Rotorua's Central Indians chasing better performance in round two clash with Te Puke

Central Indians' Gagandeep Singh bats against Tauranga Boys' College last weekend. Photo/File

Rotorua's Bayleys Central Indians will meet Te Puke in the second round of the Baywide Cup on Saturday.

The match-up will be played at the neutral venue of Blake Park in Mount Maunganui.

An improved performance is expected from the Central Indians' first outing as a combined team, with plenty to like about their effort last week.

Co-captain Andrew Gibbs, who is better known as a strike bowler, showed his all-round abilities with a hard fought 29 runs batting down the order in the loss to Tauranga Boys last week.

The Tauranga Boys First XI put on a strong performance to bowl the Rotorua visitors out for 152, the Tauranga students getting home to a comfortable five-wicket victory.

Te Puke held on against a determined Mount Maunganui bowling attack to eke out a losing draw in round one and will be fired up to post their first win of the new cricket year.

The Western Bay of Plenty challenge prize of the Baker Cup will be on the line at Blake Park when current holders Carrus Mount Maunganui square off with Eves Realty Greerton. The two sides have a rivalry that dates back to the 1970s, when premier cricket was known as "A" Grade.

Last weekend the two Baywide contenders opened their Baywide Cup campaign in contrasting circumstances. Mount Maunganui set Te Puke a big target when posting 264/3, with Ben Musgrave and Mount new recruit Brenton Thompson putting on an unbeaten 149-run partnership. The pair came to the wicket at the 115-run mark and took charge, blasting the ball to the boundaries.

A rain-affected artificial wicket and a late start didn't do Greerton any favours in their match-up with Element IMF Cadets at Waipuna Park. Led by the first five-wicket bag of the season from Donavan Deeble, Cadets removed Greerton for 110 and then cruised to a nine-wicket win.

The Tauranga Boys bowlers could have their hands full with a strong Cadets top order on Saturday. Sean Davey led from the front against Greerton top scoring with 63 not out and recent Bay of Plenty representative players Ben Christensen and Scott Steward are both capable of taking charge of a match with the willow.

BOPCA Baywide Cup Draw, Saturday

New World Te Puke v Bayleys Central Indians, Blake3; Element IMF Cadets v Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College; Tauranga Domain; Carrus Mount Maunganui v Eves Realty Greerton, Blake1.

Points Table (Provisional)
Element IMF Cadets 20, Cooney Lees Morgan Tauranga Boys College 20, Carrus Mount Maunganui 16, New World Te Puke 8, Bayleys Central Indians 0, Eves Realty Greerton 0.