Accelerate Automotive Premier 3 vs Palmy Stallions Premier 3
Saturday 25th of January 2025 @ Omanuka Oval
After nine years of mowing grass, building stuff, and tweaking pitches, Omanuka Oval finally hosted its first full club match. Last season, the Palmy Stallions put up 250 in 40 overs before the match was rained off, leaving the ground still waiting for a completed club fixture. This year, the same two teams lined up again—Bloomfield and the Palmy Stallions—on what I hoped would be the best wicket yet.
Since prepping the first strip in 2016 for the inaugural Bloomfield vs. Manawatu-Foxton CC match, the biggest challenge had been bounce and consistency. Consistency was easy—unfortunately, it was a consistent lack of bounce. Years of experimenting with moisture content, roller weights, rolling schedules, and grass height—combined with some shocking grass cover at times—meant I was always hesitant to host club cricket on the pitch. In 2022, I expanded the block to include three wickets, giving me three pitches to not play on. But around that time, things finally started to click, and after a successful match during Bloomfield's 30th anniversary, we made the call to push for club cricket at Omanuka.
The first pitch this season played a bit flat, so for this second attempt, I wanted to see if I could inject some life into it. What we ended up with was a green seamer, with a fair bit of grass left on to help stretch its longevity over multiple games. Captain Trout won the toss and put the Stallions in to bat, and early signs were promising—good bounce and a bit of movement off the deck. The in-form Stallions openers looked comfortable early, finding the rope in the first four overs. But in the fifth over, things started to unravel. I managed to pick up Ebin PK, and the very next over, Trout had Jithu Juby caught behind. From that point on, the Stallions never seemed at ease. While they held up one end and managed the occasional boundary, tight bowling and sharp fielding prevented anyone from really getting going. The innings ended in the 36th over, all out for 91.
Confidence in the Bloomfield camp was high, even though our last four batting performances had been nothing short of diabolical. The low total suggested a tricky pitch, but Jase quickly put that to rest, clubbing 56 off 33 balls to break the back of the chase. Tyler was the first to go, missing a good one from Dinu, before Jase was bowled by Renju Joseph. Aaron Hatton steadied things while Anthony Cliff, playing his first game for Bloomfield in three years, announced his return by smacking his first ball over cover for four. True to form, Clifford's extravagant approach wasn’t built for longevity, and he was soon undone by a sharp stumping from Jithu off the bowling of Jenju Joseph. But it wasn’t enough for the Stallions—Big Doggs settled in, and Sahan hit a couple of clean shots to finish the match.
Bloomfield secured the win by seven wickets, marking the first completed club match at Omanuka Oval. Nine years in the making, but finally, we got there.
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