Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club (HPCC) has had somewhat of a magical weekend with the premier men eyeing up a likely first innings win and the women storming to a 144-run victory.
Liam Winn has put the HPCC premier men into a strong position after the first day of their two-day fixture against Ellerslie, scoring 84 runs and helping the side to 222 all out.
Howick Pakuranga’s only weakness came in the form of Ellerslie spinner Akshay Sreenivasan who took seven of their ten wickets, finishing with figures of 7-71.
HP’s heroics continued with the ball with Azharudin Lambat and Connah Thompson taking two quick wickets in the first two overs of the innings without a single run on the board.
Two more wickets fell before the end of the day’s play, Ellerslie finishing with 60 runs for the loss of four wickets.
HPCC require six more wickets for a first innings win and Ellerslie trail by 162 runs.
With only three weeks remaining in a cricket regular season ravaged by wet weather and cancellations; the premier men are looking to finish high on the table – currently sitting in third place.
The return of the HPCC premier women’s domestic players have boosted the already impressive side which stormed to a 144-run victory over local rivals Papatoetoe on Saturday.
After losing the toss and being sent into bat, the women made the most of Auckland’s sunshine, putting on a clinic of premier batting.
Opening batter and Northern Districts domestic plater, Holly Topp, fired with the bat from ball one, scoring a quick 65 runs, inclusive of 11 fours, before being dismissed.
One of the premier women’s many Auckland Hearts domestic batters, Amberly Parr, carried on from Topp’s innings, scoring an unbeaten 79 runs off 95 balls.
The Llama’s (HPCC Premier women) tail wagged through the likes of usual spin-bowling standout Ayaan Lambat, who scored an unbeaten 33 not out.
The women fought their way to a total of 315 runs with two wickets to spare off their 50 overs.
This is the biggest run total that the Llamas have put on for the 2022/23 cricket season, overtaking their previous score of 299 against Auckland University in November last year.
With a total of that amount, the premier women shared the second innings around. Eight of the 11 players getting a turn rolling their arm over with the ball.
Josie Penfold had the final say, taking Papatoetoe’s last wicket in the 41st over and dismissing them for 171, 144 runs short of the target.
It was Mansimran Kaur, however, who played the biggest role in HP’s bowling efforts, taking four wickets for 33 runs.
The women will face table topping Takapuna District on Saturday in the hopes of making the finals of the Prichard Cup limited overs competition to accompany their Pearl Dawson T20 final on March 15.
Premier Cricket Results
Premier Men Hedley Howarth Two-Day Competition | Round 6
Eden Roskill 219 (H Chakraborty 78; N Perera 6-76) against Parnell 196/7 (F McGregor-Sumpter 86 not out; S Safi 3-27) after day one of two.
Auckland University 150 (A Olliver 66; J Sussex 5-39, D James 4-56) and 31/0 (A Prasad 21 not out) won first innings against Takapuna 144 (M Sclanders 47; K Mackenzie 4-13) after day one of two.
Papatoetoe 84 (Private 36; T Chitongo 4-34) and 35/0 (B Rowland 31 not out) lost first innings against North Shore 200 (M Olsen 49; Private 3-35) after day one of two.
Premier Men Tom Hellaby Two-Day Competition | Round 6
Howick Pakuranga 222 (L Winn 84; A Sreenivasan 7-71) against Ellerslie 60/4 (H Drillien 38; C Thompson 2-10) after day one of two.
Kumeu 175 (S Jean 52; L Delport 5-69) and 27/0 (S Jaan 16 not out) lost first innings against East Coast Bays 222/5 declared (C Briggs 105, R Harrison 53; J Crichton 2-54) after day one of two.
Hibiscus Coast 153 (R Lakmal 82; T Bayly 3-28) lost first innings against Grafton 168/6 (D Taylor 77, R Sandhu 43 not out; D Kularathne 3-55) after day one of two.
Birkenhead City 259 (J Newman 66 not out, A Jayampathi 58; S Variath 3-91) against Waitakere 57/3 (Private 15 not out; M Masand 3-13) after day one of two.
Barfoot and Thompson Royal Oak Premier Women Prichard Cup Limited Over Competition | Round 8
Howick Pakuranga 315/8 (A Parr 79 not out, H Topp 65; M Templeton 3-25) defeated Papatoetoe 171 (Private 26; M Kaur 4-33) by 144 runs.
Cornwall 188 (K Perkins 51; K Irwin 3-23) defeated Takapuna 124 (I Gaze 83; I O’Connell 3-6) by 64 runs.
Auckland University 136 (N Matthews 39; Y Kareem 3-11) defeated Parnell 105 (Fill-In 41; E McKenna 2-9) by 31 runs.
Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club Upcoming Fixtures
Round 6, Day 2 Tom Hellaby Two-Day Competition- Howick Pakuranga Premier Men VS Ellerslie CC Premier Men at Lloyd Elsmore Park- Saturday March 11, 11am.
Round 9 Prichard Cup Limited Over Competition- Howick Pakuranga Premier Women VS Takapuna CC Premier Women at Lloyd Elsmore Park- Saturday March 11, 11am.
