HCCC News - 6 November

Hi Members,

It was great to hear that cabinet has agreed, in principle, to Auckland moving down to level 3.2 from 11.59pm on Tuesday 9th November.

Auckland Cricket met with club managers again on Tuesday morning to discuss what this could mean for cricket. Discussions were had as to whether we could start cricket training due to the outdoor numbers moving to 25 and no limits on numbers of households, and even games. Late Thursday, we received confirmation of the following from ACA:

What's allowed and what's not - Sport NZ and ACA guidelines

Community Cricket in Level 3, Step 2.  

General 

• Outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people can occur (no restrictions on the number of households).
• No sharing of equipment (i.e., balls, batting equipment).
• No food or drinks are to be shared.
• All indoor facilities remained closed including toilets and changing rooms.

Team Trainings 

• Outdoor team trainings can commence as long as all guidelines are followed.
• No equipment is shared.
• Batters and wicketkeepers must have their own equipment.
• Each bowler must use their own ball and batters and other players must not touch it.
• We encourage each bowler to bring their own ball, however, if not practical and club balls are used a player must be issued one ball for the entire session, no other player is to touch this ball, and balls are to be cleaned before and after every training.
• Fielding training is only possible where it can be done without sharing balls (or other equipment).
• For example, if it is in a one-on-one capacity and; 
• Where a hitter either directly hits the ball with the bat or catches the ball with a catching mitt and hits it to the fielder.
• Where a wicket keeper (wearing their own gloves) rolls the ball along the ground to a single fielder.
• Physical distancing (two metres) should be maintained at all times within training bubbles.
• No mixing between training bubbles. 
• Masks should be worn when not training, but not required while training. 
• Hands should be sanitized before and after trainings. 
• Players should not linger before or after trainings. 
• Participants should scan in with the NZ Covid Tracer app. 

Games 

• Under Level 3 Step 2 equipment cannot be shared, including balls. This means that no form of any game can be undertaken (that includes senior, junior and internal club games).

Vaccinations 
Auckland Cricket strongly encourages all eligible people within the cricketing community to be double vaccinated.

Level 3 Step 2

• At this stage there is no government mandate nor stipulation that members need to be vaccinated to partake in physical activity under Level 3 Step 2.
• However, Auckland Cricket encourages that any member who partakes in any cricketing activity at Level 3 Step 2 should be vaccinated.
• We encourage all to respect each other’s privacy and be kind to one another as we navigate through this Step.

Covid 19 Protection Framework (Traffic Light System)

• We are currently working with NZC and through them Sport NZ for further guidance on the role vaccination certificates will play in community sport, and if so, how this will be managed. We realise that this is a challenging area to negotiate for clubs and we are trying to work as quickly as possible to be able to offer quality advice that is practical for clubs to use.

Season Start Dates
At this point we are awaiting news on competition start dates but know it will not be at level 3.2. We will advise as soon as we hear more.

Training
Seniors will begin training on Thursday evening 11th November, provided we are at level 3.2

Draft junior teams have been drawn up and we will be getting in touch with each group separately in the next few days to find coaches and managers and advise training days. We are still looking for more players at all levels U10-U13, so if you know someone who has not yet registered please let them know to do so.

In the mean time, why not do some training at home...
While we wait for trainings to hopefully start next week try some of the following:
Fielding - Practise your throwing from different distances with a partner. A baseball glove will help to catch the ball if your hands become sore.
Batting - Using your feet against spinners is an important skill, so place a tennis ball on the ground a couple of metres forward of your stance. Look at the ball, then close your eyes and move towards the ball and try to hit it. This will tell you if your balance is correct and allows your feet to move in the right direction. Again use a tennis ball in case you step on the ball.
Bowling - A bowler needs be able to control the ball in the hand at all times so to get your own personal wrist position correct following these drills in front of the tv. You will see most bowlers doing this before they bowl during the T20 World Cup.

• Seam and swing
• Hold the ball with index and middle fingers on each side of the seam. Have your palm facing down and flick the wrist back as you release the ball. The ball should spin backwards and the aim is to get the seam as straight as possible rather than wobbling. This will help the seam come out of your hand perfectly when bowling.
• Spin
• Hold the ball across the seam and spin it out of your hand in the air to the other hand. See how hard you can spin the ball without losing control.

Uniform
Thanks to those of you who purchased uniform. The majority has arrived so we will be in touch very shortly to arrange pickup.

Meet the People
This week we are introducing some of our Managing Committee
Richard Casutt - Managing Committee Chair
Richard grew up in Christchurch, cricket mad, playing with his uncle from a young age. He played school, and for Lancaster Park Cricket Club as a junior, and then Shirley Boys High 1^st XI, for 3 years, captaining in his last year of school. Some notable stars in his team were Nathan Astle and Garry Stead, and when he left school Craig McMillan replaced him as a year 9. Richard played Senior Club Cricket for East Christchurch Shirley out of School then transferred to Sydenham Cricket Club, where he got to open the batting with Darryn Murray, Blair Hartland at 3. Stephen Fleming came in at no.4, and Lee Germon at No. 5, when they were back from Black Caps duty! 

