Seddon Cricket Club Annual 2022/23

Seddon Cricket Club Annual 2022/23

And that’s a wrap! As we keep growing from strength to strength, Seddon Cricket Club has had a hugely successful season. Our achievements are largely due to the overwhelming support of our sponsors, members and their families. As we come to the close of the season we thought it timely to give you an overview of our triumphs.

BJ Watling Scholarship

The Seddon Cricket Club, in conjunction with BJ Watling, is proud to offer BJ Watling Scholarships. Each year players, coaches, administrators and umpires who display impressive potential, will have the opportunity to receive a scholarship.

These scholarships are designed to support recipients with the cost of initiatives that have the capacity to develop their skills, knowledge and potential, to help them excel in their future cricketing endeavours.

The BJ Watling Scholarship selection committee, consisting of Dan Fenwick (Foundation Member), Brad Leonard (Alumni Member) and PJ Williams (Gentleman of Cricket Member) awarded: Tayden Smit, Hunter Crowe, Josh Hill and Bhavin Parshottam with 2022/2023 scholarships. Congratulations to all involved, we look forward to next year’s nominations, all are welcome. Nominations for 2023/2024 will be open 1 June.

To learn more about the BJ Watling Scholarship visit: www.seddoncricket.co.nz/bj-watling-scholarship Hunter Crowe A smart and confident young man, again with a clear cricketing talent. He is a left handed batter and is a left arm “chinaman” bowler. He has just turned 17 and Hunter plays for the Morrinsville Men’s side, traveling over from home at Tairua. Last season, at 16, he won the senior Men’s MVP award for the year. A major benefit of any financial assistance would be to assist with travel costs as most trainings or games etc are “away” from his home base. Would also look for some offseason coaching and feels that being over in Tairua and at a smaller college (Hauraki Plains College) he sometimes misses out on opportunities that are available to boys from some of the bigger “city” schools. He has had some coaching assistance from Brent Arnel over the last couple of years (also gave a great reference) and also received an amazing reference from his principal around all aspects of his school life.

Tayden Smit

A fairly quiet young man, but with an immense cricketing talent as an opening batter and right arm leg spinner. At 16, Tayden has already played for the Counties Premier Men’s side. One of his short term goals is wanting to make the NZ U19 side within the next couple of years. Looking to use any financial assistance for some one on one, specialist coaching, as his school (St Kentigern’s) has previously had Mark Greatbach assisting with coaching (also gave a glowing reference) but Mark has since left the region so is no longer at the school. Huge praise from Mark that in his 40 years playing & coaching the game, he has rarely seen a player showing such a high level of passion, skill & ability, whilst remaining humble and kind.

Josh Hill The selection committee found Josh to be a particularly special young man, full of resilience, who they all seemed to resonate with, and with him having represented Seddon CC in 2022, we know of his cricketing abilities. An opening batter, who both keeps wicket and bowls medium pace. At 19, Josh plays for the Cambridge Men’s side. He would love to get some off-season assistance/specialist coaching so that he can hit the ground running when the new cricket season gets underway. He has lofty goals of national honors and aspires to one day play in the lucrative IPL.

Bhavin Parshottam A bit different to our other applicants, being a 27 year old lawyer, but was great to have interest from someone from the “non player” portion of the game. As an up & coming Umpire, Bhavin has already, in a short period of time, completed all his relevant umpiring exams and umpired in both the Auckland & Northern Districts regions. Now residing in Cambridge, Bhavin believes he can continue his law work parallel to umpiring, with the hope of reaching the top level in New Zealand umpiring. He had a good reference from Doug Cowie from his time with the Auckland association. Bhavin would like to gain some more/different exposure and feels traveling either domestically or to the likes of Australia to umpire at a cricket tournament would be a good way to achieve this. The scholarship will assist with flights and accommodation to allow this to happen.

Breakfast Club featuring Warren Gatland

Former Northern Districts age grade representative, Warren Gatland, was a guest speaker at Seddon Cricket Club’s latest Breakfast Club event at Panama Square. Gatland was also a member of the Mike Gatting XI that played at Lords in 2007.

Warren mostly chatted about his exploits away from the cricket field – in particular his experiences coaching the British & Irish Lions in four series, from 2009 to 2021.

It was a fantastic morning event. A big thank you to Master of Ceremonies, Nigel Yalden, for his professionalism – your support is greatly appreciated, and Matt Stark and his staff at Panama Square for making this event easy to organise and coordinate – if you’re in need of a venue Panama Square is seriously worth considering, we used Cream Eatery catering who were impressive.

Thank you to the sell-out audience for attending. Our events are small and boutique but they seem to create a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Warren mostly chatted about his exploits away from the cricket field

The World’s greatest Cricket Quiz

The World’s Greatest Cricket Quiz was a huge success at Good George. 130 cricket tragics turned up and got into the spirit of the night which created a festive and fun atmosphere.

A big thank you to Thomas Nabbs and The Waterboy who created this initiative, for choosing the Seddon Cricket Club to share this event with. It was a great team effort and it was fantastic to be able to share the workload with likeminded people.

It was fun to have many former Northern Districts and Blackcaps at this event. In particular, a big thank you to

Scott Styris for being our guest speaker – you were the perfect man for the job!

Mark Bunting was Quiz Master – thanks for giving up your time Mark. Congratulations to the Binn Chinns –Dave McLennan, Mark Donovan, Colin Hickey, Corey Hyde, Michelle Close and Jason Steynross, for being crowned champions. It was pretty close at the top of the leaderboard, your many hours watching and studying cricket have clearly paid great dividends!

