Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Along with the best beaches and coastline in the country the Western Bay has a abundance of green spaces and outdoor recreational facilities.

While Sideline Sid tends to bang on about the foresight of previous councils in the provision of green space for sport – he was further reminded of another hidden gem last Friday.

As the old fella thinks he knows plenty about horses (especially the slow one he backs at the TAB) he decided to check out the show jumping at the Tauranga Racecourse.

Shielded from Cameron Road by a venue long hedge, the showjumping set-up at the racecourse was alive with a myriad of people and horses, with many setting up camp for the three days of competition.

Ease of access is surely one of the attractions of the Tauranga equestrian centre and coupled with the large area of free space inside the racecourse, is ideally suited to the horse events that take place on a regular basis.

Stopping off at the Tauranga Domain to catch some cricket on Saturday – Sideline Sid was struck about the versatility of the Tauranga Domain. There was plenty of action on and around the athletics track with a track and field event taking place.

The outer reaches of the Domain were in constant use as many of the youngsters taking part warmed up for their individual events.

As well as a competitive base for athletics, cricket and rugby, the Tauranga and Wharepai Domains provide plenty of passive space for walking the dog or a family outing.

While watching Cadets play Greerton in a Williams Cup cricket match on Domain two, the most remarkable piece of pace bowling in club cricket that the old guy has ever seen, unfolded before his eyes.

Greerton had the early momentum, bowling their archrivals out for what looked to be a modest 130 runs. Enter Black Cap speedster Trent Boult who destroyed the Greerton attempt for victory, grabbing an amazing eight wickets in just 9 overs.

The first three Greerton batsmen, could only watch as the ball bowled over the stumps without a run being recorded against their name. Some resistance from Bay batsman Brett Hampton stopped the devastation for a time, however when Hampton fell on 20, the writing was on the wall with Greerton eventually dismissed nearly 40 runs short of victory.

All one could really see, was Trent steaming in and bowling in a blur of action, with the resulting mayhem taking place at the other end of the pitch. Not only did he take eight wickets, but also he hit the stumps on at least six further occasions courtesy of no balls and free hits.

The place to be for Western Bay cricket fans this weekend, is the Bay Oval at Blake Park, where the Bay of Plenty boys will mount their first defence of the Hawke Cup, that they grabbed from Hamilton a couple of weeks ago.

Remarkably while they have now won the symbol of New Zealand Cricket minor association supremacy four times – they have only managed to defend the Hawke Cup on three occasions.

Bay of Plenty is likely to be a full strength with Jono Boult and Cory Anderson returning to the team from ND duty. However, the rumour is that Manawatu will have all their CD stars available with the likelihood of a match that goes down to the wire.

Seeya at the Hawke Cup Direct Challenge at the Bay Oval on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.