Vet takes 400th wicket
With 400 scalps already on his belt, Cornwall’s Jono Hall sees no reason to ease off
Veteran off spinner Jono Hall reckons there’s five more years of premier club cricket left in him with his Cornwall side.
Nobody would argue with Hall. As the owner of Nfinite Fitness and Health in Napier, where he works as a personal trainer, Hall would have a pretty good take on where his 35-year-old body is at.
But regardless of how many more seasons Hall has with the Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall team, there’s unlikely to be a more memorable day than the one experienced at the club’s picturesque Hastings headquarters a couple of Saturdays ago.
In front of a packed pavilion, after other games had finished at the venue, Hall claimed his 400th wicket for the team during a win over The Station Napier Old Boys Marist.
“It was a pretty special day. All of the boys from one of our other senior teams were up in the pavilion and it was one of four wickets I took that day,” said Hall, who is in his 16th
season with the side.
His 400 surpasses the previous club record of 396 set by Des Rihia more than a decade ago.
However the former Hawke’s Bay rep player and old boy of St John’s College doesn’t consider that 400th wicket the highlight of his cricket career.
“Every wicket you take is a highlight. But if I had to single some highlights out, it would be playing in two winning one-day final teams. I took four wickets in each of them,” Hall recalled.
While there was plenty of elation in the Cornwall camp on the day of Hall’s 400th, their post-match gathering was a lot quieter after Saturday’s loss to Reynard Health Supplies Have- lock North at Anderson Park.
Although Hall, a father of one, added two more wickets to his club record in the loss, he said Cornwall didn’t play well as a team. Despite the contrasting displays on consecutive weekends, Hall likes what he sees in this season’s team.
“There is good potential and a good mix of youth and experience ... we should be able to put in some good performances.”
Havelock North beat Cornwall by 84 runs. Hawke’s Bay representatives Graeme Tryon and Will Clark each scored 58 for Havelock North as they posted 185 in the MJF Shrimpton Memorial Cup 50-over clash.
Graeme McCarter was the best of the Cornwall batsmen with 30 runs. Saturday’s other premier tussles saw Innovate Electrical Napier Technical score a Duckworth-Lewis method win over You Travel Taradale and Ruahine Motors Central beat Napier Old Boys Marist by seven wickets.
Pay Excellence Hawke’s Bay senior men’s cricket team coach Dave Castle was pleased with his side’s 105-run victory over Manawatu in their 50-over rep fixture at Napier’s Nelson Park on Sunday.
“There was pretty good application and improvement in the areas we wanted,” Castle said, referring to the focus and decision-making in the batting department.
Bullish Napier Technical batsman Todd Watson top scored for the Bay with 53 runs as the hosts posted 234/8. It was his first 50 for the side.
Technically astute clubmate Matt Edmondson scored 43 for a team well captained by Cornwall’s Jacob Smith.
Castle said his bowlers were clinical and singled out Napier Technical spinner Jayden Lennox, Central spinner Angus Schaw and Cornwall paceman Liam Dudding for their contributions.
Hawke’s Bay will host Whanganui at Nelson Park this weekend in a twoday Furlong Cup fixture. Manawatu hold the Furlong Cup.
Every wicket you take is a highlight.
Jono Hall