Sharon Dean at The Friday Edition/TFESPORT NZ again captured the night superbly.

Late Luncheon with Ross Taylor

Thank you to all our guests at the very special Late Luncheon with Ross Taylor and Friends – what a memorable afternoon!

It was a fantastic tribute to Ross that so many of our ND Alumni, Members and Guests travelled from far and wide to attend, and we are all especially grateful to Ross himself and Mark Greatbatch for one of the greatest ‘on the couch’ interviews of all time.

It was also our absolute pleasure to present Victoria Taylor with her Seddon Cricket Club blazer as our newest inducted ND Alumna. Victoria represented Northern Districts in 44 matches from the 2000/01 to 2004/05 seasons as a left-hand batter and right-arm offspinner and we are delighted to welcome Victoria aboard.

A big thank you to Master of Ceremonies Seamus Marten for adding your professional polish to proceedings – your support is greatly appreciated and to Andrew Castles for the provision of magnificent facilities at Te Rapa Racecourse for our venue.

We are also very grateful for the generosity of Foundation Member Nathan Sweetman, who owns FreshChoice Leamington, for donating the unique and creative Ultimate Entertainers Experience that includes a four-course degustation meal featuring Pita Gus Sowakula as the chef!

A big thank you, also, to Ray Stark, Robbie Cookson, Scott Couch, Jared Pender, and Ross Taylor himself, for donating some superb Auction Items – even Paddy Greatbatch got into the action by donating one of his famous helmets! Matt Palmer, Howie King, Nick Field, David Cloustens and Kevin Burgess also added to the event by donating Raffle Prizes. The raffle and auction was able to raise a good amount of money that will help the club support the development and growth of youth cricket.

This event was attended by 225 cricket enthusiasts and was hosted by Seddon Cricket Club to support Ross Taylor with the launch of his biography, ‘Black & White’.

Labour Weekend Junior Tournament

During Labour Weekend, Seddon Cricket Club hosted a Junior Cricket Tournament at Woodlands Estate and St Paul’s Collegiate. Hamilton Marist Cricket Club, Cambridge Junior Cricket, St Peter’s School, Cambridge and Seddon Cricket Clubs all competed and many players played 50 over cricket for the first time, on grass pitches.

New Zealand Kindred Cup

Thank you to North Shore Cricket Club for hosting the New Zealand Kindred Cup Finals Weekend. In particular Brett Hollister and Nigel Bradly for their hard work behind the scenes. Once again the games were played in great spirit between our friends from North Shore Cricket Club, Seddon Cricket Club, Clifton County Cricket Club, Haberdashers Cricket Club, Greytown Cricket Club, Wellington Wanderers Cricket Club, United Country & Vineyards Cricket Club and Willows Cricket Club.

All teams played three games each over the course of Friday and Saturday in a Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final format.

Well done to the United Country and Vineyards Cricket Club for winning the Karori Cup (Best Kindred Spirit), North Shore Cricket Club (Championship Winners) and Willows Cricket Club (Chatfield Shield Holders)

Congratulations to the players that represented Seddon Cricket Club. For the next 15 months (until the last weekend in February 2024), we will take our turn at looking after the NZ Kindred Cup. There were good performances across the whole team over the three games. A few things went our way against three really good sides and we feel very privileged to be on the right side of the ledger this time around.

Seddon CC Team:

Jerem Wylie, James Marshall, Jaden Hatwell, Mark Donovan, Bryan King, Chris Keech, Tim Henwood, Ofisa Junior Tonu’u, Dave McLennan, Alan E Ford, Rob Heke, Chris Jeffries, Dan Fenwick, Kent Currie, Corey Hyde

We were very lucky to share our team photo with the great Jeff Thompson.

Movember Five Day ‘Test’ Match

In the inaugural Movember test match between Seddon Cricket Club and Movember Sports Club, hosts Seddon earned a 160-run win on the final morning on the back of a brilliant all-round performance from Guy Schwikkard. Schwikkard took the final wicket of the match shortly after taking the new ball, removing stubborn number 11 batter Matthew Butcher for 27, to claim a five wicket haul. His 5-45 in 15.1 overs came after he had lit up the scorecard in his two innings at bat, first scoring 128 from 101 balls in the first innings, followed by a lightning 54 from 33 deliveries in the third innings of the match.

The all-round showing saw Schwikkard named Winger Player of the Match.

The match started amid rain delays on Wednesday morning, allowing the two teams to enjoy a ceremonial brunch in which Fire and Emergency’s Matiu Leonard and former Olympian Mahe Drysdale spoke to the players about men’s health and wellbeing. They urged the players to talk, to be resilient and to work with and take care of one another. Their words flowed to the ground as the clouds dispersed and a sodden pitch was made playable with the efforts of all 24 players drying the ground.

Movember captain Craig Bulloch dropped the ball at the toss, forgetting that tails never fail before electing heads. With the toss, overseen by match umpire Bryce Lawrence, won, Seddon skipper Dan Fenwick elected to bat on the damp wicket.

While Movember had the early scalp of Darin Armstrong for the Test’s only duck, that only proceeded to bring together two of the game’s most prolific run scorers, in Corey Hyde and man of the match, Schwikkard.

Hyde played a pure Test match innings opening the batting, making 72 from 169 balls across a more than three hour stint in the middle, while Schwikkard was more brisk, belting 128 from 101 balls in little more than two hours.

By the time their partnership was ended, they had put on 196 runs together, leaving Seddon at 201-2 after 41 overs.

