After last season’s shock results and gripping dramas, the historic Hawke Cup challenge series is ready to capture provincial hearts all over again.
Hawke Cup cricket springs back into life this Auckland Anniversary weekend at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval — headquarters of current Cup holders Bay of Plenty.
The three-day match begins Saturday morning against challengers Counties Manukau, who won the right to a challenge by claiming supremacy within the northernmost provincial Zone One.
One of the oldest sporting trophies in New Zealand and the icon of Minor Association cricket competition in New Zealand, the Hawke Cup was presented by Lord Hawke in 1910.
Bay of Plenty’s first ever representative match was, in fact, a Hawke Cup challenge against what was then called South Auckland, in Hamilton in 1932. Since then, BOP has played in a further 27 Hawke Cup challenges, winning or defending the Cup on 12 occasions and chalking up a notable golden run of five wins on the bounce between January 2013 and February 2014 with successful defences against Manawatu, Canterbury Country, South Canterbury and Hamilton.
That side contained several current Northern Districts players including Brett Hampton, Bharat Popli and Joe Carter, and remains captained by Peter Drysdale.
The hosts then went on to another vintage summer last season, having won both ND’s intra-provincial Fergus Hickey Rosebowl and Brian Dunning Trophy before going on to bring the Hawke Cup back to the Bay after defeating Zone 2’s Hawke’s Bay in the last challenge of a riveting 2015/16 Hawke Cup season.
This season, however, Counties Manukau became the Brian Dunning champions for the first time in five years, propelled by Northern Districts rep Nick Kelly’s 39 before an unbeaten 75 from Ash Vodnala and racy 48 from Ollie Pringle as they chased down against Bay of Plenty’s 193 with four wickets in hand.
The winner of the impending battle at the Mount will then host a challenge from Zone Two (the challenger yet to be determined) starting on 10 February. To win the Hawke Cup, challengers must beat the holders on their home ground.
2016/17 Hawke Cup Challenge dates
Livescoring of all games at www.blackcaps.co.nz from 10.30am
