Cricket: Bayleys Central Indians could prosper from Mount Maunganui's loss of players

Ben Musgrave bats during the Baywide Cricket match between Mount Maunganui and Te Puke. Photo / File

Carrus Mount Maunganui won't have several of their regular starters when they come up against Central Indians at Blake Park this weekend.

Mount Maunganui is one of the teams that lose players to this weekend's Bay of Plenty Fergus Hickey Rosebowl match against Northland at the Bay Oval. However, the Mount side is well used to going to the Western Bay Reserve Grade team for replacements, when the Bay selectors pick their representative sides.

The best match figures of the Baywide Cup season belong to Bayleys Central Indians all-rounder Stephen Nicholls, who took five wickets for 17 runs when they came up against Tauranga Boys' College.

This weekend, Central Indians are within striking distance of the Baywide Cup top four and could prosper from the Mount Maunganui defections. In addition to Stephen Nicholls, Chris Tupea, Jake Rowe and Prabh Gill hold prominent positions on the season bowling stakes list.

Also playing this weekend is GM Painters Lake Taupo CC, who sits winless at the bottom of the Baywide Cup standings. Despite this, two of their bowlers have been making significant inroads into their opponents' batting attacks.

Lake Taupo skipper Habib Malik, who opens his side's bowling attack, sits in second spot on the Baywide Cup bowlers list with nine bowling scalps, just one wicket behind New World Te Puke's Brody Gilroy. Another Lake Taupo bowler in Moko Rivers is on the cusp of the top five with seven wickets.

Another to have real impact with the ball in hand is Cadets youngster Jacob Logan, who earned selection for the Bay Development team's ND fixture with Poverty Bay last Sunday.

Element IMF Cadets will also lose a couple of their frontline players, in their encounter against Bond & Co Tauranga Boys' College, at Nicholson Field. Tauranga Boys' are within range of the top four and at full strength could trouble the defending Baywide Cup titleholders.

Te Puke hit the road for their annual trip to play Lake Taupo CC at Owen Delaney Park in the Great Lake region. The Te Puke First XI have beaten Mount Maunganui and Tauranga Boys' College in the last two weekends and will be aiming for a three-peat of victories against the Taupo team.

BOPCA Baywide Cup Draw
Bond & Co Tauranga Boys College v Element IMF Cadets, Nicholson Field
Carrus Mount Maunganui v Bayleys Central Indians, Blake Park
GM Painters Lake Taupo CC v New World Te Puke, Owen Delaney Park
Eves Realty Greerton the bye.
Points Table: Greerton 28, Cadets 20, Te Puke 16, Mount Maunganuui 9, Central Indians 9, Tauranga Boys College 8, Lake Taupo 0.
Baywide Cup Bowling Top Five
10 wickets Brody Gilroy (Te Puke); 9w Habib Malik (Lake Taupo CC); 8w Pete Drysdale (Mount Maunganui); 7w Jacob Logan (Cadets); 7w Stephen Nicholls (Central Indians)