Cricket runs in family
Te Tomo duo are pride of Levin Old Boys’ win
There might be 31 years between them, but it was a proud moment for father and son who took the field for Levin Old Boys against Paraparaumu in the Horowhenua-Kāpiti and Coastal Cup cricket final at Donnelly Park at the weekend.
Bailey Te Tomo, 22, was a mainstay of the victorious LOB team. But his father Riki Te Tomo, 53, only got the call up for the big dance due to last minute defections that had the club searching its ranks for a wicketkeeper/batsman.
Te Tomo snr had only played reserve grade intermittently this season and only got the warning midweek to iron his whites, and to pack his wicket-keeping gear, too.
Paraparaumu batted first and were all out for 118. Both Te Tomos took catches in the match, from the bowling of Jesse Parker, with Te Tomo jnr fielding at point.
LOB passed the Paraparaumu total in the 21st over for the loss of four wickets, with Bailey scoring 20.
Te Tomo senior was a former Horowhenua rugby representative who played 54 games for the province between 1991 and 1998. He had always been a keen cricketer, though, a passion passed from father to son.
Their shared love of cricket had seen countless games in the backyard and Sunday net sessions at the local park. They had played for the same team in lower level club cricket years ago, but to play senior cricket together was something neither of them thought would happen again, never mind a final.
Te Tomo snr said he’d keep playing as long as he could, as long as the body held up and he was granted a bit of a rest the next day.
“I probably won’t be moving too
far from the couch tomorrow,” he said after the game.
It was the second Coastal Challenge 50-over title for Levin Old Boys and saw them maintain their unbeaten streak in 2022.
LOB’s captain Dion Sanson won the toss and chose to bowl. Paraparaumu, who had won the Coastal Cup three times in its seven-year history, got off to a flyer through openers Jordan Horrell (18) and Byron Gill (25) scoring at more than a run a ball.
Horrell and Gill were both removed by Curtis Maclaughlan in the seventh and ninth over respectively, and they lost their remaining nine wickets for 73 runs to be all out in the 28th over.
The chief destroyer for LOB was Jesse Parker with 4-30, while Daemon Kennett (1-49), Machlachlan (2-15), Jesse Parker (4-30), Liam Pinfold (2-18), and Fraser Bartholomew 1-5) shared the wickets around.
Levin lost early wickets but were never seriously troubled by the Paraparaumu bowlers, reaching their target in the 22nd over with Andrew Simpson (46 not out) and Ryan Taylor (23 not out) still at the crease.
The Coastal Challenge Cup was played between clubs from Horowhenua-Ka¯piti, Whanganui and Wairarapa. This season was dominated by HK clubs, who filled all four semifinal spots. It was also the first time in the seven-year history that a Whanganui club failed to reach the semifinals.
It capped off a good season for LOB after winning the Coastal Challenge Twenty20 competition late last year.
SCOREBOARD
Paraparaumu
Jordan Horrell c Liam Pinfold b Curtis Machlachlan 18
Byron Gill c Dion Sanson b Curtis Machlachlan 25
Sam O’Brien c & b Liam Pinfold14 J. Griffith c Ricki Te Tomo b Jesse Parker 2
AK Kumar c Bailey Te Tomo b Jesse Parker 7
D Reder c Liam Pinfold b Jesse Parker 4
N. Harvey not out 9
Josh Bohmer c Ryan Taylor b Jesse Parker0
KAMAL Patel c Ryan Taylor b Liam Pinfold 0
Prashant Modi c Ryan Taylor b FC Bartholomew 14
Jayden Keats lbw b Daemon Kennett4 Extras (w 19, nb 1, lb 1) 21 Total (10 wickets; 27.4 overs) 118 All Out 4.27 RPO
Bowling: Daemon Kennett 6.4 0 49 1. Curtis Machlachlan 6.0 0 15 2. Jesse Parker 8.0 1 30 4. Liam Pinfold 5.0 0 18 2. FC Bartholomew 2.0 0 5 1. Levin Old Boys
Dion Sanson b KAMAL Patel 12 Matthew Wilson c Jayden Keats b Josh Bohmer 5
Andrew Simpson not out 46 Bailey Te Tomo b D Reder 20 Ryan Taylor not out 23
Extras (w 11, nb 1, b 1, lb 1) 14 Total (3 wickets; 21.2 overs) 120 5.63 RPO
Bowling: Josh Bohmer 5.00 381. KAMAL Patel 9.2 0 34 1. D Reder 6.0 1 41 1. Jayden Keats 1.00 5 0.