Cricket: Cadets and Tauranga Boys' battle for fourth

Cadets batsman Reuben Clinton playing a shot against Tauranga Boys' College when the sides met last year. Photo / File

With just two rounds to play before the Williams Cup play-offs, Eves Realty Greerton, Carrus Mount Maunganui and Bayleys Central Indians have almost certainly booked berths in the semi-finals.

The winner of the clash between defending champions Element IMF Cadets and Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys' College tomorrowwill move into fourth place on the standings and have a good shot at securing the other semi-final spot.

Cadets have won the Williams Cup, which was first contested in the 1930s, 10 times in the last 20 years and are masters of playing pressure cricket.

The team has gained strength with the return of Gurwinder Singh to the side from injury. Last weekend the Bay of Plenty representative bowler grabbed a place on the 2018 Williams Cup honours board, taking five wickets for 19 runs.

The Tauranga Boys' College first XI can lay claim to being one of the best secondary school teams in the country, after a third-place finish at the New Zealand Cricket First XI Cup National Finals in December. They backed that up at the 2018 Super 8 Cricket Championship with another third place.

One player to make a real impression in the Williams Cup is new recruit Taylor Bettleheim, who sits third on the batting stakes with 147 runs and a high score of 98.

The Western Bay of Plenty premier challenge prize, the Baker Cup, will be on the line in a top-of-the-table clash between Greerton and Mount Maunganui at Blake Park. The former Tauranga Cricket Association championship trophy is held by Greerton, which took the silverware that dates back to WWII from Cadets in the opening round of this year's Williams Cup.

The winner of the encounter between GM Painters Lake Taupo CC and New World Te Puke will bank their first-win points of the Williams Cup competition. Te Puke have been unlucky, on the wrong end of a couple of tight results. Against both Mount Maunganui and Greerton, Te Puke's batting attack posted more than 200 run totals, only to see their opponents chase down the required target.

Williams Cup Draw - Saturday

GM Painters Lake Taupo CC v New World Te Puke, Owen Delaney Park; Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College v Element IMF Cadets, Nicholson Field; Carrus Mount Maunganui v Eves Realty Greerton, Blake2; Bayleys Central Indians the bye

Points

Greerton 27, Mount Maunganui 21, Central Indians 21, Tauranga Boys' College 9, Cadets 9, Te Puke 3, Lake Taupo CC 3.

Williams Cup Honours Board 2018

Batting (Centuries) 103 – Joshua Bates (Element IMF Cadets) v Greerton
Bowling (Five wickets) 5/19 – Gurwinder Singh (Cadets) v Lake Taupo CC
5/46 - James Boyd (Eves Realty Greerton) v Cadets