McBride and Petersen unhappy at fixture's reduction to one day match

The prime movers behind the annual McBride Peterson Cup cricket fixture between Wairarapa College and Rathkeale College are unhappy at last weekend's 2009 edition being reduced to a one-day match.
Craig McBride and Ashley Peterson intend to write to the Wairarapa Cricket Association expressing their concern over Saturday's play being cancelled by the association as early as 3pm on Friday, and asking why that occurred when a grass wicket at Rathkeale College could have been utilised.
Or failing that one of the artificial strips around the region.
Mr McBride said it was a huge disappointment to be "ordered" by the WCA to cancel the first day's play and stage the match as a 96-over game on Sunday on an artificial pitch.
"We managed to ignore them in terms of the artificial part (the game was played on the grass at Rathkeale) but the whole attitude surrounding this game needs to be looked into," he said.
In a detailed summary of events Mr McBride says:-
"The match was scheduled last September for 14 and 15 February on Queen Elizabeth Park Oval.
"Two weeks ago I contacted the association regarding the venue because I was concerned that they may toss us off the Oval due to the possibility of Wairarapa (senior reps) getting a Hawke Cup challenge.
"After three days of constant negotiation it was agreed the match would be on the Park Oval if Wairarapa failed to secure a Hawke Cup challenge.
Thus by Saturday, February 7 the venue and conditions were confirmed.
At this stage I was concerned that no apparent preparation had been made on any strip on the Oval. In my opinion regardless of the outcome in Levin some work should have started on the Oval prior to that weekend.
"By Wednesday my concerns had escalated because of an extremely threatening weather forecast. I contacted the association as well as the groundsman at the Oval and enquired as to why no preparation had yet occurred. I was told he could not get a roller on the block because of the rain on Tuesday and that he had topdressed the block with clay just why I don't know. I also don't know why he hadn't had a roller on the block well prior to Monday when there was no rain around at all. He indicated that he "didn't like our chances". He would do his best in the morning prior to the expected rain.
"Aware that there appeared to be barriers on this match we started to investigate alternative venues. The Sports Bowl was a no-no because the covers had been stolen from there in recent years so we decided to set up Wairarapa College as the first alternative venue should the Park Oval be out. We organised for the covers to be moved from the Oval to Wairarapa College as soon as the groundsman "pulled the pin", as expected. We also had a fully covered strip prepared on the Rathkeale Oval (as a third alternative).
"I phoned the groundsman at 11am on Thursday just as the rain set in. He said he had done his best, rolled out a fresh strip on the edge but that a lot of clay had stuck to the roller when he had tried to roll the topdressing into the block.
He had a cover on the strip. He also said he would like to delay a decision until Friday because the weather forecast was more promising than that indicated the evening before.
"An attempt was made to cover the Wairarapa College prepared (and dry) strip but this failed and it soon became saturated.
"On Friday the groundsman put the Park Oval out for the weekend. We checked the situation at Wairarapa College and finally transferred the match to Rathkeale, working on the theory that provided the covers did the job there then a match was a distinct possibility.
"I received a report from the Rathkeale groundsman at 2.30pm on Friday that he had "peeked under the covers" and that the strip was saturated. At 3pm Mr Cogdale (Wairarapa association) made the announcement above.
"On Saturday morning I met Shay O'Gorman (Rathkeale coach) and we removed the covers from the Rathkeale strip. It was bone dry!!.
"Furthermore it was clear that with a little mopping up play could have begun (on Saturday) somewhere between 11am and noon. I also checked out the artificials, there would have been nothing stopping a game of cricket starting at the scheduled time of 10am.
"Sunday's play took place on the said strip (at Rathkeale), it was obviously under-prepared as is indicated by the "pathetic" 250-4 scored by Wairarapa College!!."
Mr McBride said the Cup match was put in place by two long serving volunteers of Wairarapa cricket, chiefly for the good of Wairarapa cricket. Included in their hopes and aspirations was that the adolescents involved were going to get some much needed exposure in a positive sense, and that Wairarapa cricket could develop some genuine representative players for the future.
"The question is, just how interested are Wairarapa cricket," he said. "If there was a rep match scheduled for the Park Oval for February 14 just when would the preparation have started. Would it have started on February 12. Or would it have started at least 10 days out and have covers in operation well before any forecast and it was well and accurately forecast- rain occurred?"
Mr McBride said that having tossed the match off the Oval, when it appeared it was never going to be there anyway, it had to be asked just why the association were so insistent in destroying the principles laid out above by cancelling the biggest game of cricket the boys have got on their calendar before the scheduled start.
"There are 24 players, two coaches, two managers and a whole heap of parents who are mightily brassed off, I think the association has a few questions to answer," Mr McBride said.
WCA chairman Grant Perry said the decision to cancel Saturday's play was largely motivated by word from Rathkeale College early on Friday afternoon that both the grass pitch and outfields there were sodden after rain, and very unlikely to recover by the following day.
Mr Perry said he personally was asked if the grass pitch was playable on Sunday could the 96-over match be played there rather than on an artificial surface and he had given the green light for that to happen.
Highlight of Sunday's action was the superb 116 not out scored by Wairarapa senior rep Daniel Ingham for Wairarapa College. He was the main catalyst to them reaching a very healthy 250-4 with strong support coming from Leighton Calkin, who made (55). Ingham struck 10 fours and two sixes.
Bowling for Rathkeale, Alec Morrison took 1-85 from 20 overs, Harry Greenwood 1-73 off 15 overs, Matthew Stringfellow 1-43 off 7 overs and J.Smith 1-6 off 3 overs.
Rathkeale started badly, slumping from 3-13 to 5-15 and 6-32, but Phil Tuoro (22 not out) and J Mann (18 not out) steered them through to 68-6, at which stage stumps were drawn. Quentin McKenna took 3-13 for Wairarapa College and Tom Adamson 2-14.