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Two teams of 12 from Rodney Cricket Association, the Rebels (Year 8) and Renegades (Year 10), had the chance to follow in the footsteps of some famous Black Caps when they competed in the Hawkes Bay Cricket Camp (HBCC) last month.
The tournaments were held from January 5 to 8 and January 15 to 18 for the Renegades and the Rebels respectively.
Hosting teams from around the North Island, the cricket camp has been going since the 1970s and has been a rite of passage for players such as former Black Caps captain Kane Williamson.
Rodney Rebels coach Simon Ward says the tour wasn’t about winning trophies – it was more an opportunity to experience full format cricket.
“It’s the first time they’ll face more than 20 balls, the first time they’ll play on a grass wicket, and the first time they’ll play a game of longer than 20 overs. That’s why in your first year it’s super-challenging.
“And it’s the first time they’ll face the prospect of a first-ball duck. There’s no grace period (where you get to face a minimum number of balls before you can get out) like Saturday cricket.
“How kids will react to a duck is one of the great unknowns before the tournament. There were undoubtedly some tough moments, but all of the Rebels handled the setbacks with grace and that sets them in good stead for moving into high school cricket,” he says.
Ward’s wife Christine Sheehy is the Rebels junior coordinator and says it’s about participation rather than trying to win a tournament.
The Rebels had an intense schedule with five games in four days – a 30-over game on the first day, two 30-over games on the second day, a 50-over game on day three, and finally another 30-over game on the final day.
“That amount of cricket in four days for a 12-year-old is pretty full on.
“Their cricketing brains really develop and the improvement is quite noticeable when they return to
Saturday cricket and play against kids that haven’t gone to the tournament,” Sheehy says.
Ward says for the Year 8 Rebels, playing a 50-over game is more like what they see on TV.
“It’s that excitement of playing in a 50-over game, the one-day format – they can emulate their heroes.”
For the Renegades, now made up of Year 10 players, the tournament is also five games in four days, but the team plays longer-length matches, with a 40-over game, a 50-over game, two T20s on the same day and then a 45-over game on the last day.
Sheehy says the Renegades team was started when the players were Year 8 and it was Rodney Cricket’s introduction to the tournament.
“Our son Tom Ward first heard about the HBCC in 2022 and got a group of mates together to enter the Year 8 tournament. The core of the team has stayed together for three years and comes year after year to play at the camp.
“They’re now 14 and 15 years old and it’s been a really great way for them to stay connected to each other, because some of them are at different schools now.”
This year the Renegades won every game.
“In the previous two tournaments they’d won one match total, but that never mattered because it was always about the fun they had and the growth. They’d never really focused on the result, which is pretty cool.
“But this year winning them all was really neat,” she says.
In contrast, the Rebels won their first match of the tournament “which was super-
exciting”, but they didn’t win the other four.
Ward says all of their games came down to the last one or two overs.
“They were all very close, with only a few balls in it. The Rebels weren’t getting blown off the park.”
He says whether the teams are winning or losing, ultimately it doesn’t matter.
“The kids don’t even care by the end of the week. They probably do at the beginning, or some of them do, but by the end of the week they’re just like, ‘oh well, you win, you lose’. And then they’re off to the next thing.”
Top performances
Rebels
Five-wicket bag Tyler Potaka
53 runs (maiden half-century) Louis Ward
50 runs Henry Cunis (after getting close twice earlier in the week with 44 and 49 runs)
Renegades
91 runs, Zac Laing,
Three half-centuries, Nate Cunis
