Tokoroa Cricket Success

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 13, 26 January 1978, Page 4

Tokoroa Cricket Success

by

Terry Power

Uia Punga has become the first Tokoroa resident, and the first player of Cook Islands parentage, to play for the Northern Districts junior secondary schoolboy cricket side.

He was a member of the Northern Districts XI which defeated Auckland on the first innings, in their annual (wo-day match at Tauranga on December 15 and 16, being one of only two third formers included in the team. He has been chosen again in the ND squad of 12 to compete in the six-team North Island tournament in New Plymouth from January 23 to 27.

Uia is a legspinner, the least common form of specialist bowler, both at rep schoolboy and first-class levels. Unusually, there were three talented exponents of legspin bowling at the Northern Districts junior secondary tournament at Bedford Park, Matamata, from which the N D team was picked — the other two were Ross Cooper (Northland) and Dean Askew (Hamilton). Uia got the nod not only through his bowling efforts,

which included 3/8 against the defending joint champions, Bay of Plenty, and four wickets in his first two overs against Northland. He is also a fine fieldsman, with good hands and remarkable anticipation, and took several excellent catches off his own bowling. Though, in general, he did not bowl as well on the turf at Tauranga as on the helpful matting wickets at Matamata, Uia did take the most important single Auckland wicket of the match. At a stage when Richie Poulton (Auckland Grammar School) was batting beautifully on 56, and looking likely to continue indefinitely. Uia had him Lb.w. with a straight one which hurried through. He had the advantage of being in teams with good cap-

tains. The fact that Midlands-Thames Valley finished joint second at Matamata, despite suspect batting, came largely through the medium-pace bowling efforts of the skipper, Murray Tribble (Waihi College)from one end, in tandem with Uia at the other. The Northern Districts team is led by Paul Duncan (Gisborne Boys’ High School), who in a quiet but effective way is the best captain it has had in its fiveyear history.

Uia is the son of Mr and Mrs R. Punga of Aotea Crescent. who are active followers of his climbing cricket fortunes. Mr Punga explains that, while he came from the Cook Islands, Uia was born and has lived all his life in Tokoroa.