Local Colour

Please forgive a little self indulgence as I offer a salute to the end of summer, and the cricket season, in Taranaki. It will be many long months before the sun shines on another game of cricket at Pukekura Park but I know it will be worth the wait.

Local Boys

Time to get back to a little grassroots cricket before the season and the sun is gone.

Here we see the mighty Whoppa Watkins demonstrating the "crossover technique" while bowling for the NPHSOB prems.

Part player, part coach, part administrator, Whoppa manages not to confuse things in his delivery stride.

I guess it is all about focus.

Wedding Bells!

Not the greatest shot in the world but being there is everything.

Our favourite woman cricketer, Aimee Mason tied the knot yesterday with local Taranaki cricketing legend, Jamie "Whoppa" Watkins. It was a glittering occasion, despite Shilpa Shetty being otherwise committed, with a never ending supply of cricketing puns and jokes available to all those making a speech. The happy couple are pictured cutting the wedding cake, not adjusting their equipment as some have suggested.

7-4-PR

It is cast in stone - New Plymouth Old Boys won their record breaking 7th straight Taranaki Premier title on Sunday. Chasing Woodleigh's 248 NPOB amassed well over 400 and then left their opponents little time to do much of anything, so a first innings win to the good guys.

The Big Game

Forget about the Napier Test, the real Big Game this weekend will be the three day clash for the Taranaki Premier title at Pukekura Park.

The combatants will be the mighty New Plymouth Old Boys and the evil empire that is the Woodleigh cricket club. NPOB will be attempting to win the title for a record seventh consecutive time, but the title is most certainly not a forgone conclusion.

Pictured are two individuals who may both play important roles in the drama - Nicky "Tippa" Taylor, an occasional commentator on this humble blog, and The Phantom, umpire extraordinaire and bowler's nemesis.

We will keep you posted on how the drama develops.

Go The Old Boys

When you are getting beat, look for somewhere where you are winning. Today's image is from the Taranaki premier division semi final at Western Park in New Plymouth. A game in which the mighty New Plymouth Old Boys triumphed over the evil forces of Woodleigh. Cricket was most certainly not the winner, but we were!