Hawke Cup stays in the cricket cabinet for the winter

The joy of winning - Hawke's Bay bowler Todd Watson celebrates taking a wicket in the first Hawke Cup defence of the current reign against Hamilton last March. Photo / NZME

The champion Hawke's Bay senior men's cricket team's season has come to an abrupt end with a pandemic-based postponement of the last two defences of the national minor association's prize, the Hawke Cup, until November.

Pay Excellence Hawke's Bay, which last week re-established one-day limited-overs supremacy in the Central Districts at the Chapple Cup tournament in Palmerston North, was to have started its fourth three-day defence of the Hawke Cup against upper-South Island qualifier Canterbury Country on Friday at Nelson Park, Napier.

Hawke's Bay Cricket chief executive Craig Findlay confirmed New Zealand Cricket had decided a week ago to cancel the match, and the last challenge of the season a fortnight later by a lower-South Island qualifier.

The Bay won the Cup off North Otago last February and retained it with successful defences against Hamilton soon afterwards, Manawatu in January and in a match two weeks ago against Bay of Plenty declared no-result with rain stopping play about 5pm on the first day, without a further ball being bowled.

With the shortened programme, Hawke's Bay becomes the first association to hold the Cup throughout a season since Bay of Plenty's reign through the 2016-2017 season.

The rescheduling of the matches for November, with the four 2022-2023 Hawke Cup matches later in the season, could put pressure on both representative and club cricket if the success continues, Findlay said.

An extended Hawke Cup reign throughout 2022-2023 would see senior representative cricket played by Hawke's Bay on 12 weekends during the season, he said.

Meanwhile, the cancellations are not the end of top cricket in Hawke's Bay for the current summer, which includes four days of international cricket scheduled for McLean Park, Napier, next month.

The touring Netherlands team will play a New Zealand X1 in two one-day 50-overs-a-side matches at McLean Park, Napier, on March 17 and 19, and a Twenty20 match on March 21, followed by Twenty20 international against the Black Caps at the park on March 25.

New Zealand domestic first-class cricket returns to the park with Central Districts playing four-day Plunket Shield matches at McLean Park against Northern Districts, starting on March 11, and Auckland, starting on April 5.

Central Districts also play a three-day second elevens match against Northern District at Cornwall Park, starting on March 8.