Cricket: Bay men in search of Christmas cheer

Charlie Robson (left), Scott Schaw, Blair Tickner, Angus Schaw and Dominic Thompson are the CHB boys in the big Hawke Cup equation this summer. PHOTO/FILE

If they want to enjoy the barbie and bubblies in Christmas the recipe is pretty straightforward for the Hawke's Bay senior men's representative cricket team - make sure they don't end up becoming turkeys in a spit roast this weekend.

The Colin Schaw-coached Bay team are playing Wairarapa from today in the two-day Hawke Cup-qualifying (Furlong Cup zone 2) match at Rathkeale College, near Masterton.

"It's our last game before Christmas so we want to come away with 20 wickets," says Schaw, emphasising the need for another outright victory after a similar result against Horowhenua-Kapiti in Levin in a rain-interrupted first-round affair.

While the hosts are coming off an outright loss to Manawatu in the first round at the same venue, Schaw is mindful they will be much stronger with the return of their university students, not to mention if Central Districts give former Black Cap allrounder Jesse Ryder the nod to start in a bid to regain his fitness after a seven-ball flirtation with the Central Stags' T20 campaign.

The Bay may be without Bayleys Real Estate Havelock North CC player Graeme Tryon for the rest of their season after the top-order batsman broke his wrist playing in a premier club game last Saturday.

"He had a collision with a teammate while fielding so he's going to be operated on, we don't know how long he'll be gone for."

Enter United Travel Taradale CC Callum Hewetson as a straight swap to ensure the batting order remains the same for the Jacob Smith-captained Bay side.

"Callum will have a crack after his 70-odd at club level and 65 on Sunday for the Hawke's Bay Emerging XI against Taranaki at Marton."

The only other change is the departure of Ruahine Motors Central Hawke's Bay seamer Blair Tickner for the NZ Prime Minister's XI duties against the Sri Lanka side in Queenstown this week.

"Charlie Robson's coming in for Blair," he says of the fellow CHB seamer.

Schaw emphasises the team would have been unchanged otherwise but sees the two injections as an opportunity for others to glean some experience at a higher level.

"It's really good that Charlie and Callum have come back in after fine performances for the Emerging team last week to get that consistency so that's the reason why they got the nod."

Unlike the Levin surface, he is expecting a fine wicket and outfield at the college grounds for a must-win result.

"We want to be a lot more clinical in the way we go about it, not that we didn't the last time but we have to move from a white-ball stance to a red-ball one where we need to bowl in the correct channels and also bat for a longer time, so they'll be challenges in themselves."

He expects bowlers Kurt Richards (Havelock North), Robson, Ben Stoyanoff (Taradale) and Liam Dudding (Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall CC) to pave the way and spinners Ajaz Patel (CD, Taradale) and Angus Schaw (CHB) to be the bonus.

Schaw is chuffed James Field (Havelock North) and Christian Leopard (Complete Flooring Napier Technical Old Boys) are in the CD Under-19 mix for the NZ Cricket U19 National Tournament at Lincoln, near Christchurch, from December 15-23.

He says some of the Bay players also have been travelling to train in Palmerston North in the past few days in the hope of making the cut for the CD A team, to be announced on Monday for games in Palmy North and Taupo.

Wairarapa's top-order batsmen will come under scrutiny from Bay's bowling attack.

With specialist opener Mason Hughes unavailable because of Palmerston North Boys' High School duties in the Gillette Cup national secondary schoolboys' tournament in Christchurch, Wairarapa will probably opt for Lansdowne duo Alex Treseder and Henry Cameron to face the new ball.

George Deans will be at first drop and Liam Burling No4.

The Neil Perry-coached hosts were badly exposed in the opening cup match a fortnight ago as they found themselves at 20-4 in their first innings and 26-7 in the second.

"It's all about scoring runs and conserving wickets, the two have to go together," he said.

"We know we didn't get that part of it right against Manawatu and we're determined to do a whole lot better this time round."

Treseder is one of three newcomers to the Wairarapa squad from that involved in the Manawatu clash.

Daniel Ingham, who returned to the club scene last weekend after a stint in the UK and smashed a century for Greytown in double-quick time, replaces Brock Price - who is battling a foot injury.

Ben Foster, also from Greytown, comes in as part of the pace attack in place of Drew MacDonald. Treseder, Ingham and Foster have all performed well for Wairarapa in the past.

-WAIRARAPA: Alex Treseder, Henry Cameron, George Deans, Liam Burling, Robbie Speers, Paul Lyttle (c, wk), Gordon Reisima, Daniel Ingham, Kelsey Fahey, Ben Foster, Stefan Hook-Sporry, Quintin McKenna.

Coach: Neil Perry.

-HAWKE'S BAY: Jacob Smith (c), Matt Edmondson, Rupert Young, Indika Senarathne, Angus Schaw, Callum Hewetson, Scott Schaw (wk), Ajaz Patel, Kurt Richards, Charlie Robson, Liam Dudding, Ben Stoyanoff.

Coach: Colin Schaw.