Rotorua's best cricketers go head to head in a Baywide premier local derby tomorrow.
BOP Indians and Rotorua Central will be searching for their first competition points of the season when they meet at Boord Park in round two of the Baywide Cup.
The Central side go into the 110-over match as favourites, with the Indians having won just two matches in the two years they have been in the premier division.
However, Indians player/manager Praful Morarji said his side would be no pushover for its Rotorua rivals tomorrow.
"We haven't beaten them [Central] but last year we pushed them in two games," he said. "We will give them a good game."
He said there was always an extra edge when the two sides met.
"We're the only two premier teams here [Rotorua] now so it's always an exciting game."
The Indians lost to defending champions Otumoetai last week, but Morarji said his side was reasonably happy with the way it played.
"For a first game there were some positives," he said. "We were happy with batting for 50-plus overs and we showed some good signs in the field. But there is heaps of room for improvement."
He said moving up to the Baywide competition has been positive for the club, which was focusing on developing existing players and bringing in new ones.
Despite going winless last year, Morarji said it had been their best season as they had consistently pushed the more experienced sides.
He hoped 2012/13 would be the season they finally saw some results, for an extra special reason.
"This year we lost our club patriarch Hira Unka so we are dedicating our season to him."
Unka, a former Northern Districts cricketer and past president of the BOP Indians Sports Club, died in August. His son, Sanjay, is vice-captain of the Indians side.
In other matches, long-time rivals Te Puke and Greerton square off on the artificial surface at the Te Puke Domain. Te Puke opened their new season with a hard-fought victory over Central last weekend, posting the win with four wickets in hand.
Two players who will have a big influence on the fortunes of the Te Puke side this season are Tai Bridgeman-Raison and Mitch McCann.
Captain Bridgeman-Raison is a talented cricket tactician who can change his game plan during a match to good effect.
McCann is a dashing batsman who posted a century on debut for the Bay Development team a few years ago and loves nothing better than to take aim at the boundary.
The Greerton side, who sat out the opening weekend courtesy of opponents Tauranga Boys' College being on tour in Queensland, can't wait to get into action tomorrow.
While Greerton stalwarts Marcus Niles (retired) and Craig Budd are missing from the side, the premier squad has picked up three of the most promising youngsters in Baywide cricket.
Cameron Neal, Elliot Timoti and Tom Clout, who played for Tauranga Boys' College last season, are all having their first year in the Greerton black and gold uniform.
Tauranga Boys' College will host Mount Maunganui at Nicholson Field, in another match where both teams look to have an equal chance of victory. Mount Maunganui careered away to a easy win against East Bay United last week, with batsman Pete Drysdale smashing 177 runs in his side's big total.
There will be a few new faces in the Tauranga Boys side this season. Alex Oakley, who made his debut for the Bay of Plenty senior men's team earlier this year, is a young wicketkeeper of rare ability, who provides outstanding cover behind the stumps.
The form book suggests Otumoetai Cadets should have little trouble with East Bay United. However, the Eastern Bay side are always a force at home.
BOPCA Baywide Cup Premier games, tomorrow (all 12pm): Te Puke v Greerton, Te Puke Domain; Tauranga Boys' College v Mount Maunganui, Nicholson Field; East Bay United v Otumoetai Cadets, Trident High School; BOP Indians v Central, Boord Park.