Gibson and New Zealand under-19 batsman Katene Clarke have played for ND Maori — along with former Black Cap Darryl Tuffey.
Of the Bay side, Thomas Hayes and Timoti Weir are past ND Maori representatives.
Dickeson and Northern Districts chairman of selectors Pat Malcon see Poverty Bay’s Thorn Parkes as one of the players who could represent ND Maori in the near future.
Poverty Bay Cricket district manager and women’s development officer Mel Knight — who will take the Poverty Bay u15 girls to play Bay of Plenty at Trident High School in two T20 games on Monday — said: “It’s a privilege for Poverty Bay to play this ND Maori team, and it’ll be a treat for the public to see homegrown talent and a talented all-rounder, Richard Mills, who’s come over from the Westbury & District Cricket Club in Wiltshire with Danny.”
NORTHERN DISTRICTS MAORI: Leighton Parsons (captain), Keith Vincent (vice-captain), Bayden Morey, Chris Tupaea, Lachie Holt, Lui Love Parata, Sam Nowland, John Dolan, Cooper Robinson, James Nixon, Andrew McLean (wicket-keeper).
POVERTY BAY: Danny Gibbs (captain), Scott Tallott (wicketkeeper), Craig Christophers, Richard Mills, Thomas Hayes, Drew Scott, Jonathan Purcell, Timoti Weir, Kieran Venema, Jak Rowe, Jimmy Holden, Carl Shaw, Ajay Kumar, Jack Faulkner.
Umpires — Twenty20 game on Sunday, starting at 1.30pm: Ben O’Brien-Leaf, Tony Lee.
Forty-over game on Monday, starting at 10.30am: Ben O’Brien-Leaf, Graeme Black.