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

Penning the latest Sideline Sid piece at the Western Bay Cricket Mini World Cup at the Bay Oval at the Mount on Wednesday, was a delight, with 16 schools taking part in an enjoyable mixture of competition and straight-out good fun.

Now in its 11th year, the Mini World Cup was formulated by Bay of Plenty Cricket to introduce and encourage Year 5-6 youngsters to play the game.

The competing teams were a mix of Saturday morning school teams in whites, to pupils participating in the Western Bay Cricket introduction to cricket programme for the first time.

The primary emphasis is on fun and enjoyment with every player getting the opportunity to bat and bowl during each of their four games.

In last week's column amalgamation was the key word used to describe the way to fix club rugby woes.

Sitting just across from the Bay Oval is the latest Western Bay example of making good use of bricks and mortar.

The Mount Maunganui Sports Club was one of the first multi-code clubs in the Western Bay, building squash courts some 40 years ago.

Since then they've added netball and touch to their sports;and in recent weeks the Mount Maunganui Cricket Club has relocated their clubhouse facilities to the Mount Sports Club at Blake Park.

While the Cricket club still had a few years to run on their Tauranga City Council ground lease, they were living in the past in a building built for another era.

Originally built to house hockey and cricket, the building was used mainly in summer when hockey moved off the grass at Blake Park to present excellent facilities just down the road.

History in sport reminds us of what's led to the present; and the Mount Cricket Clubs photos and memorabilia will be lovingly packed away to be displayed at their new headquarters.

In some ways the Mount Cricket Club is returning home, as the first cricket club teams of some seven and eight decades ago used to play on a wicket where the present day number-one rugby field at Blake Park is located.

The field now has its own piece of history to take into the future, after being renamed the Sir Gordon Tietjens field in honour of the countries legendary Rugby Sevens coach.

One of Sideline Sid's joys of going into sports club is a walk around the roll of honour photographs on the walls.

Mount Sports doesn't lack for photos of former players who played for the All Black, Maori All Blacks or New Zealand Sevens teams.

Coupled with club team photos during the years and an impressive trophy cabinet there will even more to see when the cricket club find a corner to display their club history.

The further combined use of clubhouse facilities by Mount Maunganui Sports is to be applauded, with the Blake Park sports centre joining multi-use sporting facilities at Fergusson Park, Gordon Spratt Reserve and Waipuna Park.