Local Tournament To Return

The highly anticipated Cricket Express Lake Taupo Spring Invitational is set to make a triumphant return this October as eight sides from around the North Island will collide at Owen Delany Park, for a weekend of action-packed T20 cricket.

Following the uncertainty of the last few months, Generation Homes Lake Taupō Cricket Club is proud to announce the tournament will be going ahead this year, with a big player in the sports retail sector putting their name behind the tournament. Lake Taupo CC Committee member, Blaine Inch, said after last year’s success, “the club was looking to promote the game in a positive manner by putting on a spectacle of cricket, as well as build long standing relationships with local businesses and cricket clubs from other associations that we normally don’t get the opportunity to meet up with.”

After the inaugural 4 team tournament held at Owen Delany Park last September, this year’s Cup will be bigger and better than ever. Not only have tournament organisers doubled the teams battling it out for the top prize, but they have also secured the support of sports retailer Cricket Express as their primary sponsors for the weekend tournament.

Cricket Express National Retail Manager, Jarrod Wrigley, said “We are very excited to be partnering with the Lake Taupo Cricket Club as Platinum Sponsor for this

awesome new tournament and as avid supporters of grass roots cricket, we thank everyone involved and appreciate all of the time and effort that has been put into creating and building such a great tournament.”

This year, clubs from the Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty, New Plymouth, Hamilton and Counties Manukau are all confirmed to attend, including last year’s champions Taradale who were first to accept the invitation to return. Taradale captain Luke Kenworthy commented “ We are really looking forward to returning again this year. After last year’s experience, it’s something that has been in the works and on the calendar since then. T20 cricket is a great opportunity to get everyone into the season and it’s a format we play a lot of in Hawke’s Bay. A fun trip to Taupo is an awesome way to start the season and we’re hoping to put out another good performance this year!”

Lake Taupo CC is looking to also create exposure for players and local businesses that help sponsor the weekend spectacle. As Inch points out, “top-level cricket tournaments we host here in Taupo are usually held during the week which is not ideal for spectators or sponsors. This carnival type weekend of cricket will have 12 games of premier grade action, so it’s an ideal spectacle for aspiring young Taupo cricketers.”

“Lake Taupo Cricket Club have put a large emphasis on the pathway we have set for the youth cricketers comin the junior ranks as it’s the whole reason we formed this club 4 years ago. After gaining promotion to the Baywide Premier Grade in 2017, we can now give the talented kids of this town a pathway through to representative cricket. Not only can we do that by our involvement in coaching Taupo’s youth cricketers, but also through initiatives like this where we can offer these youngsters the unique opportunity to be involved in a top-level tournament.”

Lake Taupo CC will be announcing tournament news such as team announcements and fixtures on their Facebook page as we approach what will be an unmissable weekend of club cricket.

Tournament details

Date: 17th/18th October

Venue: Owen Delany Park

Admission: Free

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