Maintaining momentum is the key

Whitaker Civil Engineering Taranaki Men travel to Levin this weekend where they will be going all-out for another powerful performance to put them in a strong position to win the Furlong Cup, and along with that, a Hawke Cup challenge at the end of January.

Three belting performances so far, with first innings wins against Hawkes Bay and Whanganui, followed by an outright win against Wairarapa, has them sitting just below Manawatu on the table.

This weekend Taranaki are matched against Horowhenua-Kapiti in a game where they will start as the favourites, whilst Manawatu have a big challenge against Hawkes Bay. The weekend’s results will decide whether Taranaki go into the last round against Manawatu with a slight lead on points, or whether they will be chasing hard, starting from behind.

Everything points to requiring a concentrated and enthusiastic performance.

Coach Chris Coombe has had plenty to ponder in naming his side. The main talking points are the withdrawal of skipper Sam Fastier, who has come down with an illness late in the week, and the inclusion of a fit-again all-rounder Ben Frewin.

Fastier has been at the helm of a very successful campaign to date, leading with assurance and cleverness, whilst at his best Frewin can be a match-winner with both bat and ball. He will be using his return from injury to utilize this opportunity, and propel himself into being an automatic pick.

After missing the previous game, Taranaki’s finest batsman Dean Robinson, slips back in for the injured Josh Borrell. Robinson will be searching for a ‘big’ innings to get back into stride in rep colours, and is in good nick coming off a club innings of 69 last weekend.

Horowhenua-Kapiti are sitting just above Wairarapa at the tail of the ladder, whilst recent Taranaki performances have seen them achieve positive results against HK, without being able to put them fully to the sword, with an outright win.

There will be much interest on how the new leadership team take things forward, with a young Jordan Gard making the big calls. This is something he is getting used to, captaining both NPOB and the Central Districts Development side earlier in the season.

The aggressively minded Ryan Watson is his back-up man. Always a fierce competitor with both bat and ball, Watson can be assured of making some decisive calls.

Last season Gard and Thomas grabbed a bagful of wickets, whilst Wisnewski hit 86 and Muggeridge followed up his 58 the previous season with 62 last year.

With Wisnewski already having a 97 under his belt this season, and Muggeridge looking promising, without going on for the big score, they will be two to watch.

There have been three Honours Board performances in 2024/25; from McGrath (106), Beale a six-for and Carr a seven-for, and with only two more Furlong Trophy games guaranteed, the rest will be climbing all over each other to be the next on the board.

Currently, Wisnewski sits atop the run scoring chart with 187, followed by McGrath with 163 and Young 115.

Top of the bowling chart is the hustling, bustling, Gard with 12 wickets. Carr has 10 and Watson sits on 8.

The challenge is set. Let’s hope for a boomer!

The former Taranaki player Murray Brown, selected initially whilst at Inglewood High School in 1963, will be on board for Ben Frewin’s cap presentation prior to the start of the game on Saturday.

Brown, who resides in Palmerston North, played a lot of provincial cricket, mainly for Manawatu, where he stayed in the game as an administrator, and these days is co-writer of The History of the Hawke Cup.

A lover of cricket and sport in general, he also played and captained Manawatu at rugby.

Full competition details including the points table and live scoring of the weekend’s games can be found here at Play HQ