Keeper Bayley Wiggins, left, first slip Sam Cassidy and captain Dom Thompson in the field for Hawke's Bay earlier in the season. Photo / HBCA
Charlie Robson’s reward for helping Hawke’s Bay secure a Hawke Cup challenge is probably not to play in it.
Robson, the ever-reliable bowling allrounder, was to the fore in Masterton on Sunday, as Hawke’s Bay achieved a first innings win over Wairarapa and, with it, the Furlong Cup title for 2025-26.
They now meet Taranaki in a three-day Hawke Cup challenge at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth, starting on Friday.
The Hawke Cup is the symbol of minor association cricket supremacy in New Zealand and was previously held by Hawke’s Bay, until they surrendered it to Taranaki last summer.
Rain ruled out the first day’s play in Masterton and, while Sunday dawned fine, the covers at Queen Elizabeth Park weren’t as effective as they might’ve been.
Play did eventually get underway, with Hawke’s Bay bowling the hosts out for 129 and then reaching 130/1 to secure first innings points and the spoils that come with being crowned Furlong Cup champions.
“We rocked up to the ground at 8.30am and the umpires were all go, so you could tell they wanted to play. There were a couple of wet patches on the pitch but the sun did come up and, there’s no shying away from it, it was a good toss to win,” Robson said after taking 2-18 in 12 economical overs.
“The wicket was pretty spongy for an hour or so and then the sun helped bake it out but, yeah, it was definitely a good toss to win. With the bowling group, everyone chipped in and did their role to restrict them to a score we were happy with.
“There was a bit of relief, satisfaction and, for me personally, the last time I won the Furlong Cup was in January 2017, which was also against Wairarapa.”
Aside from Robson’s two-for, offspinner Bayley Latter took 3-4, Liam McCarthy 3-55 and Todd Watson 2-23. Thomas Zohrab (61 not out) and Brad Schmulian (48 not out) then got Hawke’s Bay to their winning target in 33.2 overs.
It’s been an interesting Hawke’s Bay career for Robson. He turned 18 on the second day of his debut appearance for the province in the 2013-14 season and continued to play while studying for a law degree at the University of Canterbury.
Work eventually took him to Christchurch fulltime, before he returned to Hawke’s Bay in 2024 and quickly found himself back in the men’s representative squad.
“As you get older, you play more for enjoyment and the social side. I know I’ve only got so many more years left, so you enjoy it while you can,” the 30-year-old Robson said.
“I know I’m always going to be one of the last names on the teamsheet for Hawke’s Bay and that’s fine with me. I’ve always enjoyed representing our province and each game I play for Hawke’s Bay, I know it could be my last.”
This weekend is potentially typical of that, with Hawke’s Bay waiting on the outcome of Central Districts’ Twenty20 campaign. Depending on how that goes, bowlers such as Joey Field and Toby Findlay could be available to meet Taranaki, along with Angus Schaw and Sam Cassidy.
Opening batter Taylor Bettelheim might be over his concussion symptoms as well.
“We’ll see. I think we’ve possibly got reinforcements coming, so I think there’s every chance I won’t be in it,” Robson said of his chances of making the team to play in New Plymouth.
“I know that when Hawke’s Bay’s got its best team available, I’m going to be nowhere near it and that’s fine with me.
“At the start of the season you look at it and think ‘I’m probably not going to get a game here’ but then injuries happen and, with the amount of CD players we have coming and going, every now and then you’ll be thrown a bone and I just make sure I enjoy it when the opportunity comes.”
For Robson, mateship’s a huge factor in his continued participation. He and Hawke’s Bay captain Dominic Thompson have shared school classrooms and cricket dressing rooms since they were 11.
They were delighted to see their Central Hawke’s Bay side join Cornwall and Napier Technical Old Boys in qualifying for the Murray McKearney Memorial Cup Twenty20 finals day at McLean Park on February 8.
Tech are straight through to the final, with CHB and Cornwall to meet in the preceding semifinal. Tech beat Havelock North by 36 runs at Anderson Park on Friday night, Cornwall had a 19-run win over Taradale and CHB got to their target of 156 against Napier Old Boys’ Marist with five wickets to spare.
“We were following the scores in the [Hawke’s Bay] team van and were pretty nervous after Marist put up a good score, but it was cool to see Scott [Schaw] and Hamish Lewis and Henry [Collier] do well and lead us home,” Robson said.
“We had a good finals day last year. We were heavy underdogs going into the semifinal and managed to beat Tech. Unfortunately Havelock pipped us in the final, but it would be great to try and put in a couple of good performances this time.
“There’s guys in the Central team like Toby [Richardson], Hamish, the Schaws, Dom; we’re guys who’ve known each other since we were kids and it’s pretty cool to still be playing cricket together in our 30s.”
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