ACA is proud to present the first Club Report of 2025/26! On Saturday, all our men’s CityGuard Premier, Premier Reserve, Premier Three and Championship teams took the field on a dry, warm day, marking the first day of club cricket in 2025/26. Read below to see how the Premier grades got along.

CITYGUARD Premier Men | Hedley Howarth – Premier Major Two Day Competition

Auckland University Premier Men vs. Takapuna Premier Men
Colin Maiden Park

Takapuna 129/5 (S Collinson 52*) trail Auckland University 172 (R McCullum 63, S Collinson 7/78) by 43 runs

Out at CMP, honours were shared at the end of day one between Takapuna and University with some stand out individual performers from both teams. While ball dominated bat for most of the day, the most eye catching innings was from Riley McCullum with 63 at the top of the order for AUCC. The day, however, belonged emphatically to Taka’s Sam Collinson, who not only tore through the home side with figures of 7/78 but dug in later in the day with the bat (52*) to save the visitors from collapsing in a heap. Has anyone had a better first day of the season than him?

Parnell Premier Men vs. East Coast Bays Premier Men
Shore Road Reserve

Parnell 41/1 trail East Coast Bays 217 (L Watson 66, R Schierhout 63) by 176 runs

There was a classic “Battle of the Bridge” out at Shore Road on Saturday as the Parnell arguably had the edge at the end of day one versus visitors East Coast Bays. After winning the toss and electing to bowl, however, the home side may have started to question their own logic when Bays’ talented openers Ryan Schierhout and Luke Watson both compiled 60-odds. Parnell came roaring back with some quick wickets and managed to keep ECB’s middle order relatively quiet. Eventually the visitors were bowled out for 217 (main wicket takers James Nelson 3/65, Hayden Dickson 2/40), not a bad early season effort in the first dig. Parnell did well to reach stumps at just one down and they will resume next week in reply at 1/41.

Cornwall Premier Men vs. Suburbs New Lynn Premier Men
Cornwall Park

Suburbs New Lynn 128/8 (S Devereaux 53) trail Cornwall 180 (S Crooks 59, J Sandhu 4/48) by 52 runs

At beautiful Cornwall Park the home side went to stumps the happier team as they overcame a low first innings effort to rattle visitors Suburbs New Lynn before stumps. Electing to bat first, Cornwall enjoyed the stability of Sam Crooks (59) at the top of the order but Suburbs kept chipping away, mainly thanks to Jaskaran Sandhu (4/48), and were eventually all out for 180. The visitors were in a world of trouble in their reply with the top four all making ducks as Cornwall’s opening bowlers Liam Wheeler (3/23) and Daniel Watt (3/19, including a hat trick!) made hay. SNL ended day one still 52 runs behind with just 2 wickets in hand.

Grafton Premier Men vs. Howick Pakuranga Premier Men
Victoria Park

Grafton 14/0 trail Howick Pakuranga 254 (D Taylor 74, T Drumm 51, C Bethune 4/63) by 240 runs

Under the shadow of the Sky Tower, Auckland’s most central club Grafton made a solid enough start to their season against Howick Pakuranga at Victoria Park. The home side were in trouble early though, losing two quick wickets to Taine Jolley before Dylan Taylor resisted with a counter attacking 74 off 75. Thomas Drumm (51 off 140) provided an anchor and after some decent lower order contributions Grafton were eventually bowled out for 254. Caine Bethune (4/63) was the pick of Howick Pak’s bowlers. In reply, the HPCC openers did well to reach stumps unscathed. Next week will be very interesting.


CITYGUARD Premier Men | Tom Hellaby – Premier Minor Two Day Competition

Kumeu Premier Men vs. Birkenhead Premier Men
Huapai Domain

Kumeu 100 & 74/2 lead Birkenhead 159/5 (A Kariyawasam 54*) dec. by 15 runs

Wickets tumbled up in Auckland’s North West as the visiting Birkenhead arguably had the better of the hosts on day one of their two dayer. At Huapai Domain, the visitors were immediately justified in their decision to bowl first as they tore through Kumeu’s batting order to rout them for 100; Kabir Shingala offering the most resistance with 37. In reply, Birkenhead approached the innings with a high level of match intelligence, aggressively compiling 156/5 in just 25 overs before declaring. Ashail Kariyawasam did the bulk of the damage with an unbeaten 54 off 40. Birkenhead would’ve hoped for a second capitulation by the hosts, but Kumeu resisted mightily as they wiped the deficit and ended day one just two down and 14 runs ahead. The match is thus well set for an epic conclusion next week.
 

Hibiscus Coast Premier Men vs. North Shore Premier Men
Victor Eaves Park

Hibiscus Coast 10/3 trail North Shore 295/4 dec. (D Middleton 100*, R Langford 75, C Harrison-Tubb 53) by 285 runs

Up at Auckland’s most northern reaches, the visiting North Shore Premier Men made the ideal start to their 2025/26 season with a dominating display against hosts Hibiscus Coast. Electing to bat first, Shore overcame an early loss to pile on the runs, with the four of their top five making over 40. Daniel Middleton became the first Premier Men centurion of the season with an unbeaten hundred, guiding the visitors to 295/4 before they declared. Giving themselves just a handful of overs against the hosts before stumps, Shore then ripped through Coast’s top three and will come back next week with a good chance of grabbing some first innings points.


Eden Roskill Premier Men vs. Waitakere Premier Men
Keith Hay Park

Eden Roskill 166/7 (Harjot Johal 56) trail Waitekere 217 by 51 runs

There was another close matched being played out at Keith Hay Park on Saturday with honours nearly even at stumps between hosts Eden Roskill and visitors Waitakere. After being sent in, Waitakere compiled 217 against Eden Roskill’s talented bowling arsenal with no batters able to get beyond starts - Sachin Variath the lead run scorer with 37. All the Roskill bowlers applied themselves well with Ser Safi and Pankaj Kumar grabbing three wickets each. Waitakere’s bowlers surged in defense with quick wickets through the middle leaving the hosts 7 down and 52 runs in arrears by stumps. Harjot Johal (56) and opener Swayam Desai (46) scored the majority of the runs for the hosts. The match is nicely poised for this Saturday with Eden Roskill seeking lower order partnerships and Waitakere looking to wrap things up before batting again.


Papatoetoe Premier Men vs. Ellerslie Premier Men
Papatoetoe Rec Ground

Papatoetoe 104/4 (P Rehal 51*) trail Ellersie 194 (A Burton 84) by 90 runs

Down at Papateotoe Rec Ground, another close match was being fought. Electing to bowl first, Papatoetoe made great use of earlier conditions to grab two quick Ellerslie wickets. The visitors innings was held together by opener Alan Burton who compiled a patient 84 to anchor the innings. Rohit Gulati was the pick of the bowlers with a miserly 3/39 off 25 overs. In reply, the hosts lost some early wickets but were anchored by opener Prabjyot Rehal who went to stumps unbeaten on 51. They’ll resume next week 90 runs behind with 6 wickets in hand.

Article added: Monday 20 October 2025