Mark Donovan continued to pile on the pressure as the day continued. Batting five, the Hamilton City Councillor

Seddon CC vs Movember XI

Tamahere, Hamilton

Seddon CC 503 (Ben Strang 129, Guy Schwikkard 128, Mark Donovan 115, Corey Hyde 72; Logan Brown 4-67) and 291-4 declared (Corey Hyde 102, Mark Donovan 60*, Ryan Preston 58*, Guy Schwikkard 54) beat Movember XI 278 (Robert Dunne 89, David Icke 55, Jacob Babu 54) and 356 (Ben Kennedy 79, Luke Kennedy 73, Jacob Babu 61; Guy Schwikkard 5-45, Bryan King 3-47) by 160 runs.

was unbeaten overnight, and returned on day two to amass 115 from 106 balls, his first century for Seddon.

Donovan was only able to bat after a sodden outfield was dried out by a helicopter early in the afternoon of day two, as well as the addition of two Super-Sopers to soak up moisture.

He was joined at the crease by Ben Strang with the score 301-5 from 70 overs, and they proceeded to belt the ball to all parts.

Donovan departed nine overs later after a 106-run partnership, while Strang continued to apply the pressure, amassing the highest score of the match, 129 from just 60 balls. His second 50 runs came from only 14 deliveries.

Logan Brown was the pick of the bowlers and wrapped up the innings with Strang’s wicket, taking 4-67 from his 15.2 overs, at a miserly economy rate given the pace of scoring.

Needing more than 300 runs to avoid the follow on, Movember lost fairly regular wickets throughout their innings, starting with captain Bulloch in the second over.

Match Report written by RNZ Journalist and Gentleman of Cricket Member, Ben Strang

But a staunch resistance was put up by opening batter Jacob Babu (54 from 79 balls) and number four Robert Dunne (89 from 102).

Both played classy innings under immense pressure from the Seddon bowlers, with Quinton De Bruin getting sharp bounce out of the wicket, and the likes of Mitch Mace, Bryan King and Kent Currie finding swing with the pink ball.

Dunne, the man behind the Movember charity, showed all his class with a number of sweeps to the fence against the spinners, but fell just short of three figures as light faded at the end of day three.

David Icke also kept things interesting, arriving batting five and belting 9 fours and three sixes in his 55 from 43 balls, while battling crippling back pain.

Movember were eventually bowled out for 278, 25 short of the follow on, early on day four.

Fenwick elected not to enforce the follow on, instead sending his batters out to set Movember a target.

Hyde changed tack in his second bat of the match, blasting 102 from just 62 balls as he got the monkey off the back.

Schwikkard made 54 to add to his tally for the match, while Donovan (60 not out) and Ryan Preston (58 not out) put on an unbeaten 118 run partnership before Fenwick declared with a lead of 516.

Movember had a decision to make. Would they have a crack at an historic 500-plus chase, or attempt to bat out the overs for a drawn test.

When they reached 110 runs without loss in just the 13th over, it seemed they were trying for the win.

The Kennedy’s, father Ben and son Luke, combined for a brutal opening salvo which had the Seddon bowlers scrambling and concerned 500 wasn’t enough on a flat Tamahere wicket.

It caused serious tension among the Seddon ranks, with some concern the batters were even doctoring the pitch while running between the wickets.

Movember Five Day ‘Test’ Match

Mitch Mace stepped up to calm the nerves and remove Ben Kennedy for 79 from 47 balls in the 15th over, but young Luke continued to pressure the bowlers, dispatching anything slightly loose.

He fought through to 73 from 74 balls when he was removed by Schwikkard in the 25th over.

Babu scored his second 50 of the match with a patient 61 from 98 balls batting four, while skipper Bulloch notched 47 from 55 in a fine partnership.

But regular wickets wore down the Movember XI and they fought through to the close of play nine down, needing 180 to win.

Luke Lennox, batting 9, and Matthew Butcher, at 11, combined for a 42-run, 18-over partnership for the last wicket in an attempt to hold out, but it was fitting that Schwikkard would end it, a yorker finally breaching the defences of Butcher.

While the cricket went to five days, the players have raised more than $16,000 for Movember during the course of the month.

Colin Schaw won a special Movember bat to give thanks for raising the most funds of the players involved, with more than $3000 in donations.

And it wasn’t lost on the captains the importance the match would have for men’s health. In an emotional speech to close the game, Movember captain Bulloch told the players the funds raised “would save lives”.

In an emotional speech to close the game, Movember captain Bulloch told the players the funds raised (20k) “would save lives”.

Junior Day at Seddon Park

The six junior teams to represent Seddon Cricket Club in the Hawke’s Bay Cricket Camps (Riverbend) throughout January gathered and all the boys and girls donned their whites and burgundy & pink caps and had the experience of a lifetime at the spiritual home of Northern Districts Cricket and the first genuine boutique International ground in this country, Seddon Park.

Thank you to Seamus Marten and Northern Districts Cricket Association for their support.

Thanks also to Ryan Preston, PJ Williams, Paul Hodder, Karl Johnson, Mark Donovan and Dave McLennan for facilitating the coaching sessions, and Richard Jacobsen and Tim Henwood for cooking the barbecue! Well done to committee members Simeon Price and Colin Groves for their support.

A massive thank you to the coaches and managers that organised the teams – AJ Gregory, Cameron McLeod, Brett Maber, Mark Wales, Scott Taylor, Matt Buckley and PJ Williams.

