By Dale Budge

Counties Manukau Cricket is in the midst of a golden run and that success looks set to continue for the foreseeable future on the back of increased depth across the region.

With their senior men’s side winning the regional Fergus Hickey Rosebowl, young talent coming through at representative level and the successful addition of two more Premier sides this summer, there is plenty of reason to think Counties Manukau can be a powerhouse of cricket in the seasons ahead.

Seasoned home-grown players Sam Varcoe, Sandeep Patel and Scott Johnston made their first-class debuts with Northern Districts this season, joining regular players Katene Clarke, Ish Sodhi and Jeet Raval in the Northern Brave set-up.

Varcoe has been captain of the side for the past two summers but has played with Counties Manukau since debuting as a teenager. He has seen the transformation first hand and has had a big role to play with it.

“I think Counties has done a great job over the past five years with their culture and depth of talent,” Varcoe told Counties Sports Hub. “We’ve traditionally been known as a region with some great individual players but struggled to consistently string together results and establish a winning culture.

“The opportunities, support and trust we are providing the broader squad, particularly in the past two Covid-affected seasons, has really paid off for us and we have a great blend of youth and experience who feel comfortable in the environment and trusted to play to their strengths and do their job successfully. 

“We’ve also been very fortunate to have some great coaches come through the region, both at a Men’s 1st XI level and through the youth grades and it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that.” 

There is no question the culture of the Counties Manukau side is having a big impact on the team’s success. Creating the right culture is something all sports team aspire to do but getting the recipe or blueprint correct remains the biggest challenge.

Counties Manukau Cricket Pathways Manager Spencer Cramer feels there are a number of people that have contributed to building what is clearly working

“The success we are currently witnessing from the group has been a few seasons in the making,” Cramer explained. “Key influences from former coaches Adil Somani, Tarun Nethula and senior players have helped the group set a platform to launch from.

“Current coach Shoruban Pasupati has been instrumental in building on those foundations and getting the best out of a very young and exciting group. I think, we have only begun to unfold what the group is truly capable of.

“Senior players Sam Varcoe, Sandeep Patel, Luke Williamson, Scott Johnston and James Naylor set the tone on field. Whilst players such as Kurt Barnes, Thomas Parima, Matt Wilson and Michael Schofield (to name a few) have contributed immensely to the off-field culture of the group.

“Another person, that has contributed to the group over a number of years has been Kim Williamson (team manager), who has been with the group through thick and thin. Her efforts off the field have been monumental and allow for the playing group and coach to focus on their cricket.”

Varcoe notices a greater depth at the pointy end now compared to when he first started playing for representative and Premier cricket.

“What I think the main difference now is the breadth of talent across all clubs, particularly with their younger players is probably stronger than it was in the past,” he said. “You don’t need to look any further than Manukau’s top three to see Rikesh Patel and Tayden Smit’s success this year, as well as players from other clubs like Leon Marconi, Cam Jerram, Aryandeep Mann and Fraser Farrell, who have already proven their ability to perform at the next level.

“It is also great to see both Southern Counties and Weymouth back playing Premier Cricket as it gives many more players the stage to prove their ability at the highest level of club cricket – an opportunity both clubs have already taken with both hands.”

Because of that depth and the emergence of so many talented newcomers, picking a Counties Manukau side has not been an easy task and players that might have been automatic selections in years gone by have missed out this summer.

“With a number of players stringing together strong performances this season, selecting 12 players on Fergus Hickey weekends was no easy task for the selectors,” Cramer explained. “To further complicate matters, the selectors had the added complexity of players being unavailable for selection due to Covid-19 isolation periods.

“Navigating selections would not have been possible without the efforts of our scouts in the region. This, coupled with the growing player depth, show promising signs for our region moving forward.”

This season’s victory in the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl competition over the likes of Hamilton, Waikato Valley, Bay of Plenty and Northland was just the third time in the region’s history and something Varcoe cherishes.

“The Fergus Hickey Rosebowl was a massive achievement for me. It’s something I’ve only ever won once prior as a player and the region has now only won three times in our history – to be a part of that history is very humbling.

“It has also been very satisfying for me to watch so many of the boys in the squad stand up in key moments for us and give us match-winning performances throughout the season. I think it’s really important for a side to trust the whole team to succeed and not rely too heavily on a few players, and I think we’ve done a great job of giving players those chances, which they’ve taken so well.

“Playing in the Fergus Hickey competition every season always demands such a high standard of cricket to even be competitive in, let alone win, so I’ve never taken winning in that competition lightly. I always knew following on from Luke’s [Williamson] success as captain was going to be a really tough ask, so it’s quite a relief to get some silverware under my belt.”

And casting his eyes ahead to next season, Varcoe is already raising the expectations and goals.

“From an on the field perspective, hopefully we will be able to play Brian Dunning [T20] and one day cricket again next season, so I would love the team to find some success in white ball cricket next season, as well as hopefully defending the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl,” Varcoe said.

“I think we are one of the front-runners for a Hawke Cup Challenge so it would be brilliant to get a chance at that. 

“In a broader sense I’d really love to see our young core of players continue to develop and find long-term success as a region both in the 1st XI side and at a club level as well.

“I think it would great to be able to watch this side for the next 10 years and see some of those younger blokes I am playing with now continue to develop, succeed and see where cricket can take them.”