Horowhenua-Kāpiti cricket match brawl now in the hands of NZ Cricket

The playing futures of some of Horowhenua-Kāpiti's brightest young talents are in the hands of New Zealand Cricket following a brawl at club match at the weekend.

In what has been described as Horowhenua-Kāpiti Cricket's darkest hour, an altercation broke out between players from the Paraparaumu and Weraroa senior teams towards the end of a match at Kena Kena Park on Sunday.

Police were called and the match was abandoned in the fourth over of the second innings.

New Zealand Cricket has launched an investigation, focusing on two players from the Paraparaumu club and three players from the Weraroa club.

Initial accounts singled out one player as responsible for the incident, but that was wide of the mark according to several eye-witnesses spoken to by the Horowhenua Chronicle.

Weraroa club captain Brett Cole said he too strongly disputed what had been reported in about the incident so far and was happy to have New Zealand Cricket involved.

"A lot has been said so far, but it is only a smidgen of the story," he said.

"We have to be very clean and very clear about what we say, but it will all come out in the wash... you might find some of the action was retaliatory.

"Our club has a code of conduct that we follow very closely. This is a family club and in my 30 years of involvement, we have never had an incident like this.

"We do not feel it appropriate to outline our full statement of facts while the disciplinary process is being followed.

"However, we consider it necessary to state that the account of events in media contains a number of blatant untruths from our club's point of view and portrays Weraroa Cricket Club players as being primarily to blame.

"We deeply regret what took place on the cricket field on Sunday and do not condone violence."

Cole said the players would be stood down pending the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings.

"We are standing by these players and will be supporting them fully as this matter is addressed."

His club had fielded a very young team for the match, with most aged under 17, while four of the playing squad on the day could be classed as seniors.

Paraparaumu representative Craig Pashby declined to comment.

Horowhenua-Kāpiti Cricket Association chief executive David O'Brien said an immediate investigation was launched. A series of crisis meetings were held on Monday night.

"We are extremely disappointed to hear of allegations of violence on our cricket grounds and simply don't condone any form of abuse," he said.

"At this stage, we have received this [Monday] morning a NZ Cricket Code of Conduct report from the official umpire and those identified will now go through the formal process as outlined by New Zealand Cricket."

A police spokesperson confirmed officers from the Kāpiti station had attended the incident at 3.45pm and spoke with all parties involved after receiving several calls.

No arrests were made and no charges were laid "at this stage", although police were keen to continue talks with Horowhenua-Kāpiti Cricket bosses.

It was the second time in recent years New Zealand Cricket has been involved with Horowhenua-Kāpiti cricket misconduct allegations.

In November 2017, a Levin Old Boys player was accused of a racial slur against a rival Paraparaumu player. The player was reportedly stood down for six weeks and ordered to write a formal apology.