While most of Taranaki’s country cricket clubs have pulled stumps and long declared their innings over, one of the smallest is about to salute a special mark.
Auroa Cricket Club, in the heart of the region’s coastal farming land, will celebrate its 75th year this weekend with its annual ‘Ashes’ match against fellow country rival Pihama, before those who have been associated with its history sit down for a slap-up meal.
After that, New Zealand’s voice of cricket, veteran commentator Bryan Waddle, will be the guest speaker before some well-worn shoulders are rolled over in an old timer’s match that could be as entertaining as the previous night’s yarns of yesteryear.
Just about every south Taranaki kid who has played secondary school cricket would have had the pleasure of enjoying the shorter boundaries Auroa has offered up through Taranaki’s lower grades over the years.
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Most of those kids would remember turning up to the village’s school ground with its tin shed pavilion, hardly big enough to practice a back-foot drive in, before they would face a team sheet that featured the names of Taunt, Fevre, Hughes and Goodin.
Years on and some of those names have been replaced, although there’s still three Fevre’s, while the tin shed has been replaced with a pavilion that also features a bar, honours boards and club photographs.
“We’re pretty proud of some of the rules we’ve maintained,” veteran batsman Mark Cleaver said.
“If you part of the 11 who are at practice then you’re always part of the 11 who play on Saturday, no matter how good the excuse is from those who couldn’t make it.”
“If you don’t train, you don’t play,” batsman Dean Perrett adds.
There’s also a firm rule for whoever makes the honours board.
“That’s a keg shout,” club president Richard Muller straight bats.
Muller said there have been common threads looking back through the club’s minutes over the years – the first being the constant number of people who have pitched in to do things, the second that a good fridge was vital.
“That’s mentioned quite a few times,” he said.
There’s also the proud fact of the club’s four lower grade Taranaki championships and a competitive, albeit brief, spell in the premier grade.
Despite fending off the challenges of change in country life, including smaller community populations, differing demographics and school closures, Auroa has batted on unlike other clubs such as Opunake, Manaia, Kaponga, Oeo, Eltham, Rahotu and Te Kiri, which have long seen the umpire’s finger go up.
Not only that, the club also helps run its two school teams in Taranaki junior cricket.
It hasn’t always been easy.
More than two decades ago they were forced to default two games in one season due to a lack of numbers, while there’s more than a few playing in the current senior squad who admit their prime playing days are well and truly in the rear vision mirror.
But still they come back, drawn to the Thursday night trainings and the Saturday morning starts that are followed by plenty of sweat on the outfield before a couple of cold ones, some honest banter and the odd late game of euchre as the moths dance around the pavilion lights.
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How Taranaki's tiny Auroa Cricket Club batted its way to three … – Stuff
