Another cricket season done and dusted
Another busy Mercury Bay cricket season has come to an end. We’ve checked in with Mercury Bay Cricket Club committee member, Rachel Smith, to see how the season went.
“We’ve had the Super Smash Hub six-week programme for Year 1 to 4 children in November/ December 2021 run by Jess McDonald, Nic Mahoney and Megan Williams which went really well,” Rachel told us. “This has been an annual activity for three years now.”
The club fielded only one junior team during the season. “Our Year 5/6 team, the Cooks, coached by Damon Mahoney and managed by Jess McDonald have had a great season with fantastic improvement and statistics,” said Rachel. “Prizegiving was on 14 April. Most Improved went to Eli Whiting, Most Valuable to Marlon Stanley and Best Team Spirit to Wills McGovern.
Mercury Bay Cricket Club president, Rob Corkill, ran a series of highly successful Year 3/4 team training sessions building on the basic skills those who participated learnt at the Super Smash Hub programme. The sessions took place on Thursday afternoons for seven weeks during February and March.
One club player, Leo Ramage, can celebrate another very successful season. As the club did not have enough players to field a Year 7/8 team, Leo was offered a spot in the Thames Exploders team, which he joined partway into the season. “Travelling to Thames from Mercury Bay for weekly trainings and playing games as far afield as Matamata and Morrinsville was a big commitment,” said Rachel. “Leo came away from prizegiving with the Thames Exploders Player of the Year award. He was also selected to represent Thames Valley at the annual Riverbend Cricket Tournament in Hastings that was held in January, where the young cricketers play and stay for five days. In addition, Leo also played alongside older Mercury Bay Area School students in the Mercury Bay twilight cricket competition, where he played against other community teams.”
The twilight competition on Monday nights, organised by club member, Ryan Eccles, was highly successful. “The senior community teams welcomed a young team of MBAS students into the competition with open arms,” said Rachel “With nine teams of eight players facing off in 16-over games, Monday nights were quite busy at the Mercury Bay Multisport Park.”
The competition final was a tense affair with a super over in the fading light. The “Squashies” ultimately scraped through with the win.
“The 2 extra artificial pitches installed in February have already been a great asset to the Multisport Park and our club,” said Rachel.
The senior club team, the Barracudas, organised by Rob Corkill, have had a challenging season. They played five games in the 30-over competition against the Thames Detonators, Morrinsville, the Thames Dynamites, Whangamatā and Tairua, and came away with one win against Whangamatā.
“Our new season starts in October,” said Rachel. “We’re looking forward to a bigger and better season with more teams and volunteers.”
Pictured: Mercury Bay Area School student and Year 7/8 cricket player, Leo Ramage, was not only the Thames Exploders’ Player of the Year, he also represented Thames Valley at the annual Riverbend Cricket Tournament in Hastings.