Cricketers target Cup glory
Southland’s leading cricketers will finally get to challenge for the Hawke Cup, eight months after actually qualifying to play in the allimportant fixture.
Southland led the southern zone of the Hawke Cup competition towards the end of the 2021-2022 season when Covid19 brought its campaign to an abrupt halt.
It meant Southland’s challenge for the Hawke Cup was shifted to the start of the 2022-2023 season. Southland will now take on current holders Canterbury Country in Rangiora in a three-day fixture starting today.
The Hawke Cup is New Zealand Cricket’s symbol of supremacy for minor associations. Southland last won it in 2018 which ended a 26-year drought for the province.
Shaun Fitzgibbon, who was part of that champion 2018 team, is now the Southland coach.
He admits Southland has had less game time in the lead-up to such a big than would be ideal, however, Fitzgibbon added it was great to have a top-quality fixture kick-start its 2022-2023 campaign.
Southland has been training indoors for about two and half months and has also had two oneday hit outs against Otago under19 and won both of those games.
This week’s challenge fixture will mark the start of promising 16-year-old Nick Brown’s Hawke Cup career.
The Southland Boys’ High School first XI captain has made good strides in recent seasons and was now part of both the Otago under-17 and under-19 squads.
With Benji Culhane selected in the New Zealand Under-21 Black Sticks squad, and away with hockey commitments, Brown will be handed the wicketkeeping gloves against Canterbury Country.
‘‘Nick is there on merit and picked primarily as a ‘keeper and will do a good job. It is a good game for his first game,’’ Fitzgibbon said.
‘‘He’s a good kid, he’s got a level head, and he’s pretty calm.’’
Invercargill-Old Boys’ Blake Buttar-Scurr is another player set for his Hawke Cup debut.
‘‘He is quite an impressive player to be perfectly honest. He’s a good bowler, moves the ball and bowls in good areas, is a good fielder, and pretty handy with the bat too. So he’s a pretty handy addition to the squad.’’
Southland has a big hurdle in its attempt to again etch its name on the Hawke Cup which was first played for in 1910.
Canterbury Country beat Hawke’s Bay by an innings and 29 runs last weekend to claim the Hawke Cup from Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘They’ve always been one of the top sides in the South Island, and in New Zealand, for probably the last 10-15 years, maybe longer, so they are going to be tough up there.’’
Fitzgibbon felt there was little pressure on his team and the unique chance to challenge for the Hawke Cup right at the start of the season was almost a bonus.
‘‘If things don’t work out for us this weekend we come back and start our season again and if we do well enough we might get another opportunity [Hawke Cup challenge].’’
‘‘We’ve never really at the opportunity to go away as a team at the start of the season and play some good cricket . . . Obviously we want to win it but if that doesn’t work out.’’
The first ball is scheduled for 10.30am this morning.