Central straight back into action

It's straight back into the thick of it for Central in the Bay of Plenty Cup tomorrow. After a three-week break, the premier competition gets under way with the Rotorua side taking on last year's Williams Cup winners Greerton on Smallbone Park.

Greerton captain Shane Wineti will be hoping Tommy Clout will bring some of his outstanding form from the Attrill Cup into tomorrow's match against a Central side lead by the in-form Peter Wood.

Central will be keen to stamp their authority on the match, with players such as Jason Trembath and Lilesh Solanki also showing some class for Rotorua in the Attrill Cup in last weekend's doubleheader.

Another player who showed good nick for Rotorua was Bay of Plenty Indian's vice-captain Prashant Dhanjee and Jayvant Dhanjee. The pair will be hoping the damage they did with the ball for Rotorua will rub off in the Bay of Plenty Cup.

The Indians travel to Whakatane to play East Bay United at Rex Morepeth Park. Known for its flat pitch, the Rotorua side will need it's batting order to knuckle down and slowly build an innings.

There will be plenty of attention on the match-up at the Tauranga Domain between Cadets and Tauranga Boys' College. The last time the two sides met was in the semifinals of the Williams Cup late last season.

Cadets batted first and posted a very defendable total of 214/9, with Bay of Plenty representative skipper Jono Boult posting 62 runs and Henry Conway, who has been in outstanding early season form, taking two wickets. Tauranga Boys' mentor Mark Orchard anchored his side's innings with a solid 65. However, former Tauranga Boys' bowler Sean Davey grabbed 3/33 to play a big role in dismissing the school side for 145.

Cadets, the Baywide Cup defending champions, posted a 120-run win against the Indians in the first round of the Baywide competition, with Tauranga Boys' tasting defeat against Greerton.

Mount Maunganui, who won the Baywide trophy in 2009 and 2010, will play long-time rivals Te Puke at Blake Park. While both sides compete as a combined sub-associations team in the Attrill Cup, friendships will be forgotten when they meet this afternoon.

Both sides started the Baywide Cup with victories. Mount easily beat East Bay United with master blaster Peter Drysdale in majestic form with an undefeated 177 runs, while Te Puke got past Rotorua Central in a low-scoring affair.

Baywide Cup premier draw: Element IMF Cadets v Tauranga Boys College, Tauranga Domain; Mount Maunganui v Te Puke, Blake 1; Central v Eves Realty Greerton, Smallbone Park; East Bay United v BOP Indians, Rex Morepeth Park.