The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Big guns to clash in first round shoot out
THERE will be a battle of the big guns in the preliminary round of the 2012 Jaidka Cup.
Bourne, who are seeking a hattrick of Jaidka Cup wins, will travel to Bretton Gate to tackle Peterborough Town, the winners in 2009, on Wednesday, May 23.
It’s a draw that neither team will relish, but Town have gained a lot of confidence from their run to the quarter-finals of the National Twenty/20 competition last season, even if it did follow an early exit in the Jaidka Cup at the hands of Wisbech.
The Jaidka also employs most of the national Twenty/20 rules.
Town skipper Ajaz Akhtar said; “Apart from winning it three seasons ago, our record has not been the greatest in the Jaidka Cup in recent years.
“But we showed how good we can be at Twenty/20 cricket by winning the Northants title at the first attempt last season and by going all the way to the last eight in the country.
“We’ll take a lot of confidence from that even if we have probably received the hardest draw possible. The good thing is we are at home, but we will have to play very well to get past Bourne.
“We have a lot of positive history in the Jaidka. The Final is always one of the best nights on the local cricket calendar and we want to be involved.
“We’ll get a strong side out as all our players recognise that this one of the most important competitions we enter.”
Bourne beat Wisbech by six runs in a thrilling final last season and the teams could meet again in the quarter-finals if both win their preliminary round games.
Wisbech will host new entrants Ufford Park next Wednesday on the same night as the third preliminary round match between Yaxley and Barnack.
Eleven teams have entered the competition this season. That’s two more than last season as previous winners Khalsa have returned to the competition after a brief break.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for Wednesday, May 30. Castor against Nassington and Market Deeping against Newborough are the only two confirmed last-eight ties.
All profits for the Jaidka Cup go to a charity to be decided by the competition committee.