Historic shield cricket clash nears
Paraparaumu Cricket Club face Levin Old Boys
Horowhenua-Kapiti club cricket’s most historic trophy is up for grabs again this weekend in what will be the 113th edition of the Hugh Hall Shield.
The two-day senior club cricket final between Paraparaumu Cricket Club and Levin Old Boys is being played at Kena Kena Park, by virtue of Paraparaumu finishing top qualifier.
In the lead-up to the final, Paraparaumu secured an outright win against Weraroa, a first-innings win against Levin Old Boys, and a draw with Kapiti Old Boys last weekend.
Paraparaumu last won the shield in the 2020/21 season, defeating Levin Old Boys at Donnelly Park. This season has seen a change of leadership in their group with Jake Ross taking over as head coach and Dale McNamara taking the reigns as captain.
McNamara and wicketkeeper Charlie Morrison-Gardiner have played key roles in their side getting a shot at the shield.
McNamara is the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 11 including a brilliant 6-16 against Weraroa, while 17-year-old Morrison-Gardiner has been similarly brilliant with the bat and is the second on the competition batting leaderboard, averaging an impressive 63.5 in what has been a breakout season.
That form has earned Morrison-Gardiner a spot in the Horowhenua-Kapiti under-17 representative team to go to the Central Districts tournament next week.
For Levin Old Boys, it is yet another shot at a senior club trophy. They have been a powerhouse of the current era, contesting the last six Hugh Hall finals, winning three of them.
But to triumph this weekend they’ll have to shrug a monkey off their back - they have been beaten finalists the last three years. And they are possibly lucky to be there.
LOB had to survive a tussle with arch-rivals Weraroa last weekend, eventually winning the match and pipping them by just two points on the competition points ladder to make it to the big dance, and will again look to their class batsmen at the middle order who have struck form.
Matthew Good is coming off a fine 112 against Weraroa last weekend while Dion Sanson smashed his way to 86 last week too and is the competition‘s leading runscorer with a total of 154 from three innings at an average of 77.
Both players have represented Horowhenua Kapiti at senior level for many years. Sanson holds the record at Levin Old Boys for most Senior A centuries, while Good has managed to score at least one century each of the last four seasons.