By Jim Allnatt
It took a while but after going undefeated the whole year, Cockle Bay Primary School’s 1st Xl emerged as Auckland Primary School Cricket Champions in the final at Eden Park last week.
To get that far, first the lads had to win the Howick Pakuranga Schools Tournament in April which they did by beating a strong Mellons Bay team in the final in April.
The side practised twice a week under the keen eye of coach Michael Greenwood, himself a senior player with Howick Pakuranga. Then it was on to the regional finals where the boys played all the other group winners at the home of Auckland cricket, Eden Park, which was a big thrill for them.
Cockle Bay won all five round robin matches and prevailed over Campbells Bay in the final by 10 runs. According to Captain Spencer Carr, “It was a tough tournament all round but we had fun all day enjoying the cricket games and were excited to be first in Auckland.”
The tournament was played on an 8-a-side basis with a 16 over format. Coach Greenwood says,”We’ve got a group of very talented boys here who will go a long way in cricket. Most of them are already playing in the Year 6 representative teams for Howick Pakuranga.”