Richards favourite cuisine is Mexican
His favourite animal the Tiger
Favourite holiday destination? Croatia, Switzerland, Bay of Islands (Taupo Bay for the holidays)
His favourite sports (other than cricket) are Volleyball and Beach Volleyball
The most famous people Richard has ever met are Prince Harry at the London Olympics and Cliff Richard at Lancaster Park
His favourite music and/or band are U2 and Hip Hop
Richard's highest batting score is 100 – Senior Club Match vs High School Old Boys and his best bowling figures are 7/41 1^st Xl
His favourite cricket player's are Sunil Gavaskar and Richard Hadlee 

Richard has worked in sport for most of his career, in Volleyball in New Zealand and Australia. He has been lucky enough to work 3 Olympics, Sydney, Beijing and London in Beach Volleyball, and now works for Harbour Sport developing sport and recreation across the region. His life really is about whanau and he has a 4 year old girl who is his boss!

Geoff Smith - Senior Chair
Geoff grew up on a dairy farm near Matamata in the Waikato many many years ago. 
He has many favourite foods: Italian, Thai or Japanese 
His favourite animal is his cat Layla 
And his favourite holiday destination is Italy, he's been 5 times.
Geoff's favourite sport, other than cricket, is rugby
And the most famous person he's ever met is David Beckham
He enjoys a range of music but his favourites are Indie rock, electronic and shoegaze. 
His highest batting score is 140 and best bowling figures are 7/25 
His favourite cricket player is Sir Richard Hadlee 
Geoff works in IT/Computer geekery as System Engineer for a fishing company and lives in a home full of estrogen with 4 teenagers between the ages of 10 and 16 so feels he is totally outnumbered and hen-pecked.
He play's the guitar (not particularly well - his words) and loves film.
The infamous underarm incident piqued his interest and he fell in love with cricket. Throughout the 80's Geoff enjoyed watching Hadlee decimate teams. Martin Crowe is also a cricketing hero. 

Roberto Coetzee - Youth Chair
Roberto grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, in the era towards the end of the apartheid regime. Nelson Mandela was released when he was in my last year at high school, and everyone had the privilege to cast a vote for the very first time the year after, when he was in my first year at University. The start of that new era gave all non-white people in SA hope that an even playing field would give every potential sports person equal opportunities. It is interesting to see though that even right now at the T20 Cricket World Cup, that the SA cricket team is still plagued by inter-racial issues after 25 plus years- so sad. 
In his early years, his uncle was his inspiration for cricket. From as young as he can remember, he used to sit with him and watch through many a test match on the TV. Those were the so called Rebel tours at the time, as due to apartheid, the ICC did not allow any official tours by other cricket playing countries to SA. They would fall asleep in-front of the TV, just to wake up later again and continue to watch the game. His uncle had such a love for cricket, he taught Roberto the rules and gave him his first bat and pads, which were way too big for him... Although his school did not have the facilities, equipment and no cricket team, he and a few other cricket-loving boys set up their own competitions with neighbouring schools. They had to join the local cricket club, and played senior cricket at a very young age. During those years, his local club were forbidden to play against other white clubs in their area, and they had to drive miles just to play against other teams similar to them. Roberto also had the opportunity to play Junior Rep cricket for the Boland District and for the North Western Districts when they moved into that area in SA. He still played a bit at University level, but gave that up to focus on his studies. His two sons, Tim and Ryan, have been playing cricket with the club since the Milo-cricket days and continue to enjoy it.  
Roberto's favourite food is Curry 
His favourite animal is an Eagle as it has so many qualities that we can learn from and apply in our lives. 
His favourite holiday destination is Zanzibar, Mauritius
His favourite sports (other than cricket) are not much else outside of cricket with two sons playing, but do enjoy WATCHING golf, and he was a champion chess player in his school years. 
The most famous people he has ever met are Nelson Mandela and Chester Williams (the first non-white rugby player to have played for the Springboks)
His favourite music is Instrumental Jazz ( too many fav bands to mention)
His highest batting score is 60 no and his best bowling figures are 3/18 - Boland Rep team 
Favourite cricket player's include Sachin Tendulkar and Hansie Cronje  
Moving to New Zealand, he's been involved with HCCC for the last 12 years, first as a parent, then junior parent coach for 6 years and he now serves on the club board in the youth space, as the Club Representative on the Harbour Junior Cricket Board. 

Marc Armitage - Secretary
Marc grew up in Hobart, Tasmania which he tells us was an awesome place to be a kid. 
His favourite cuisine is Italian
His favourite animal is his cat Columbus
His favourite holiday destination of places he has been probably Barcelona but after a short taste of the Caribbean he's desperate to do it properly.
Favourite sport is Basketball (never played cricket)
The most famous people Marc has ever met are Joe Biden, and the King of Denmark.
Favourite bands are Dire Straits, same as our club manager. Also Dandy Warhols and Fleetwood Mac. 
Marc's highest batting score is 1* (he's played one game of club cricket when he was 20 to fill in) and best bowling figures: 0/0, he's never bowled in any organised cricket. He has a great economy rate.
Favourite cricket player is Ricky Ponting
Marc's life revolves around his two year old and the variety she brings has saved him and his wife from insanity during lockdown. He wishes she would take that variety into her choice of film as watching part of Moana every night before she goes to bed is starting to get tiring.

So what are you waiting for?
Register now for some cricket fun in the sun with your mates.
www.hibiscuscricket.co.nz/register
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