Great Days at Riverbend

There were ... highs and lows, rain and sun, hot and cold weather, artificial pitches and grass pitches, chicken burgers and beef burgers, some great catches and some dropped catches, lots of excitement and lot of disappointments, many tears but many smiles, a right shoe at the ground and a left shoe not at the ground, leg spin and off spin, in swingers and out swingers, retired at 50s and Golden Ducks, umbrellas for the rain and

umbrellas for the sun, some good pitch reports and some not so favourable reports, some wins and some losses, certificates and a rock, heads and tails, panama hats and playing caps, mothers and fathers, grandmas and grandpas, brothers and sisters ... Burgundy and Pink.

Thank you to all the wonderful parents and players that were involved. The last four days were very special for all involved.

Alumni Membership

We awarded LIFETIME MEMBERSHIPS in appreciation of the contribution that past and present players who have represented the Northern Districts Cricket Association (and other associations) have made towards the great game of cricket.

Seddon Cricket Club have been overwhelmed by the initial response of past and present male and female players who have signed up to the club. We now have nearly 100 Alumni members officially registered.

A purpose of Seddon Cricket Club is based upon our desire to play our part towards preserving the rich Northern Districts history. We feel it’s important for us as a club to play a role in keeping past and present players connected with each other and the game. So many of the contributions of our male and female alumni (either here in New Zealand or abroad) have been instrumental both on and off the field, providing many magical moments and memories over the years. Seddon Cricket Club look forward to continuing to find ways to engage with our past and connect with our future through providing quality experiences and events.

As a token of appreciation for their efforts, membership cards, ties and scarfs were gifted to our alumni members recently. Our membership cards highlight the player’s first-class cap number and entitle our alumni to attend any domestic game free at any of the grounds within the Northern Districts region, including Cobham Oval, Bay Oval and Seddon Park. We would like to thank the Northern Districts Cricket Association for working in partnership with us to provide this opportunity for our alumni. Giving back to the game and our players and connecting to the future are part of our club’s guiding principles and is something Seddon Cricket Club endeavours to respect.

For past and present ND or major association players who would like to register with the Seddon Cricket Club, please find the link to register at: www.seddoncricket.co.nz/alumni-membership

... it’s important for us as a club to play a role in keeping past and present players connected with each other and the game.

vs Cobham Cricket Club

Northland travelled to Hamilton to play the Seddon Cricket Club at Seddon Park. It was a fantastic game of cricket and one that will leave many fond memories with the players that were lucky enough to play.

Northland is a very proud cricket region who have produced so many wonderful players. In fact, our current Test Captain Tim Southee was introduced to cricket in Whangarei and he developed his skills through the Northland age group pathway. It was fantastic to host many players that were part of the golden era of Northland Cricket. They showed us that they had lost very little of their talent!

We probably had no right to be playing that Saturday due to the weather, but with optimism and a ‘can do’ attitude we were able to play 45 overs (4 hours) worth of cricket. This wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Karl Johnson and his ground staff, they are the best in the country, for sure.

Thank you!

Seamus Marten at Northern Districts Cricket Association for his support. Bryce Lawrence and Thomas Nabbs for taking the time out of your weekend to do a fantastic job umpiring. Bill Andersson who continues to show us why he is one of NZs leading scorers.

Nathan Sweetman at Leamington Fresh Choice

Jam At Queenwood

Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports

Seddon CC vs Cobham CC

Seddon Park, Hamilton

Seddon CC won the toss and elected to bat first.

Seddon CC 226/9 (35 overs)

L Parsons 47 (off 49 balls), G Schwikkard 37 (29 balls), C Bulloch 35 (39 balls), N Daley 27 (32 balls), J Wylie 26 (20 balls), J Hatwell 16 (14 balls).

V Syers 1-40 (5 overs), D Nash 1-22 (5), B Robinson 1-15 (2), D Goodwin 1-42 (6), R Syers 2-36 (7), H Syers 2-16 (2)

Cobham CC 87/2 (12 overs)

J Yovich 57* (off 39 balls), S Nash 13* (13 balls)

R Premithilanka 1-15 (off 3 overs), B King 1-33 (4)

Rain stopped play – Cobham CC supposedly won the match on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern-YovichGolightly method.

... with optimism and a ‘can do attitude’ ...

Seddon Cricket Club U17s tour of The Willows

Seddon Cricket Club sent twelve U17 players from around the Northern Districts geographical region down to Christchurch. The players are accompanied by former New Zealand Cricket representative, Matthew Hart #153, and former Northern Districts representative for 17 years, Joey Yovich #176. Paul (PJ) Williams, who is one of the finest TID and Development Managers in New Zealand helped coach the team with Darin Armstrong, who is a veteran High Performance rugby & cricket Team Manager, leading the ship.

In conjunction with Northern Districts, Seddon Cricket Club mostly selected teenage players from smaller rural schools. All players have exciting talent but don’t necessarily get exposed to quality cricket coaching or opportunities because of the location they live in or the lack of resources that are offered to them.

All the players selected for this tour went to Hagley Oval and spent the first afternoon being coached by former New Zealand opener and cricket legend, John Wright #102, Former New Zealand representative, Llorne Howell #201, and Matthew Hart, Joey Yovich and PJ Williams themselves.

The tour was an opportunity to educate the players about the traditional values of cricket and the ethos of Seddon Cricket Club. All players arrived in Christchurch in smart full number one’s uniforms.

