Cricket: Taranaki need to keep rocking and rolling

Having secured two first innings wins and 24 points Whitaker Civil Engineering Taranaki will be going all out to grab another big bag of points against Wairarapa in Masterton this weekend. 

On the picturesque Queen Elizabeth Park with short boundaries square and a pitch set up for runs, the goal will be to secure maximum bonus points and a first innings win. An outright win would be a bonus.

Three seasons back Wairarapa picked up first innings points, but most recently Taranaki have held the upper hand, making totals over 300 and bowling Wairarapa out in the early 200s. More of the same will be the plan for sure.

There are a couple of changes to the Taranaki lineup with the biggie of them all being the unavailability of heavyweight batsman Dean Robinson, now the father of two. 

Speedster Chris Logan has also been omitted, suffering from shin splints, so not at 100% to race in and power down a stream of deliveries.

Replacing Robinson at the start of the innings is Josh Borrell, previously with a score of 46 under his belt against Hawkes Bay, and in for Logan is Jacob Leuthard-Richards, fresh off a winning captains knock for the Taranaki development team against Manawatu. Leuthard-Richards inclusion will give even greater batting depth to a side already packed with talent.

Coach Chris Coombe has named the following 12: Sam Fastier © [NPMU], Rupert Young [NPOB], Josh Borrell [NPOB], Baillie Wisnewski [Inglewood], Liam Muggeridge [Stratford], Trent McGrath [Hawera], Jacob Leuthard-Richards [NPMU], Mattie Thomas [NPOB], Ryan Watson [NPMU], Jordan Gard (VC) [NPOB], John Beale [Stratford], Liam Carr [NPOB].

The leading batsman after two games is Wisnewski with a total of 126 runs, a highest score of 97, and an average of 42, with the most consistent, and close behind, Muggeridge with 98 runs at 32.6.  Young has totaled 84 runs at 28 and McGrath has a 50 in his two innings. Gard is averaging 43 with only one out, and Borrell will want to go bigger than his previous 46.

At least two batsmen need to go big, real big, and enjoy the QE2 track. It is a short season, so success needs to come right now.

Gard is the leading wicket taker with seven at an average of 18, followed closely by Beale and Watson on six each.

Gard is Mr. Consistent, Watson is the bouncy, blasting, paceman, and Beale is the swinging, seaming, trickster. Together, they have a big job this weekend.

Spinners Thomas, Carr and McGrath have two wickets each, and need to step up on a good batting track if Taranaki are to return on Sunday evening with the sought after 13 points.

Thomas is the leading wicket taker for any Taranaki spinner since 1894, and with 83 games beside his name he can be asked to step up and strike the crucial blows.

Carr is the flighty, drifty, crafty customer, who is growing with each game, whilst backing them up is the experienced McGrath, a bowler who can outthink and outclass many batsmen.

This is a team, led by Fastier, that is growing in stature, and can be relied upon to put in a maximum effort. The squad will be heading south on Friday with this mind.

* Taranaki cricketer no 422 Ross Crafty Crow will be on hand at QE2 on Saturday morning to present cap no 684 to Leuthard-Richards who is having his first game since 2018.

Crow represented Taranaki in 40 games between 1968 and 1981 and was a very handy all-rounder. His role in defending the Hawke Cup from 1971-74 cannot be understated with three match saving innings in those clashes, his best being a 69 not out batting at number eight, when he took the game away from Nelson and turned their smiles into faces of desperation.

He also managed 28 wickets at a lowly average of 18.46 which included two bags of five, and grabbed 32 catches, almost at one per game.

Most of all though he was a ‘effervescent’ character and a great team man. Full of determination, energy and fun he was the true Taranaki cricketer.