No Hawke's Bay player? ... whatever

What? A Hawke Cup cricket "Team of the Century" and no one from Hawke's Bay good enough to make the line-up?
Well, not exactly because there's an Ian Leggat (Nelson/Hawke's Bay) in the official batting order at No6 for the bragging rights to minor cricket association supremacy in New Zealand.
The only problem with Leggat is no one seems to remember this bloke.
Hawke's Bay cricket statistician Harry Findlay at first did vaguely recall Leggat but later, unequivocally, confirmed he was not from the Bay and they had made a mistake.
Leggat hails from Nelson and played between 1948-68. He played 38 representative matches with 56 innings to his name with the highest score of 130.
Leggat was "not-out" once and amassed 1968 runs in his career at an average of 35.78.
But how does that stack up against the Bay's Mike Shrimpton, who not long ago assisted the Central Districts Stags squad after retiring as the New Zealand women's coach?
Findlay, who was asked to make his top-five nominations from this province, recommended (in pecking order with career seasons in brackets) Shrimpton (1961-62 to 1983-84), Tom Reaney (1926-27 to 1959-60), Scott Briasco (1979-80 to 1986-87), Robin Schofield (1958-59 to 1973-74) and Stuart Duff (1980-81 to 1994-95).
Needless to say, Findlay's task wasn't easy considering it was almost impossible to differentiate between the grey areas of actual Hawke Cup elimination, challenge and defence matches.
The Bay stalwart included data on the five players within the ambit of the 88 seasons the selection panel of Ross Dykes (convener), Jock Sutherland and Alan Whimp outlined.
The criteria was based on a player's outstanding performance and his contribution to the district while playing.
For the record, the Bay have competed in 53 cup games to December last year as the Lincoln Doull-coached 2010-11 team prepare to challenge holders Marlborough in Blenheim this weekend.
The teams of the past have played 32 challenges, winning eight and succumbing in 24 including two no results.
They have locked horns in 20 defences, coming off triumphant in a dozen, including two no results, and losing eight.
They last played in the 2000-01 season, stumbling against Hamilton in the final.
Apart from the seasons of 1910-11, 1912-13 and 2000-01, the competition has always been on a challenge basis.
In order to win, the challengers must beat the holders on their home ground. Teams from the country's four main centres of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin do not usually compete for the cup, although they did for the latter half of the 1990s.
However, they were excluded again from the 2000-01 season. Since then, Hamilton has dominated.
"The Bay started playing in the cup competition in 1923 although it was first played in 1911 [because the province was then recognised as a "major association", such as Central Districts and Northern Districts, and instead competed for the four-day Plunket Shield]," Findlay says.
Shrimpton, the CD record holder for the most runs scored in first-class cricket until current Stag Mathew Sinclair eclipsed him, has played 40 cup matches, including 54 innings and was unbeaten five times in amassing 2192.
He had the highest score of 203 not out and boasted an average of 44.74.
Shrimpton also claimed 88 wickets with the best bowling figures of 6-59 and 21 catches in cup matches.
Reaney played 22 cup matches, including 35 innings and was unbeaten twice on the crease as a batsman in amassing 984 runs with a highest score of 108, averaging 29.82.
He took 46 scalps with a cup career best of 5-41 and a dozen catches.
Briasco, a CD administrator and current co-selector of the Stags, played 11 cup matches including 13 innings and two not outs.
He racked up 667 runs and had the highest score of 189 not out at an enviable average of 60.64.
Considering himself a "fourth seamer" in those days, the ex-CD rep didn't feature in the bowling department but took 12 catches.
Schofield, the late grandfather of current internationals Peter and Sara McGlashan, has 24 cup matches to his credit with 35 innings and four unbeaten stints on the batting crease.
He accumulated 911 with the best score of 100 at an average of 29.39.
Schofield took eight wickets with a cup best of 4-69 and took 41 catches.
The ex-CD wicketkeeper also claimed 11 stumpings.
Duff, a Lindisfarne schoolteacher with an illustrious representative amateur golf career, has played 46 cup matches including 52 innings and unbeaten 10 times.
The ex-CD allrounder, a radio commentator at current internationals, amassed 1658 runs with the highest score of 111 at an average of 39.48.
A spinner, who many felt should have gone on to a become an international, he took 121 cup wickets. He has the best figures of 5-10 and six catches.
In the Team of the Century is a Roger Pierce, of Nelson, who now lives in the Bay.
"All I know is that Roger is a Nelson-born-and-bred boy and now lives in Havelock North," says Findlay, who went to the formal presentation to mark 100 years of cup cricket at the District Associations' Centennial Dinner in Wellington mid-last month.
Black Caps coach John Wright presented a black districts' test cap to each of the members of the side to signify the honour.