The second day the team travelled to The Willows. The Willows is one of the most prestigious cricket venues in the country and is steeped in tradition and history. They are the benchmark for all Kindred Cricket Clubs to follow. The Seddon Cricket Club really appreciate The Willows giving our young players an opportunity to play at their ground against a similar type of team to what we have selected. Ben Dormer, you’re a legend for organising the team to train at Hagley Oval today – amazing. Former Northern Districts representative David Kelly #196, who lives in Canterbury, coached the The Willows U17 team.

Seddon CC U17 Squad:

Alex Keogh (St John’s College)

Richie Gemmell (Te Aroha College)

Monte Roulsten (Home Schooled, Northland)

Hunter Crowe, Captain (Hauraki Plains College

– BJ Watling Scholarship recipient)

Sean Gapes (John Paul College)

Henry Murchie (Otorohanga College)

Riley Parkinson (Rotorua Boys High School)

Kieran McClintock (Kaipara College)

Harry Jones (Trident High School)

Josh Laing (Whangarei Boys High School)

Baktullah Khawrin (Hillcrest High School)

Tayden Smit (St Kentigern College

– BJ Watling Scholarship recipient)

Coach: Matthew Hart

Coach: Paul Williams

Manager: Darin Armstrong

Club Deputy Chairman: Joey Yovich

Otorohanga College at Seddon Park

Seddon Cricket Club invited the Otorohanga College First XI to play at Seddon Park. It was a great experience for the Otorohanga College lads and it’s an opportunity that Seddon Cricket Club is proud to have been able to give to them.

It was great to see so many parents at the ground to support their sons.

Thanks to the Seddon Cricket Club players for playing their part in making it a great occasion.

This will be an ongoing initiative. It is our way of giving a boost to schools that don’t necessarily always get given quality cricket experiences. Let’s hope it’s the boost that these players needed to motivate them to stay in our game for years to come!

Ultimate Sports – thank you once again for capturing the moment!

Thank you!

Nathan Sweetman at FreshChoice Leamington Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports for capturing the moment.

It is our way of giving a boost to schools that don’t necessarily always get given quality cricket experiences.

Queenstown Tour 2023

Our annual Auckland Anniversary Tour took us to Queenstown this year. Our touring party played in a two day Queenstown Six a Side Tournament at Millbrook on the Friday and Saturday, and then travelled to Luggate to play against Albion Cricket Club in a 35 over game on the Sunday.

The purpose of these tours is to give our members an opportunity to experience touring life. Many members get the opportunity to meet new people, creating friendships for life. These tours are open to, and catered for, members of all cricketing ability.

Thank you to the people of Central Otago for making this year’s trip an amazing experience for the members that toured.

These tours are open to, and catered for, members of all cricketing ability.

Curators Dinner at Seddon Park

Seddon Cricket Club members had a unique experience during the New Zealand XI vs England tour match at Seddon Park, Hamilton.

Inspired by the Curators Breakfast that takes place annually during the SCG test match, Seddon Cricket Club followed suit and hosted 55 members at the inaugural Curators Dinner.

Karl ‘KJ’ Johnson gave members a tour of the playing facilities which included an in depth presentation on how to prepare a world class cricket pitch. The members were blown away by the education they received – KJ discussed the rules and regulations that must be followed, timelines and many other factors that aren’t obvious to the regular cricket follower. Thank you very much KJ for your time and enthusiasm to make this concept work! It was absolutely fantastic.

Members also got the opportunity to listen to former England opening batter and current England coach, Marcus Trescothick, during a 30 minute Q & A session. Thank you for your time Marcus, it was very generous of you and we really appreciated it.

Thank you!

Seamus Marten at Northern Districts Cricket Association for his support.

Special acknowledgements must go to Foundation Members Nathan Sweatman and Matt Palmer, for serving drinks and organising the catering

Marshall Family Cup

An inaugural game, between Seddon Cricket Club and Wellington Wanderers Cricket Club was held for the Marshall Family Cup. 15 members from Seddon Cricket Club travelled to Wellington for the big match. The issue was … the game was cancelled because all the grounds around Wellington were closed! However, our members attended the Wellington Wanderers Test Match Breakfast as well as Day One of the Black Caps vs England Test Match.

James Marshall ND Cap #183 and Hamish Marshall ND Cap #185 became the second pair of twins to play Test cricket after Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh.

They grew up in Northland and were products of the fantastic age group pipeline of talent that came out of the Northland Cricket Pathway during the 80s and 90s. They are both hard working, humble and generous men who both love the game of cricket. These days they still play, but their main purpose is giving back to the game that’s been good to them. In fact, Hamish can be seen behind the bar pouring beer to the new generation of cricketers at Karori Cricket Club!

James Marshall holds the record for most first-class appearances by a domestic player for a single province in New Zealand, with 126 appearances for Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield. A talented top-order batsman, James Marshall made his ODI debut for New Zealand in the middle order in February 2005. Soon after he was given his Test debut against Australia. James proved his worth during his maiden ODI ton – a blistering knock of 161, which powered the Kiwis to a massive win over Ireland. Joining forces with Brendon McCullum, James set up a 266-run opening stand, the highest for the Kiwis for any wicket in ODIs.

Hamish was a stylish middle-order batsman, who was not fazed by the pace on the ball. In fact, the highlight of his career was the 146 against an Australian attack at its peak. He followed that up with another big hundred against Sri Lanka. He ended up signing up for Gloucestershire.

Upon returning to New Zealand, Marshall became a regular of the Wellington side. In fact, he became their backbone in

the 2016-17 domestic season, scoring truck loads of runs in all three formats and providing experience to a relatively young side. During this time Hamish established a special bond with the Wellington Wanderers Cricket Club.

