Rain has once again been the deciding factor of club cricket over the weekend, with all Howick Pakuranga cricket matches being affected.
Howick Pakuranga’s (HPCC) premier men side got their T20 campaign off to a great start with a big win over local rivals Papatoetoe last Wednesday.
HPCC batted first and scored 120/4 off their 18 overs, as the match was reduced due to a late start because of weather.
Opener Bill Walsh (36 off 38 balls) and David Winn (37 off 32 balls) led the batting attack before HPCC bowlers made light work of their local rivals.
Papatoetoe were dismissed for 55 from 14.3 overs. Credit to an impressive bowling performance from Azharudin Lambat who took four wickets for only five runs.
Supporting performances from the leg spin duo of Harmeet Singh with 3/12 and Kimesh Chetty with 3/16 also proved to be important.
Singh has been selected to play for Auckland A this week along with the New Zealand Development XI. Over the past two summers he has played for the Auckland U19s team and is ranked one of the top spinners in Auckland.,
On Saturday, the strong HPCC premier men had a home game against East Coast Bays, which proved to be a day for bowling.
HPCC bowled first and dismissed East Coast Bays for 120 in 41 overs with impressive performances again from young players Lambat (4-21) and Singh (2-16) leading the way.
In reply, Howick Pakuranga were in trouble early, finding themselves losing four quick wickets with only 12 runs on the board.
HPCC began to stage a fight back before the infamous Auckland rain struck and the game was abandoned with no result.
The HPCC premier women also had a home fixture on Saturday against the strong Cornwall CC side.
HPCC won the toss and elected to bowl, restricting Cornwall to 167/8 from 49 overs, led by Auckland Hearts and former White Ferns player Katie Perkins who scored 102.
Despite Perkins’ dominant performance, strong bowling from HPCC’s Josie Penfold, Marama Downes and Lauren Ross saw no other batters make double figures.
In reply HPCC got off to a quick start and were 46/4 after 12 overs before the rain came and the remainder of the game was abandoned with no result.
On Sunday, HPCC was due to host a double header Premier Men’s T20 round playing Cornwall and Grafton at Lloyd Elsmore Park, however the day was abandoned due to the wet weather – a common theme this summer.
Only the premier men will see cricket this week with the premier women having a week off due to a domestic cricket round.
They will play Ellerslie in a mid-week T20 on Wednesday night at Michael’s Ave and will face Auckland University in a limited overs game at Lloyd Elsmore Park on Saturday.
This is also the final weekend of club cricket for 2022, before a break over Christmas and senior cricket recommencing on January 7.
Premier Men Jeff Crowe Cup Limited over Competition | Round 2
East Coast Bays 120 (R Schierhout 19; A Lambat 4-21, H Singh 2-16) against Howick Pakuranga 35/4 (A Morrison 13 not out; B Smith 3-7) was abandoned due to weather.
Suburbs New Lynn 210/5 (T Patel 90 not out, N Fletcher 46; R Quinn 2-36) against North Shore 16/0 (R Mudford 13 not out) was abandoned due to weather.
Auckland University 273/7 (J Todd 69, O Chakraborty 53; L Wheeler 3-54) against Cornwall 58/0 (A Nidamanuru 33 not out) was abandoned due to weather.
Takapuna District 208/6 (M Sclanders 88; D Van Deventer 2-28) against Parnell was abandoned due to weather.
Premier Men – Richard Jones Trophy Limited Over Competition | Round 2
Eden Roskill 29/3 (H Chakraborty 12 not out; D Kularathne 2-4) against Hibiscus Coast was abandoned due to weather.
Papatoetoe 216/5 (B Rowland 78, R Gill 50; J Newman 3-45) against Birkenhead City 66/2 (S Verma 30 not out; D Bhatti 2-12) was abandoned due to weather.
Waitakere 259/8 (P Pathiranage 119, A Kaundal 38; T Satti 3-37) against Kumeu 94/2 (T Satti 48; S Variath 1-16) was abandoned due to weather.
Ellerslie 185/9 (D Kharel 115; S Gunawardane 4-59) against Grafton was abandoned due to weather.
Barfoot and Thompson Royal Oak Premier Women Prichard Cup Limited Over Competition | Round 6
Cornwall 167/8 (K Perkins 102; L Ross 2-19, M Downes 2-33) against Howick Pakuranga 46/4 was abandoned due to weather.
Auckland University 135 (J Prasad 63; K Halliday 3-18, R Nicholas 2-13) against Takapuna District was abandoned due to weather.
Parnell against Papatoetoe was abandoned due to weather.
Premier Men- T20 Competition | Rounds 1-3
Wednesday, December 7- Howick Pakuranga 120/4 (D Winn 37, B Walsh 36; P Rehal 2-21) defeated Papatoetoe 55 (N Deol 14; A Lambat 4-5, H Singh 3-12) by 65 runs.
Sunday, December 11- Howick Pakuranga against Cornwall was abandoned due to rain.
Sunday, December 11- Howick Pakuranga against Grafton was abandoned due to rain.
Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club Upcoming Fixtures
Round 4, Premier Men T20 Competition- Howick Pakuranga Premier Men VS Ellerslie CC Premier Men at Michaels Avenue Reserve- Wednesday December 14, 5.30pm.
Round 3, Limited overs Jeff Crowe Cup- Howick Pakuranga Premier Men VS Auckland University Premier Men at Lloyd Elsmore Park- Saturday December 17, 11am
