Cornwall captain Liam Hall was relieved to finally win a close game. Photo / Paul Taylor
* This article is supplied courtesy of Hawke’s Bay Cricket Association
You’d like to think beating Taradale represents the start of something for Cornwall.
Winless at home this summer, Cornwall could have easily lost Saturday’s MJF Shrimpton Memorial Cup 50-over match.
Time and again Taradale appeared as if they would overhaul the host’s score of 197, even with the last-wicket pair of Angus McKnight and Ben Stoyanoff at the crease.
Not noted batters, the pair put on 17 and looked relatively comfortable until Bryce Green bowled McKnight to secure Cornwall a much-needed 10-run win.
“Finally got on the right side of a close game. We just stuck in there and kept believing,” relieved Cornwall captain Liam Hall said.
“For the first half of this season we’ve dropped our heads and lost games, but today we really stuck at it and tried to stay positive no matter what the result of the ball was.”
Over a couple of pre-Christmas beers, the Cornwall players resolved to write off the first half of the campaign. They’d start 2025 from scratch and see how a clear mind and a better attitude panned out for them.
“You look at teams like Tech and CHB, they’re just really relentless,’’ said Hall.
“When they get on top, they stay on top so we’re trying to look at them and see what we can do similarly.
“We’re almost there, but we’re not quite relentless enough. Once we’re on top, we need to steamroll teams and when we are getting pumped a bit we need to keep our heads up and fight back the way those best teams do.’’
Saturday represented some reward for the change of mindset although, on the flipside, Taradale will probably feel they gave that game away.
Caleb Barnett took 5-22 to help bowl Cornwall out for 197, before Luke Kenworthy, Callum Hewetson, Nihal Shilar, Steven Phillips and Charlie Geange all made good starts with a bat without going on.
Jed Greville was the best of Cornwall’s bowlers, taking 4-47.
There wasn’t quite so much joy for Havelock North’s bowlers against Napier Technical Old Boys. Chasing 205 to win at Nelson Park, Tech got there with nine wickets and 23.5 overs to spare thanks to a first-wicket partnership of 188 between Harrison Woolley (78) and Christian Leopard (114 not out).
It was batting of the highest quality, with Woolley once again demonstrating his unique ability to hit balls destined for the top of off stump through point for four and Leopard stroking the ball to all parts.
Leopard was especially severe on anything full, hitting four sixes and 12 fours in his 86-ball innings.
“And they run well,” Tech captain Todd Watson said.
“Sure, they hit fours, they hit sixes, but they rotate strike really well.”
The only downside of the outstanding summer both openers are having, is that their teammates don’t get a hit that often.
“I’m batting at three, four or five and I reckon I’ve batted four times this season,” said Watson.
“We were just saying our batters are underdone, but we’re winning and ultimately there will come a time when one of those guys will fail and someone will have to step up.”
Watson took 4-18 in a Havelock innings built around Lovepreet Padda’s 89. On another day Tech might have bowled the visitors out for around 100, having been 84/6, but weren’t as ruthless as usual.
Such is the quality of this Tech side that it feels as if they’ll have to play below themselves in order for anyone else to win a trophy this summer.
“Complacency and thinking it’ll just happen are the things we have to focus on. It’s about being honest and keeping each other accountable,” Watson said.
With Havelock struggling a little of late, Central Hawke’s Bay are up to second in the 50-over competition following their four-wicket win over Napier Old Boys’ Marist at Ongaonga.
Toby Richardson took 4-26 in Marist’s 162, then captain Dominic Thompson (58 not out) steered CHB to victory in the 36th over.
“I just knew it was one of those wickets where it was tough to start so you didn’t really want two new players out there,” Thompson said of his approach to the chase.
The six teams play Murray McKearney Memorial Cup Twenty20 matches on Friday, ahead of Hawke’s Bay hosting Wanganui in the Furlong Cup on Saturday and Sunday.
Thompson’s likely to captain Hawke’s Bay in that match, but not before trying to keep CHB’s momentum going. They sit third in the T20 standings, with the top three qualifying for finals.
CHB were never in contention for those last summer, so Thompson’s heartened to be in the mix this time.
“I’m happy with where we are. Obviously, Tech will have a massive lead in the overall standings, but if we can qualify in the top three in the T20s and play in those finals, that will be a nice achievement for us.”