Willie Marshall, is the oldest brother. He is, simply, a champion of a man. An absolute cricket tragic who spends a lot of his time coordinating events to allow people to have memorable and rich cricket experiences. He is a stalwart of the Wellington Wanderers Cricket Club. Willie is a handy cricketer himself and many say it was his guidance and tuition that rubbed off on James and Hamish!

The Marshall Family Cup will be a marquee fixture on the Seddon Cricket Club summer calendar moving forward. The Wellington Wanderers are a fantastic club. They put a lot of time, energy and investment into junior and teenage cricket. Particularly high school cricket. What they have done, and continue to do, within the Wellington Cricket landscape, to give so many young cricketers wonderful experiences, has been amazing.

Our relationship with the Wellington Wanderers is a special one and it’s one that we respect and value greatly.

Basin Reserve Test Match

Members of the Seddon Cricket Club had a fantastic two days in Wellington. Although no cricket was played on Thursday the touring squad were fantastically hosted by the Wanderers Cricket Club.

The members took the opportunity to have a tour of the Basin Reserve Museum, attend the Wellington Wanderers Test Match Breakfast and of course, they had incredible seats in the RA Vance Stand.

New Zealand Croatia Cultural Fixture

Seddon Cricket Club travelled to the picturesque Bay Oval in Tauranga, which recently hosted the test match between the BLACKCAPS and England. It’s the first time that Seddon Cricket Club have played at Bay Oval.

New Zealand Croatia hosted the day and they thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to host all of the teams along with their supporters, officials, families and guests in true Croatian-style hospitality. Croatian music was playing throughout the day, and the players and supporters enjoyed a traditional lunch of lamb on the spit. During the break between matches, we officially welcomed all our guests and were able to auction off donated items for those affected by cyclone Gabrielle, brilliantly facilitated by auctioneer Will Johnston. It was great to see local MP Todd Muller also take the opportunity to visit and drum up some support for the auctions and it was humbling to play our part towards raising a considerable amount for those affected.

Croatian music was playing throughout the day and the players and supporters enjoyed a traditional lunch of lamb on the spit.

Seddon Sixes

The Seddon Cricket Club hosted the inaugural Craigs Investment Partners Seddon Sixes Tournament.

It was a fantastic day that was shared by many members, friends, families and general cricket enthusiasts in the beautiful setting of Tamahere Cricket Ground.Eight teams entered the tournament and players travelled from all over the upper half of the North Island. Not only did local Hamilton cricket players and supporters attend the tournament but we welcomed people from Taranaki, Mount Maunganui, Auckland, Northland and Otorohanga.

18 games were played from 9.00am through to the Prize Giving at 6.45pm. The eight teams were split into two pools of four. A round robin structure was completed through pool play before the top two seeded teams from each pool advanced to the Bradburn Family Cup (Premiership), semi finals and final, and the bottom seeded teams progressed on to the Cooper Family Cup (Championship) semi finals and final.

The Otorohanga Raptors were unbeaten throughout the day and took back to Otorohanga with them, the magnificent Bradburn Family Cup. Well done to Leighton Parsons, Chris Keech, Finn Ohalloran, Bryan King, Andrew McLean and Bennet Groube .

Well done to the Green ‘N’ Tonics from Auckland, who took out the Cooper Family Cup.

Well done to Fraser Graafhuis for winning a month’s supply of Burger Fuel for hitting a ball for six into the Burger Fuel Zone.

Well done to Grant Robinson for winning the Power Farming New Zealand Home Run Derby Competition and for also winning the Lance Cairns Sixes Shield for most sixes hit in the tournament (6).

A big thank you to the captains of all the teams that coordinated things beautifully– Brett Maber (Pandora Cricket Club), Guy Schwikkard (Pink Panthers), Tim Henwood (Green ‘N’ Tonics), Leighton Parsons (Otorohanga Raptors), Andrew Mackie (Seddon Swish), Scott Taylor (Mangorei Cricket Club), Tony Wellington (Kaimai Cricket Club) and of course Callum Malcolm (Craigs Investment Partners).

These types of events could not be possible without the help of so many wonderful sponsors and supporters:

Craigs Investment Partners

Ryan Preston at Gatorade New Zealand

Darrel Hadley at Good George Brewing

Chris Keech at Silver Fern Farms

Cam Mcleod at BurgerFuel

Richard Kane at Paladin Sports

Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports

Joel Skulander, who, as usual, was superb on the sound system. Colin Hickey for his entertainment. Dave McLennan who was the glue in the operational side of things. Simeon Price for cooking the barbecue and painting the crease lines for the pitch. Colin Groves for helping to set up the venue. Warren Storm for coordinating the raffle and merchandise. Matt Stark for the use of Tamahere Cricket Ground. Bhavin Parshottam and Thomas Nabbs for umpiring. Evan John Gray for umpiring the finals. David Stark for rolling the pitch and performing general ground maintenance duties. Bazz Lethbridge for pitching in when required. Melissa Stark for organising a magnificent picnic event for the wives and girlfriends through her company The Boutique Teepee Co.

Little Cherry Coffee Cart for brewing some much needed coffee!

Ladies Day

Seddon Cricket Club hosted Ladies Day at Tamahere Cricket Ground.

Thirteen cricketers from Taranaki, Northland, Auckland and Hamilton travelled to Tamahere and played in the very first Seddon Cricket Club women’s match, against Waikato Diocesan First XI. The team was a mix of players that ranged from - currently playing for Northern Districts or Central Districts, Taranaki, Club Cricket, School Cricket, ex players that used to play before other international sports careers got in the way! One player even played her first ever game of cricket!

