Cricket: HB Academy richer for Poverty Bay's T20 withdrawal

HB Academy boys Joey Field (left), Will Clark, Harry Mowat, Tim Ferguson and Logan Trower are itching to compete in the Kilbirnie Sports T20 from today. Photo/Warren Buckland

Joey Field encapsulates the sheer exhilaration and joy of his predominantly teenage Hawke's Bay Academy teammates who'll be richer for it after Poverty Bay withdrew from the annual HBCA Twenty20 tournament this month.

For Field and his newbies, clinching the bragging rights to the Kilbirnie Sports-sponsored T20 tourney starting today in the Bay will be out of this cricketing world but none of them will come away poorer for it if they don't.

"I'm really excited for the great opportunity we've got because it'll be awesome playing alongside experienced players and being able learn off their experiences and higher honours of Dane Cleaver and Bevan Small," says the 16-year-old whose side has the Central Districts Stags pair as guest player/co-coaches.

"I'll definitely take more than one thing out of the tournament, such as bowling tips or field placements or whatever," says the Hastings Boys' High School first XI captain who has only played one premier men's club game for Bayleys Real Estate Havelock North last summer against Big Barrel Napier Technical Old Boys (NTOB) when he took a double-wicket maiden in his first over as first-change bowler.

This weekend Field, a right-arm seamer, will open bowling for the academy and bat in the middle order although he is a top-order batsman for HBHS first XI.

The year 12 pupil isn't allowed to play for the premier men because HBCA rules stipulate he must represent his school first.

The academy side, with the likes of Liam Shackleton, Harry Young, William Clark, Joey Field, Kurtis Weeks, Alex Ryder and Robbie Brigham in the mix, have been part of the HBCA's winter development programme for the past 10 weeks under the initiative of newly appointed high-performance operations manager Craig Ross in Napier.

HBCA chief executive Craig Findlay says the Poverty Bay's withdrawal prompted the need to inject another team to avoid a bye in the tourney to be staged at Nelson Park, Napier, Cornwall Park, Hastings, and Forest Gate Domain, Ongaonga. The semifinals and final will be played at Nelson Park on Sunday.

Findlay says a quick chat with Ross and CD high-performance manager Lance Hamilton saw the teenagers and Stags jump at the chance.

Hutt Districts, of Wellington, are the defending champions from 2015 and Horowhenua-Kapiti are the other newcomers.

The tourney includes Auckland clubs include North Shore, East Coast Bays and Grafton while the other campaigners from the capital are Onslow.

New Plymouth Old Boys return to add to the Bay teams of Ruahine Motors Central Hawke's Bay, Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall, Havelock North, The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist, NTOB and You Travel Taradale.

"It'll be a good preparation going into the Chapple Cup in a few weeks," says Findlay of the CD inter-district one-day tournament staged annually at Nelson Park.

Last summer the tourney was cancelled without a ball bowled after the Hastings and Napier councils' groundsmen couldn't prepare the pitches in time due to persistent rain. The 14 teams competing from today will lap up the fine spells despite occasional rain tomorrow and gale-force westerly winds on Sunday.

"It's a few days out from Sunday but, looking from last week, it was going to look like we were going to struggle to actually play but weather hasn't come in and, hopefully, it stays away for three more days into the weekend," Findlay says.

Field says all his teammates are year 11-13 pupils looking to express themselves and display an array of skills to offer to respective age-group and senior selectors.

"We're going to learn and take something out of the tournament that'll help us for the rest of our cricketing careers."

He says from the time Ross informed them the academy was mustering players to enter a team in the T20 tourney he and his teammates have been itching to run on to the park.

"We've been so excited every day since then and are ready to just crack into it," he says before they open their account against fellow newcomers Horowhenua-Kapiti at Nelson Park No 5 in round one of play from 3.30pm today.

Field says there has been no sense of players feeling overawed facing seasoned premier men's club players.

"Every boy accepted their position in the team and everyone's excited to show what they've got to offer."

Field says they had noted the excitement in Manawatu players Cleaver and Small as well after they met on Wednesday at Nelson Park.

"They just want to have fun and help us develop as cricketers."

Field may end up facing his elder brother, James, if the probabilities occur in crossover matches against the villagers.

The 20-year-old Waikato University student was driving in from Hamilton today.

Another brother, Sam, 19, still plays a little bit of cricket at Canterbury University in Christchurch but soccer is his main code in his summer stint with the Canterbury United Dragons in the 2017-18 ISPS Handa Premiership kicking off on October 22.

Joey Field, who is a Bay under-17 representative cricketer, is eyeing the chance of stepping up to CD age-group teams this season.

He, Clark and Ryder relished bowling to the Colin Schaw-coached Bay senior men on Wednesday night. The academy will play in Bay's borrowed kits.

TOURNEY DETAILS

■ Pool A: Cornwall, Taradale, North Shore, Onslow.
■ Pool B: East Coast Bays, Havelock North, New Plymouth OB, Central Hawke's Bay.
■ Pool C: Grafton, Napier Tech, HB Academy
■ Pool D: Hutt Districts, NOBMCC, Horowhenua-Kapiti.

Fixtures

Rd 1, today, from 3.30pm:

■ Taradale v North Shore, Nelson Pk 4
■ Cornwall v Onslow, Nelson Pk 3.
■ CHB v New Plymouth OB, Ongaonga.
■ Havelock Nth v East Coast Bays, Cornwall Pk 1.
■ Napier Tech v Napier Marist, Nelson Pk 2.
■ Grafton v Hutt Districts, Nelson Pk 1.
■ HB Academy v Horowhenua-Kapiti, Nelson Pk 5.

Rd 2 tomorrow, 10am:

■ Taradale v Onslow, Cornwall Pk 3.
■ Cornwall v North Shore, Cornwall Pk 1.
■ CHB v East Coast Bays, Nelson Pk 1.
■ Havelock North v New Plymouth OB, Nelson Pk 4.
■ Napier Tech v Horowhenua-Kapiti, Nelson Pk 2.
■ Grafton v Napier Marist, Nelson Pk 3.
■ HB Academy v Hutt Districts, Nelson Pk 5.

Rd 3, tomorrow from 2pm:

■ Taradale v Cornwall, Cornwall Pk 1.
■ Onslow v North Shore, Cornwall Pk 3.
■ CHB v Havelock Nth, Nelson Pk 2.
■ East Coast Bays v New Plymouth OB, Nelson Pk 1.
■ Napier Tec v Hutt Districts, Nelson Pk 3.
■ Grafton v Horowhenua-Kapiti, Nelson Pk 4.
■ HB Academy v Napier OBM, Nelson Pk 5.

Playoffs

From 10am on Sunday with venues TBA.