Central Indians set to continue winning start

Central Indians' batsman Ben Sandford and his side look to continue their winning start in the BOPCA Williams Cup this weekend. Cricket. PHOTO/ FILE

Rotorua's Bayleys Central Indians are aiming to continue their winning start to their BOPCA Williams Cup campaign.

The side face off against Eves Realty Greerton in the second round of the Bay of Plenty premier trophy competition at Smallbone Park on Saturday.

Central Indians take a winning mentality into their home match after last weekend's opening win over defending champions New World Te Puke.

Whilst Greerton look to bounce back from a hefty loss against Element IMF Cadets in their first fixture.

Despite Central Indians' positive start co-captain Andrew Gibbs warned his side needed to improve in several key areas to compete against Greerton - including protecting their wickets better.

"Of course we can take confidence into this game," Gibbs said. "But there is still lots for us to work on. In our last match we didn't build enough strong partnerships and gave away some careless wickets. We didn't value our wicket enough and so we need to graft a bit harder there.

"Against Greerton we've also been working on improving in the field and not giving away too many extras - you can lose games like that."

Central Indians will be without experienced batsmen Bharat Popli - away on Northern Knights duty, Magan Vashisht who is unavailable and co-captain Shonit Chandra is yet to be confirmed due to injury.

Gibbs said it was essential for his team to take one ball at a time if they were to challenge for this season's Williams Cup trophy.

"We can't be jumping the gun just because of one good result. To do well we must refine everything right down. Each ball has its own merit and we need to treat each game like it is the most important game of the season. We are building on a winning mentality but that is one step at a time."

Meanwhile, in a replay of last season's Williams Cup final Carrus Mount Maunganui, who has won the trophy four times in the last decade, take on New World Te Puke away, also looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the competition.

And Element IMF Cadets, the third team to make a winnings start to their 2017 Williams Cup campaign last weekend, square off against Tauranga Boys College at Blake Park three, Tauranga.

BOPCA Baywide premier competition fixtures

Williams Cup - round two:
(Saturday 14 January)

Bayleys Central Indians v Eves Realty Greerton, Smallbone Park, Rotorua.

Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College v Element IMF Cadets, Blake 3, Tauranga.

New World Te Puke v Carrus Mount Maunganui, Te Puke Domain, Te Puke.

Williams Cup points table: Carrus Mount Maunganui 6, Bayleys Central Indians 6, Element IMF Cadets 6, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College 0, New World Te Puke 0, Eves Realty Greerton 0.