Cricket: Cornwall's Oaks and Lions eye fitting tribute to Mike Brough

Cornwall Cricket Club members Aaron Hagan (left) and Graeme Hodges with the memorial table built to honour late chairman Mike Brough. Photo / Paul Taylor

Cornwall Cricket Club's late chairman Mike Brough would be proud.

Both of the club's division two teams, the Oaks and the Lions, will play on the club's No 1 wicket in a first round clash in Hawke's Bay's division two competition today.

Teams in the grade are playing for the Mike Brough Memorial Cup this season.

Brough was a stalwart of the grade and chairman of the club since 2010 before his sudden death in June. Brough had a heart attack when he was leaving home for work. He was 59.

"There will certainly be an emotional touch to the day," club member and former teammate of Brough, Graeme Hodges said, tapping a memorial table built in Brough's honour after it was placed on the club's pavilion verandah on Thursday night.

"It was built with macrocarpa wood milled by Mike and I just before he died," Hodges explained.

"Mike was one of the longest serving division two grade players. Before the Cornwall club was formed in 1989 he played for the Whakatu Mahora club," Hodges recalled.

Brough captained the Oaks team. Former Hawke's Bay representative Rex Davies will captain the Oaks today. Brian Wiggins is expected to be another of the Oaks kingpins.

Former premier player James Crowther will spearhead the Lions' quest for first round bragging rights before players gather around the memorial table for the post-match reviews.

The Cornwall club's former director of cricket David Black described Brough as "the kind of bloke who fits into the rock of the club scenario."

"He was always willing to help out to do things and a solid thinker, one of the old-fashioned type of administrators where he did more than he needed to do."

Brough owned and operated the Stihl Shop in Hastings and sponsored the Cornwall club through the business for years.

He was also an ardent Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team supporter.

An active member of a Hastings-based woodturners group, Brough, was considered to be a better bowler than a batsman according to Black.

It will be interesting to see if the Oaks bowlers can deliver for Brough today.