Bay of Plenty Senior Men successfully challenged Hawkes Bay last weekend to win the Hawke Cup, winning the three-day match outright by 6 wickets. Bay Of Plenty last held the coveted NZ Cricket District Association trophy during the 2013-2014 season, defending four times before conceding to Manawatu. 

Bay of Plenty Coach Graeme Aldridge was confident going into the match of a victory "Our preparation was very good with access to grass nets for the week beforehand so that gave the team a lot of confidence in their own skills.  It was different playing a team we knew nothing about but we knew if we played well we would be a good chance."

"Over the whole season we've really shared the performances around to win games. The standout (of this match) was the century from Ben Musgrave. He probably played his best innings ever, certainly at this level and it was very good viewing.

After the game the team was obviously very happy. It was a nice way to end the season and for BOP cricket it is the highest level we can play at." 

Ben Musgrave gained his century off just 115 balls, with other performances of mention coming from Northern Knights' Jono Boult who achieved a patient 94 in the first innings following three wickets for just five runs with the ball, and Brett Hampton who took 3/41 and finished with 63 not out in the final chase.  

Northern Districts Cricket Association CEO Peter Roach is happy to see the Cup back in the hands of the Senior BOP Team, with the Hawke Cup adding further gloss to a dream season for BOP and a trophy cabinet which already includes the Brian Dunning Trophy (ND One Day Competition) and Fergus Hickey Rosebowl (ND Multi Day Competition) from this season. 

"Northern Districts Cricket is delighted to see the return of the Hawke Cup to its region, and congratulates Graeme and his team on their fine performance.  We hope it remains in the ND region for some time. 

Bay of Plenty Cricket deserves great credit for their efforts in qualifying to be the ND challenger, and then to win the Cup over the weekend.  It should not be forgotten also that this team was successful in the challenge with Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Daniel Flynn, Dean Brownlie, Bharat Popli and Tony Goodin all unavailable, highlighting the depth of talent in the region."