It was a very festive and vibrant atmosphere throughout the day with many family members and general supporters being well entertained by the cricket, and also, the social setting that was created, in the beautiful and picturesque setting of Tamahere Cricket Club.

Victoria Taylor reminded her family that it actually isn’t her husband that is the best player in her family, that it is indeed, her, with a majestic 57. Jolie Fenwick after watching her husband play cricket for the best part of 30 years ...decided she’d give cricket a go and compiled a patient 33,

opening the innings. Jolie may claim to be the best opening batter in her family now, perhaps? Well done to Emily Cunningham, up to this point she’s bowled three overs for Seddon Cricket Club and has never been hit for a single run! 2 wickets for no runs off 3 overs. Heather Deane showed she hasn’t lost any of her ability with the bat with red ink being inscribed into the scorebook next to her name, with 28no. Charlotte Sarsfield captained the Seddon Cricket Club team superbly, making sure that everyone had a fantastic day by allowing them the opportunity to play a significant role during the match.

A big thank you to Waikato Diocesan First XI. They were brilliant opponents and Seddon Cricket Club look forward to hosting them again next season. A big thank you to Edgar Wilson for the contribution that he makes to the girls and women’s game.

Before the big game in the afternoon the Seddon Cricket Club Year 7 and 8 team played a Southwell Invitational XI. The girls had a fantastic match and many smiles and laughs were shared on and off the field. Thank you to all the parents that supported the morning game. It was fantastic to have you there.

Seddon CC Team:

Charlotte Sarsfield (c)

Ella Gunson

Kelsey Dunn

Anna Cooper

Heather Deane

Amy Foreman

Grace Foreman

Emily Cunningham

Mereana Hyde

Victoria Jayne Taylor

Jolie Fenwick

Hannah Jacobsen

Francesca Tonuu

Thank you!

These types of events are always very special but they wouldn’t be possible without the help of so many wonderful sponsors and Seddon Cricket Club members:

Nathan Sweetman at FreshChoice Leamington

Ryan Preston at Gatorade New Zealand

Colin Hickey for assisting in the kitchen and on the barbecue. Dave McLennan for running the merchandise shop. Colin Groves for helping us set the venue up. Mark Donovan at Hamilton City Councillor for umpiring.

Of course, last but certainly not least, to the wonderful Seddon Cricket Club Women’s Team for representing our club spectacularly well.

Pukekohe High School First XI at Seddon Park

In conjunction with match day sponsor CHP Electrical, Seddon Cricket Club hosted Pukekohe High School First XI at Seddon Park.

This is an initiative that the club started this summer. The purpose of it is to give schools from around the Northern Districts geographical region, that may not always get the opportunity to have quality cricket experiences, a chance to play on the hallowed turf of Seddon Park. We want to play our role in boosting the profile of cricket within the school, and boost the confidence, enthusiasm and cricket knowledge of the students.

The Pukekohe High School First XI made themselves and their school proud. They represented their school by arriving at Seddon Park in full number ones. They were respectful, humble and a genuine pleasure to play against.

The highlight of the day was James Kingham scoring an unbeaten 150no. He opened the batting and carried his bat right through the Pukekohe High School innings. He gave no chances to the Seddon bowlers and fielders and was named player of the match.

The Seddon Cricket Club had five U17 players represent the club. Richie Gemmell (Te Aroha College), Sean Gapes (John Paul College), Henry Murchie (Otorohanga College), Harry Jones (Trident High School) and Baktullah Khawrin (Hillcrest High School).

Well done to Richie Gemmell (75) and Harry Jones (44) for well compiled scores. Although these days are about the next generation we do need to mention a couple of veterans; Dan Fenwick (82) and Chris Keech (43). Well done lads!

Thank you!

Northern Districts Cricket Association for making this game possible and to Seddon Park and Karl Johnson for once again preparing a magnificent surface.

Nathan Sweetman at FreshChoice Leamington

Ryan Preston at Gatorade New Zealand

Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports

Town vs Country

In conjunction with the Shoe Clinic, Seddon Cricket Club hosted the annual Town vs Country fixture.

The match was played at Tamahere Cricket Ground in beautiful sunny conditions. The Country team went into the game with plenty of confidence after a resounding performance last summer. However, the Town XI took their performance up a couple of gears this year and came away victorious - that means it is one game each, next summer’s fixture should be a doozy ...

Well played Leighton Parsons, Country (93), Mark Donovan, Town (56) and Bakhtullah Khawrin, Country (4 for 13).

Thank you!

Bill anderson for scoring

Nathan Sweetman at FreshChoice Leamington

Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports

vs Old Tablelands Cricket Club

In conjunction with the Shoe Clinic, Seddon Cricket Club hosted Old Tablelands Cricket Club from Wellington.

The 30 over game was played at the picturesque Tamahere Cricket Ground just on the outskirts of Hamilton. The game was a close and hard fought battle with Seddon Cricket Club just hanging on in the last over against a very competitive Old Tablelands Cricket Club XI.

Seddon Cricket Club enjoyed hosting our friends from Wellington. It was fantastic to play against Grant Elliott, who executed one of the greatest moments in New Zealand International cricket.

Well done to Dan Fenwick for scoring a well compiled 50 and to Ruwan Premathilaka for taking a 5 wicket bag!

Thank you!

