Cricket: Coach furious at 'preposterous' CD

IRATE: Dale Smidt.

Hawke's Bay Under-17 coach Dale Smidt is livid after what he believes is undue pressure on his troops at the annual Central Districts tournament in Napier this week.

"I'll be writing some letters to CD Cricket because they stuffed things up proper," an irate Smidt said yesterday after the Bay side lost by 10 runs to 2013-14 champions Manawatu in the final.

"They [CD] are stuffing up quite regularly lately," he said, after the Bay were docked two overs for a slow-over rate in their innings.

Smidt said it didn't mean the Bay would have won but with nine wickets down and requiring 17 off 18 balls, had they adhered to the full allocation of overs, his youngsters would have had the chance to make a game of it.

He said CD's rules at the start of the week-long tourney was that the game would be played under first-class rules - that is, a 50-over innings should be dusted in 3h 15m.

"How can you possibly apply that to a group of under-17 boys," he said, adding he hadn't come across anything so preposterous in 10 years of watching 160 age-group rep games.

He said the umpires were initially going to deduct four overs but he had brainstormed the matter for it to be brought down to two overs.

-The CD U17 12-man squad for the national tournament in Wellington from January 13-21: Hugh Symes (c, Manawatu) Zoheb Ahkter (Manawatu) Ma'ara Ave (Marlborough), Kaylum Boshier (Taranaki), Liam Burling (Wairarapa), Mason Hughes (Manawatu), Christian Leopard (Hawke's Bay), Jack Lord (Manawatu), Felix Murray (Nelson), Todd Watson (Hawke's Bay), Harry Wenham (Manawatu), Taylor Williams (Taranaki).

Non-travelling reserves: Henry Bone (HB), Chris Hicks (HB), Whetu Na Nagara (Manawatu).