Central Indians take on Baywide heavyweights

Central Indians' Ben Sandford batting against Cadets in October. The two sides meet again at Smallbone Park tomorrow in Williams Cup action. PHOTIO/FILE

Few players have made a more spectacular Williams Cup debut than Central Indians' Preet Singh, who took seven wickets at a cost of just 31 runs against Tauranga Boys' College last Saturday.

Playing in just his second game of Baywide cricket, the Rotorua youngster ripped through the Tauranga Boys' batting attack, removing their last seven batsmen.

The only Rotorua team in the Baywide Championship, Central Indians host Cadets at Smallbone Park tomorrow.

Cadets have lost a number of players to the Bay of Plenty team who play Hamilton in a Fergus Hickey Rosebowl encounter over the weekend and will go to their reserve grade side for replacements.

Cadets bowler Kamal Bains took three wickets against Mount Maunganui last week, to move into third equal place on the Williams Cup bowling table, with eight bowling scalps.

The big movers in the second half of the Baywide cricket season are Greerton who sit in second place on the Williams Cup standings.

While they have failed to beat recent Baywide heavyweights Cadets and Mount Maunganui this season, they will get few better opportunities to lower the colours of Mount Maunganui, than tomorrow at Blake Park.

The Williams Cup competition front-runners have lost four players to the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl game. Last weekend Greerton's big-hitting batsmen Cam Neal flexed his muscles and smashed 99 runs as his team chased down 239 to beat Te Puke.

Neal's quick-fire innings included 12 fours and three big shots over the boundary rope at Pemberton Park.

Mount Maunganui's strength is their second XI, who have a number of players who make the jump up to premier cricket with ease.

The Mount have uncovered another match winner this season in Brenton Thompson who is playing his first season in the gold and yellow uniform. Thompson leads the Williams Cup batting stakes with 199 runs with a highest score of 97.

One Baywide team will leave the Te Puke Domain with their first victory in the 2017 Williams Cup title race. Te Puke and Tauranga Boys' College sit in the Williams Cup cellar and both will be desperate to get off the bottom of the standings.

Both sides know how to attack at the batting crease. Last Saturday Te Puke posted 238/8 against Greerton with Tauranga Boys' blasting a massive 341/8 (in defeat) against Greerton the previous weekend.