Cricket: Life membership for centurion
Thursday, Oct 24 2024
Ryans Evans
Former Taranaki centurion and Hawke Cup-winning captain Ian Snook has been awarded life membership of the Taranaki Cricket Association for his contribution to the game.
At the association’s 129th AGM this week, Snook became the 24th recipient of the honour.
Fellow Life Member Kerry O’Neill presented the award and said it was richly deserved for a man who had spent a lifetime giving to the game as a player, coach, administrator and volunteer.
Snook played in 103 matches for Taranaki, including 72 as captain, enjoying a better than 70 per cent success rate in the role. His debut came in the 1967/68 season while still a pupil at Stratford High School, with his final match was more than two decades later in the 1988/89 season. He won the Hawke Cup twice with Taranaki in that time and won it on a further occasion, while playing for Wairarapa from 1976-79.
He played 62 games for Central Districts, with 30 of those as captain.
Snook paid tribute to his Dad, who had introduced him to a love of cricket at an early age, and said it was a passion that had never left him.
“From the age of six he took me with him every Saturday to his games in Dunedin. By the time I was nine I was fielding occasionally if a player had to leave early.”
Snook said the game had been kind to him since his arrival in Taranaki aged 14.
His Taranaki playing career included spells with Stratford High School, Eltham Cricket Club, and as a player-coach at Stratford Cricket Club, and the New Plymouth Cricket Club.
There were also additional roles on committees with the Southern Division association and Eltham.
Following his playing career, Snook has served as a coach, a match manager at Pukekura Park matches, and was a TCA Board director for three years.
He continues his work in the game as a consultant with the Whitaker Civil Taranaki Men’s Furlong Cup team this year and is leading a project around connecting the current squad with the proud history of Taranaki Cricket, and bringing together former Taranaki players as part of that.
“Of all my sporting involvement, playing and coaching rugby in nine different countries, and playing and coaching cricket which included a season in England, my favourite memories are associated with playing cricket for Taranaki,” he said.
“Some of my closest friends like Ali (Jordan) and Gary (Robertson) were met when I played with them for Taranaki. These are friends for life.
“It is a privilege to become a Life Member, and thank you to everyone from 1967 onwards who has played a part in me achieving this award.”
New chairperson for TCA
Taranaki Cricket has a new Board Chair with Russell Dempster elected to the position following TCA’s 129th AGM this week (Monday, October 21).
Dempster, the chief executive of Energy City Motors replaces the outgoing John McElroy who stepped down after eight years on the board, including six as Chair.
McElroy departs having overseen significant organisational change including the move to a governance-focussed board structure and the transition to a new management team and organisational structure.
Dempster said he was pleased and honoured to become the Board Chair.
“Taranaki cricket has been a big part of my life as a player and at administration level, so it’s nice to keep giving back to the game and keep the game of cricket strong in the regions,” he said.
“I would also like to recognise the contribution John McElroy has made to Taranaki Cricket over the last eight years.
“The behind the scenes stuff John did for Taranaki Cricket has been a real strength and part of a massive contribution he has made.”
At the AGM, General Manager Ryan Evans said McElroy would leave a big pair of shoes to fill.
“John has been a huge contributor to Taranaki Cricket and has put a lot of time and passion into the game in our district,” he said.
“Now I’m looking forward to working more closely with Russell, who has a huge knowledge of the game and is well-respected within the Taranaki, Central Districts and national cricket communities.”
Dempster played 59 matches as a spin bowler for Taranaki between 1992 and 1999 and was part of the highly successful sides that won and held the Hawke Cup in 1992/93 and again in 1994/95.
Dempster has served as TCA Chair previously, from 2006/07 before transferring to Central Hawkes Bay with work and also as a director on the CD Cricket board from 2009/2016.
Meanwhile the association posted an operating surplus of $4,956 for the year, which Evans said was a very pleasing result considering the high inflation environment and recessionary conditions.
It came on the back of a big boost in revenue, which Evans put down to a more strategic and targeted focus on income streams, and which allowed the organisation to both absorb increased costs and invest more in its cricket programmes.
The organisation’s overall financial position remained stable, with assets of $306,000 including cash and investments of $283,000.
Highlights of the season included the unprecedented efforts of the boys’ junior representative teams, with both the Year 9/10 boys and 11/12 boys CD trophies secured for the first time ever in the same year.
Evans also noted the performance of Dean Robinson, who surpassed Brian Richards to became Taranaki’s leading all time run scorer and the first to reach the 5000-run milestone, finishing the season on 5108 runs.
The NPDC decision to not fund a revamped Pukekura Park pavilion, and the subsequent loss of Super Smash matches for the coming season was the biggest disappointment of the year, Evans said.
“We’re lucky that Central Districts remain committed to bringing the Stags and Hinds to Taranaki, and with seven games scheduled this year, that will help us offset the loss of the Super Smash games.
“But we can’t take the continued scheduling of these games at Pukekura park for granted. The ground still has a number of challenges which we need to keep working hard to overcome to continue bringing top domestic teams here each summer.”
Evans said it was back to the drawing board in terms of future options for the Bellringer Pavilion, but Taranaki Cricket was continuing to work on what the next steps might look like and remained committed to restoring the park’s status as one of the world’s best boutique cricket venues.