Manukau on top at cricket awards
Two Manukau City club mates have been named the Northern Districts Cricket Association’s best young cricketers.
Brooke Halliday, 21, a left-hand bat and right-arm medium pacer was named the association’s best young female and Sandeep Patel, 19, a top-order batsman and handy part-time bowler, the best young male.
They were named at the association’s annual dinner where Counties Manukau players and officials were front and centre of the awards night on March 6.
Halliday, who plays for the Manukau men’s senior A team is the sister of Jarrod and Cullen who both play in the club’s premiers. Their father is Ross Halliday, the brother of club president Michael.
Brooke’s performances for the Northern Spirits, the Northern Districts under-21 side which she captains, cemented her win.
She was the Spirit’s top run scorer in the twenty/20 competition and the second highest run scorer in the one day competition. Her seven catches were the most taken by anyone in the side.
The award comes on the heels of her winning female cricketer of the year award at New Zealand Cricket’s domestic cricketer of the year awards last October.
‘‘I’m surprised but honoured by the award,’’ she says.
Patel is one of the best young of prospects for Counties Manukau and Northern Districts.
His performances for Counties Manukau saw him selected for the Northern Districts under-19s from where he went on to play for the New Zealand under-19s.
The former St Kentigern College 1st XI captain was College Sport’s cricketer of the year last year.
Glenn Schache, who is better known as Magoo, collected the service to cricket trophy for his 30 years of voluntary work as an umpire, scorer and statistician for the Counties Manukau Cricket Association while John Dempsey, Counties Manukau’s nationally ranked umpire, took the Northern Districts umpire of the year award for the third time in four years.
The Brian Dunning Cup, the symbol of district one day cricket supremacy was also presented. It was collected on behalf the Counties Manukau senior men’s team by Nick Kelly.
Kelly players for Manukau when he is not playing representative cricket and so too did Schache in her younger days.