Hawke’s Bay Turkeys defend national indoor cricket title in thrilling final

The Hawke’s Bay Turkeys have done it again with the Hawke’s Bay team successfully defending their national men’s club’s indoor cricket title at the weekend.

Luke McNally, aged 15, celebrates the taking of a wicket as the Hawke’s Bay Turkeys retain the national indoor cricket title in Petone. Photo / Luke Pawson

Winners of the title for the first time last year in Auckland, with a clean sweep of seven matches including an opening-match win over defending champions Auckland Central and the final over North Harbour, the team in the latest Friday-Sunday tournament in Petone had one loss at the end of pool play at the weekend in Petone, and beat home-side Hutt Valley 119-118 in a high-scoring final.

“It’s a very rare achievement with scores like that,” said co-manager Mike Pawson.

He said it was a younger side than last year, notably with 15-year-old Napier Boys’ High School pupil Luke McNally, a 2023 New Zealand Under-16 representative who responded to the punt on his place in the final by scoring seven off the second ball of the last over, which started with the Turkeys needing 13 to win, surviving to the end, and being the match’s Most Valuable Player.

Only five wickets were taken in the match, Pawson said, but the last ball was bowled with the Turkeys on 119 and knowing a loss of a wicket (a penalty of five points) would cost them the title.

The team was missing three national representatives who’d been with the team last year but was able to field five who had returned just a few days earlier from representing New Zealand in men’s and U22 matches against Australia in Adelaide, including respective national-side captains Todd Watson and Liam McCarthy.

The Hawke’s Bay Turkeys after winning the national club indoor cricket final on Sunday. Photo / Luke Pawson

Watson, who captained the Turkeys, was named MVP for the tournament in what was the culmination of a big 12 months for the Turkeys, the two national title wins sandwiching a third-place finish at the Club World Series in Sri Lanka at the end of April.

In Sri Lanka, the team won all six pool matches and were beaten only in a semifinal, winning a playoff for third and fourth.

“There’s talk about going to Dubai next year,” said Pawson. “We’ve got unfinished business.”