Wellington club cricket One-Day Finals this Sunday

The 2010/11 Wilkinson Pearce Cup and Hazlett Trophy Wellington club cricket One-Day Finals are this Sunday, 6 February.

Top qualifier and defending champions Karori meet Hutt District in the Wilkinson Pearce Cup Final at Karori Park, while Upper Hutt host Johnsonville at Barton Oval in the Wilkinson Hazlett Trophy 50-0ver Final.

Simon Baker, captain of Karori, who last year went on to win the National Club title in Auckland over Easter, said the lure of winning the Wellington title this weekend and defending their national crown is a huge motivation for his team.

“We see this as a key game for the Karori Cricket Club, not only to win the Wellington One-Day title, but to also to give us the chance to defend our National title on behalf of Wellington at the club Nationals,” said Baker.

“Karori will have a strong side for this game, hopefully including Wellington Firebirds players Andy McKay, Harry Boam and Stephen Murdoch. Even so we've been working hard to develop breadth and depth in the Senior [second XI] squad and can select from a number of promising proven representative and premier club players.

“We are also looking forward to facing Hutt district who will likely field a quality side, and with individuals such as Chris Nevin, Fraser Colson, and Ian McPeake we’ll have to play well to beat them.”

The Pearce Cup Final is a re-match of 2008/09 that saw Hutt District beat Karori on the back of match winning innings by Chris Nevin and former Wellington Firebirds overseas professional player Graham Napier. Hutt District captain Fraser Colson played in that game and says his side is looking forward for the chance for repeat success:

"Fifty over cricket seems to suit the balance of our side the best out of all three formats and I think as a team it’s where we have the most belief. Winning the One-Day title and representing Wellington in the national finals would be a great stepping stone for our young side and would lead us in the right direction for not only the players but the club’s future also.

“Karori will have a strong side on paper but the confidence we took from beating them in this match two years ago at Karori Park, and still having the core group of players that played that game, gives us a lot of belief that we can do it again.”

Wilkinson Hazlett Trophy frontrunners Upper Hutt and Senior One-Day champions from two seasons ago Johnsonville are both upbeat about their chances said their captains Leighton Morgan and Scott Mudgway.

Upper Hutt skipper Morgan said his side is happy to wear the favourites tag:

“We are the only unbeaten team this season in the Hazlett Trophy so we go in to this game very confident. We’ve had a couple of good games versus Johnsonville this season and we are looking forward to another one this Sunday. Every title or trophy is significant and it would be great for the club, the supporters and not least the players to win this.

“We’ve got a number of guys who have performed well for us this year. Matt Taylor is a great talent who has scored heavily and we have the best opening bowling combination in the competition in Jason MacKenzie and Daniel Henderson.”

His Johnsonville counterpart Mudgway said victory would be timely with the club’s anniversary celebrations coming up:

“From the Johnsonville Cricket Club’s perspective our main focus is on winning the Hazlett Trophy in our 125th year. However it is nice to once again be in the One-Day final and a win over Upper would be extremely satisfying.

“All 12 players who will be in our squad have a very important role to play whether it be with the bat, ball or in the field and if all are at the top of their game then we have a great chance of winning the Senior One-Day title again.”

Match Information:

Wellington club cricket One-Day (50-0ver Finals)

Sunday 6 February, from 11.00am

Wilkinson Pearce Cup Final at Karori Park between Karori and Hutt District. Winner to represent Wellington in the National Club One-Day Finals in Auckland over Easter (Karori are defending National Champions).

Wilkinson Hazlett Trophy Final at Barton Oval, Trentham Memorial Park, between Upper Hutt and Johnsonville

The teams are (from):

Karori
Stephen Murdoch, Simon Baker, Neil Martin, Luke Scully, Charlie Gallagher, Charlie McLean, Hamish Templeton, Chris Spring, Andy McKay, Harry Boam, Tom Blundell, Harry Wright, Jarred Sewell, Fraser Quarterman, Lee Edwards, Marc Ellison, Fletcher TeAika

Hutt District
Andy Roberts, James Colson, Fraser Colson, Chris Nevin, Kieran Lennon, Darren Cudby , Tom Robertson, David Twigg, Andrew Hadley, Iain McPeake, Adam Barrett, Fergus Martin

Upper Hutt
Leighton Morgan, Daniel van der hayden, Llewy Davidson-Powell, Matt Taylor, Jason Mackenzie, Shane Brockelbank, Josh Stewart, Nick Press, Tom Pere, Daniel Henderson, Mike Billmore

Johnsonville
Scott Mudgway, Mark Pulley, Hareen Silva, Barry Rhodes, Gareth Powell, Kunal Kapadia, Andrew Stirrat, Ben Hilder, Rob Newson, Lawrence Sukhu, Callum Thornton, Ryan Isaac, David Hudson, David Castle

ENDS

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