The final week of club cricket for 2022 is in the books and a rainy day has summed up the first part of the season for the Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club (HPCC).
In a common occurrence on the weekend, the HPCC premier men were able to get underway before rain took over shortly after.
HPCC were able to prove their dominance once again, managing 130 for the loss of only two wickets.
Once again, Liam Winn (42 not out off 64 balls) and Bill Walsh (32 off 57 balls) starred.
Mid-week rain also forced round four of the T20 premier men competition to be abandoned with not a single ball bowled.
A bye-week for the HPCC premier women due to domestic cricket couldn’t keep the usual suspects out of action.
The Manukau Districts U17 girls featured in a tournament last week which saw HPCC premier woman star Ayaan Lambat continue her string of impressive performances.
Lambat picked up a spectacular six wickets for only six runs off 3.4 overs against the Tuaraki/Waitemata combined U17 girls’ team.
The Manukau side finished in fifth place, despite defeating the tournament champions in a round robin game.
Although rain has plagued the first half of the 2022/23 Auckland cricket season, Howick Pakuranga has proved to be a strong club across all sides and formats.
The HPCC premier women have had some impressive victories, notably their dominant 129-run obliteration against Auckland University.
Notable performances thus far have included an unbeaten Brooke Halliday 108 off 81 balls against Auckland University and youngster Neena Woollaston being named the top wicket-taker at the Under 19 girls’ representative tournament
Eight HPCC premier women were selected for domestic cricket sides – Holly Topp, Marama Downes and Brooke Halliday for Northern Districts and Saachi Shahri, Josie Penfold, Molly Penfold, Skye Bowden and Amberly Parr for Auckland.
The HPCC men’s premier team retained the Hellaby-Hunt Cup in their dominant victory against rivals Papatoetoe in round 1 of the T20 competition on December 7.
The cup recognises legends from each club, Tom Hellaby (Papatoetoe) and Alan Hunt (HPCC), and celebrates the history between the two clubs.
Howick Pakuranga Cricket has seen a considerable growth in players, including 40 per cent more in the under 6-9 grades compared to 2021.
Not to mention that after two seasons of Covid interruptions, club membership numbers are now the highest they have been for many years.
And now cricket will take a break until the new year.
The HPCC premier men will resume their T20 competition on January 7, when they play two matches against Eden Roskill and Parnell cricket club respectively and a third T20 against Auckland University on January 11.
Additionally, the premier men’s Jeff Crowe Cup limited overs competition resumes on January 14 when HPCC faces Suburbs New Lynn.
The HPCC premier women also resume their cricket on January 7 with the commencement of the Pearl Dawson Trophy T20 competition.
The Llamas come up against Auckland University and Papatoetoe to begin their stretch of four double header weeks.
Premier Men Jeff Crowe Cup Limited over Competition | Round 3
Howick Pakuranga 130/2 (L Winn 42 not out, B Walsh 32; J Todd1-15) against Auckland University was abandoned due to weather.
North Shore against Takapuna District was abandoned due to weather.
Cornwall against Suburbs New Lynn was abandoned due to weather.
Parnell against East Coast Bays was abandoned due to weather.
Premier Men – Richard Jones Trophy Limited Over Competition | Round 3
Eden Roskill 170/2 (A Bhardwaj 75 not out, H Chakraborty 59; A Christian 1-30)against Kumeu was abandoned due to weather.
Papatoetoe 255/5 (B Rowland 79 not out, R Bisht 59; P Whynn 2-20) against Waitakere was abandoned due to weather.
Birkenhead City against Grafton was abandoned due to weather.
Hibiscus Coast 253/7 (M O’Dowd 132, R Newman 27; S Edkins 3-62) against Ellerslie was abandoned due to weather.
Premier Men- T20 Competition | Round 4
Howick Pakuranga against Ellerslie was abandoned due to weather.
Parnell against Eden Roskill was abandoned due to weather.
East Coast Bays against Takapuna was abandoned due to weather.
Birkenhead City against Waitakere was abandoned due to weather.
Papatoetoe against Auckland University was abandoned due to weather.
Grafton against Cornwall was abandoned due to weather.
North Shore against Hibiscus Coast was abandoned due to weather.
Suburbs New Lynn against Kumeu was abandoned due to weather.
