Cricket: Local sides make bad start to Baywide Cup

Rotorua's two premier cricket sides have suffered defeats in the opening round of the Baywide Cup. Pictured is Central player Nigel Granger in action on Saturday. Photo / Ben Fraser

It was not the start Rotorua clubs were hoping for during the opening round of the Baywide premier cricket season.

Rotorua's two premier teams, Bayleys Central and the Bay of Plenty Indians, lost on Saturday during round one of the Baywide Cup.

Central received a hiding from Te Puke at Ray Boord Park, losing by nine wickets, while the Bay of Plenty Indians almost rescued an unlikely result against Greerton in Tauranga.

The Indians were bowled all out for 66 at Pemberton Park but put up a real fight with the ball. They had Greerton struggling at 46/7, during the chase, but the home team eventually managed to reach their target without losing another wicket.

Greerton youngster Sean Dykes held his nerve well to guide his team to a close victory.

Indians manager Sanjay Unka said the artificial pitch at Pemberton Park was causing the batters plenty of problems.

"It was a pretty tough artificial. The ball was doing a lot. There was a bit of uneven bounce," he said. "We thought another 30-odd runs would have been enough for us to win."

While it was not the result the Indians wanted, Unka said he was very pleased with his team's bowling and fielding.

"The fielding and the bowling effort came together quite nicely and the positivity and belief was always there."

Indians opening batsman GS Gargan was the pick of the Rotorua team's batsmen, posting 45 runs, while bowlers Gurtrej Billing and Ranjit Yadav took three wickets each.

Bayleys Central posted 136 runs on Saturday with Ben Blackett top scoring with 38 runs, while Te Puke new recruit Tom Wakelin took four wickets for his new club.

Long-standing Te Puke player Stephen Crossan, who has earned the captain's role this season, led from the front with an unbeaten 67 while another Te Puke stalwart, Tai Bridgman-Raison, contributed 46 runs in his team's big win.

In the other premier game, the Otumoetai Cadets were far too good for Tauranga Boys' College beating them by almost 200 runs at the weekend.