And just like that, another Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club (HPCC) season has come to an end.
A season disrupted by Auckland’s adverse weather conditions for five months had a pleasing finish with both premier sides recording podium finishes in their respective competitions.
HPCC’s premier men made the long trip to Auckland City’s Victoria Park to close out their final two-day match of the season against Grafton.
After a strong statement last week from HP, they needed to take six wickets as Grafton trailed by 104 runs for a first innings win.
HP ripped through their rivals, dismissing them for 108 and carding a lead of 58 runs.
With not much left in the day, Howick Pakuranga wished to bat out the rest of the season, recording 99 runs for the loss of four wickets.
As he has done all season, Liam Winn top scored with 40 not out.
The premier men’s first innings win saw them take third place in the Tom Hellaby two-day competition and has left them with a strong platform for next season.
HPCC’s home ground of Lloyd Elsmore Park saw their final fixture of the season over the weekend as the club’s premier women (Llamas) faced Auckland University in a third and fourth play-off for their limited over competition.
After bowling first, the HPCC premier women’s bowling line-up ripped through their opposition as it has so consistently this season.
Josie Penfold took five wickets and the rest were shared between Mansimran Kaur, Amberly Parr and Ayaan Lambat as Auckland University crumbled to just 120 runs.
The total was no obstacle for the Llamas, chasing it down with six wickets and almost half their innings remaining.
Auckland Hearts domestic player Skye Bowden scored an unbeaten 58 runs off 52 balls and the women secured third place of the Prichard Cup limited overs competition.
It was Lachie Stackpole however that had the best weekend for HPCC, scoring 150 for the club’s premier reserve side and steering them to a first innings win against Takapuna after chasing down 268.
Next week, the Times will take a look back at HPCC’S 2022/23 season and rank our top 10 moments.
Premier Cricket Results
Premier Men Hedley Howarth Two-Day Competition | Round 7
Parnell 226/9 (R Clinton 77, J Plummer 68; W Clarke 7-85) won first innings against North Shore 161 (J Moore 50; A Parikh 4-23).
Eden Roskill 156 (S Desai 51; A Ashok 4-23) & 151/3 (A Bhardwaj 64; D Watson 2-43) lost first innings against Suburbs-New Lynn 330/9-declared (M Barry 169; D Ratra 4-102).
Takapuna 236/8-declared (Q Sunde 55, G Harley 51; S Dixit 4-42) won outright against Cornwall 52 (M Guptill-Bunce 22; M Jones 6-22) & 114 (U Patel 43; P Ruffell 3-11).
Premier Men Tom Hellaby Two-Day Competition | Round 7
Howick Pakuranga 166 (B Walsh 68; S Gunawardane 3-35) & 99/4 (L Winn 40 not out; A Ridley 3-29) won first innings against Grafton 108 (S Gunawardane 29; Fill-In 3-9, C Thompson 3-29).
Kumeu 316 (A Christian 152; S Edkins 5-57) won first innings against Ellerslie 201 (D Kharel 43; K Ahir 4-65).
Hibiscus Coast 245 (T Mcgladdery 83, U Ranaraja 60; A Jayampathi 3-65) won first innings against Birkenhead City 187 (A Jayampathi 59; U Ranaraja 3-26).
East Coast Bays 363/7-declared (R Harrison 75, L Watson 72; Q Downie 4-87) won outright against Waitakere 153 (A Kaundal 36; L Delport 3-63) & 77 (A Kaundal 38; L Delport 3-38).
Barfoot and Thompson Royal Oak Premier Women Prichard Cup Limited Over Competition | FINALS
First & Second place playoff- Cornwall 153 (S Carnachan 40; T Hurley 3-33) lost to Takapuna 154/5 (L Down 63 not out; A Hucker 1-32) by five wickets.
Third & Fourth place playoff- Auckland University 120 (J Prasad 39 not out; J Penfold 5-28) lost to Howick Pakuranga 121/4 (S Bowden 58 not out; S Court 2-15) by six wickets.
Fifth & Sixth place playoff- Papatoetoe 95 (J Veale 20; R Jaswal 6-7) lost to Parnell 97/4 (C Pedersen 31; J Veale 2-19) by six wickets.
