Success for Sockburn

Press, 20 July 1984, Page 17

Success for Sockburn

The strength of Christchurch indoor cricket, or, more specifically, the Sockburn centre, was amply illustrated at the recent inaugural New Zealand tournament, held in Auckland.

Not only did Sockburn, which was competing as the outstanding South Island team, win the tournament, but there were five South Island players named in the squad to compete in a ?100,00Q-sponsored tournament in Sydney, starting on August 3. Eight teams took part in the Auckland event, Auckland, Wanganui, Wellington, North Auckland — including Brendon Bracewell — Woollongong, from Australia, Sockbum, Johnston’s centre, also from Christchurch, and a New Zealand invitation side, which included the national representatives, Trevor Franklin, Martin Snedden, John Bracewell and Warren Stott.

Sockburn opened its pro-

gramme with a slender onerun win over Wooliongong, lost by seven runs to North Auckland, but hammered Wanganui by 125 runs.

Having qualified for the semi-finals, it beat Auckland, 91 runs to 44, and then met North Auckland, victor over the New Zealand invitation team in the other semi-final. In the final, Sockburn scored 81, which proved too much for North Auckland, which managed 63, giving Sockburn the Challenge Shield. The Shield will be played for, as the name implies, on a challenge basis, similar to the Ranfurly Shield, and indeed it did not take long for the requests for matches to come in. Auckland will be the first to challenge later this year, in Christchurch.

The player of the tournament was Andrew Hintz, who plays, outdoors, for Burnside-West University in the summer. Hintz, and his

team-mates, Stu Anderson, Jon Bierwirth and John Porter, won inclusion in the New Zealand team while Garry Gardiner, from the Johnston’s team and the Sydenham club, was chosen as the reserve, for the squad of 10. Two Aucklanders were chosen, along with three players from North Auckland and Kevin Marshall, who played for Wellington last summer, and has spent time in Christchurch with the High School Old Boys club. The New Zealand team will take part in the tournament along with the Australian state sides and, on August 5, will play Australia in the first indoor “test.”

The rapidly-growing popularity of indoor cricket will also receive a boost in September when the Australian team will make a tour of New Zealand, including three further “test” matches, in Auckland, Wellington and Nelson.