EB cricketers aid in Taita's winning streak

by Tim Barton

There was a strong Eastbourne flavour when the Taita District premier cricket team dined out on their rivals in the 2022-23 Wellington senior club competition.

Almost half of the McCormack Group Taita squad, which made a rare clean sweep of the three premier trophies, played their junior cricket for the Eastbourne Cricket Club, and most still live in the bays.

Nik Swain, Henry Walsh, Matt Kelly, Liam Sullivan, Toby Barton and Ryan Skene all came through the junior ranks at Eastbourne and Mitch Scott, another member of the Taita squad, also began playing cricket in Eastbourne.

Swain, who captained the team, and Walsh have both played 150 games for the club’s premier side and Kelly (125) and Sullivan (105) – who regularly opened the bowling this season - have also reached three-figures.

Barton has had four seasons with the side, after taking a lengthy break from the sport, and Skene made his premier debut this season.

Walsh, a former Wellington Firebird, had his opportunities restricted by injury during the season but recorded four 50s from 10 completed innings, including three scores over 70 and a top of 98.

The Eastbourne influence at Taita has encouraged Taita and the Eastbourne CC to discuss ways the two clubs can work together, with benefits for both organisations.

Taita also had a close association with St Pat’s Silverstream for many years and Walsh, Sullivan and Kelly are all Silverstream old boys.

The Taita prems won Team of the Year at the 2021 Hutt Valley Sports Awards - after being finalists in all three senior competitions - but by winning all three, went two steps better this year.

Taita won the T20 final and the One Day final before capping the season by becoming the first Taita team to win the Pearce Cup, the major title in the senior club competition.

The Pearce Cup was first held in the 199697 season, after the Wellington and Hutt Valley competitions were merged, and Taita had made the final only twice previously.

This year’s finalists were decided by total points earned over the one-day and two-day competitions and Taita, the top qualifiers, were down to meet Hutt Districts in a three-day final.

However, rain washed out the first two days and with no chance of either side gaining an outright win on the final day, the match was abandoned, with Taita earning the trophy as the top qualifier.

“It wasn’t the ideal way to win but we were happy to take it,” Swain said. “We headed the points table from round one to the finish. It was a big effort to win all three trophies and winning the Pearce Cup for the first time meant a lot to the club and the supporters. It was definitely the high point for me as a cricketer.”

Taita received further accolades when the prems team earned the trophy for the best and fairest team in the senior competition. “I think that showed that as well as playing good cricket, we were playing the game the right way,” Swain said.

It was also a winning farewell for Swain, who will head overseas this year, after captaining Taita for five seasons.

The Taita team is just the third to win all three senior trophies in a season, after Karori in 2010-11 and Easts in 2013-14.