Bill anderson for scoring

Nathan Sweetman at FreshChoice Leamington

Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports

Alumni Weekend Cricket Match at Seddon Park

It was wonderful to host so many fantastic past players who have proudly represented Northern Districts over so many memorable years. One of the main purposes of Seddon Cricket Club is to create a platform for past players to rekindle old friendships and stay connected through events and matches that the club organises. The weekend was a resounding SUCCESS!

The Alumni match between the Northern Districts Past Players XI and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association XI (that was filled with ND Past Players and led by Anton Devcich), was a genuine classic that ended in a TIE! (not staged). Some famous names took centre stage once again and they proved they have lost none of their talent, or competitiveness!

The Northern Districts Past Players XI wore a spectacular replica of the 1980s retro one day uniform, thank you to Paladin Sports for manufacturing these – your attention to detail was spot on Richard Kane!

Thank you to the family, friends and supporters of the players that turned up – you created a great vibe and atmosphere.

Thank you!

Northern Districts Cricket Association for supporting this event. The support that you guys have given the club, to be able to run the event that we did, was outstanding.

Chris Kuggeleijn and club founder Evan John Gray for umpiring. Bill Andersson for scoring, great to have you back at Seddon Park, Bill, scoring your old mates. FreshChoice Leamington for providing, once again, a delicious lunch. The crew at NZCPA for their unwavering support, what you guys do for the game is superb! Karl Johnson and his hard working groundsmen at Seddon Park – The best grounds staff in the country! Seamus Marten for overseeing things. You are a legend, Seamus. Ultimate Sports.

Alumni Weekend Golf and Rugby

On the Saturday, Northern Districts past players played golf at Tieke Golf Course before socialising at Novotel. From Novotel they all took a bus ride to FMG Stadium, Waikato and were hosted in the Kotiate Corporate Lounge.

Many stories from their cricket days got better and better as the night progressed ...

Thank you!

Dennis Katsanos from NZCPA for capturing the night with these magnificent photos.

Alumni Weekend Cap Presentation

Before the Alumni Match, Seddon Cricket Club facilitated a special cap presentation for the players that had not received their official Northern Districts baggy maroon cap.

The club, in conjunction with Northern Districts Cricket Association, were proud to present caps to the following players:

Grant Bradburn

Craig Presland

Bryan Young

Mark McKinnon

Russ Mawhinney

Brian Barrett

Shane Thomson

Matthew Hart

Dion Nash

Rob Hart

Graham Burnett

Aaron Bradley

Sean Lambly

Gareth Hopkins

Brett Hood

Ryan Shutte

Brad Leonard

Ben MacCormack also presented Daryl Tuffey with his Northern Districts Life Membership.

Chatfield Shield vs The Willows Cricket Club

Seddon Cricket Club challenged for the Chatfield Shield as part of the Alumni Weekend. It was the last game of the season and it was a fitting conclusion to an incredible season.

The Willows Cricket Club from Canterbury are always a hard nut to crack and it proved to be so once again. Seddon Cricket Club scored a very competitive 218 for 8 in 30 overs with Jaden Hatwell scoring a well compiled 71. Robert Dunne and Mark Murphy were the pick of the Willows bowlers both getting 3 wickets each.

Seddon Cricket Club went onto the field with plenty of confidence as The Willows needed just over 7 an over to chase down the winning total.

The Willows got off to an absolute flyer and they soon had the required run rate down to 5 an over. Ben Rae (65 off 45 balls), Jimad Khan (38 off 24 balls) and Nick Horsley (71 off 70 balls) being the catalysts of the Seddon Cricket Club demise.

Seddon Cricket Club stayed in the game to the last over but the inevitable finally happened with The Willows scoring the winning runs with 3 balls to spare, winning by 5 wickets. The Willows Cricket Club will be the caretakers of the Chatfield Shield during our winter months. Well done men.

A massive thank you to The Willows for travelling north to play us. We always have great battles on the field and share many fine moments off it. Well done and thank you for everything you do to help foster the game in this country.

Well done to the Seddon Cricket Club players that represented the club this season – a great bunch of guys and your contribution is what makes our club great.

Thank you!

Bryce Lawrence and Thomas Nabbs for umpiring. Karl Johnson and Seddon Park for allowing us to play on such a beautiful and well prepared pitch and outfield.

Nathan Sweetman at FreshChoice Leamington

Sharon Dean at Ultimate Sports

Seddon Park Ground Staff

A massive thank you to the Seddon Park Ground Staff for allowing Hamilton to have one of the best cricket grounds in New Zealand. It looks amazing at the moment and the cricket enthusiasts of Hamilton and Northern Districts should be proud to have such an iconic and picturesque ground in our own backyard.

Karl Johnson and his staff have been working around the clock this ‘summer’ to try and get as much cricket played at Seddon Park as possible. The weather conditions haven’t

made it easy for them, it must be so frustrating to know that the weather will be such a challenge when planning for fixtures.

There’s been International and First Class cricket played at Seddon Park this season, but it’s the fact that so many community groups have been able to host events there –it is a genuine credit to the Hamilton City Council, Seddon Park and Northern Districts Cricket Association.

Here’s to the 2023/24 Season

Our thanks, yet again, to our loyal club sponsors, players and members. While Covid didn’t do us any favours in growing our fledgling club, this season has certainly been a resounding success and our intention is to keep this momentum of growth moving in a positive direction.

We cater to differing levels of membership, so be sure to visit www.seddoncricket.co.nz if you’d like to be part of next season’s action, or order some of our distinctive merchandise, and we look forward to seeing you all soon!

www.seddoncricket.co.nz