Kerikeri Cricket Club seeks history details
The newly re-formed Kerikeri Cricket Club is seeking information about its history.
Manager Simon Hart says the re-establishment of the club comes after numbers for the Kerikeri High School 1st 11 have dwindled. Boys from age 14 through to adults are currently involved.
‘‘This was the only option to give the boys cricket, we have managed to get a team together but we are still looking for more players.’’
The team is yet to have a uniform but Hart says they want to feature the Kerikeri plough and the date the club was established.
‘‘It’s a traditional sport and we would like to keep links to the old club. We would love for it to get back to the glory days where the Kerikeri High School team and the Kerikeri Club had a great rivalry.
‘‘If we could claim to be the oldest in New Zealand that would be awesome, we don’t want to let that history die.’’
Hart has uncovered a newspaper’s match report from a game on January 2, 1897 between Totara and Kerikeri. He is hoping locals might be able to confirm when the club was officially established.
Hart says there are currently five Northland Secondary Schools representatives in the team and players may also have the chance to play alongside former Black Cap, Bruce ‘Bucko’ Martin.
He doesn’t want people to be discouraged by not having their own gear or not always being able to make trainings.
The club is currently fielding a team in the Northland Cricket Association Reserve Grade. Matches are played in Whangarei on Saturdays with Kerikeri also hosting a number of home games for the season which ends in March.
The home pitch for the club is currently at the high school, where training also takes place every Tuesday and Thursday from 4pm to 6pm. He says the club was last actively running around 10 to 12 years ago.
Anyone with information about the history of the club or who wants to join can email kerikericricket@gmail.com or visit Kerikeri Cricket Club on Facebook.