Howick Pakuranga rising from the ashes

A change of luck and the acquisition of an all-important home base for the Howick Pakuranga club could be just the boost the club's senior side needs after the loss of its clubrooms just before the start of last season.

With all cricket called off in Auckland at the weekend, Howick Pakuranga was left sitting on top of the points table after one round of play.

It is early days yet, but an agreement reached with the local athletics and harrier club at Lloyd Elsmore Park has been a timely boost for the club.

The cricket club's former clubrooms were burnt down on September 17, 1999 and three weeks ago the blot on the landscape was removed leaving a scar on the site of the former building.

Howick Pakuranga has had to drastically cut membership fees to retain players, especially in the lower grades due to the lack of clubrooms, but lately the local athletics and harrier club has lent cricket its own comfortable pavilion 100 metres further up the park and in easy sight of the main wicket.

Cricket club captain, Nigel Scott, said the athletics club's gesture meant that players could once more get together after Saturday fixtures and enjoy the conviviality that makes sport such a pleasure to play.

It was a point not lost on the first team's captain, Rowan Armour.

"It is important," he said, "that the lower grade and young players mingle with the top group. They gain so much just from rubbing shoulders with the representative players in the team."

The construction of new clubrooms starts in January and will be completed for the 2001 season and Scott is confident that it will make a strong impact on playing strength. But Armour, who doubles as an Auckland selector, was not prepared to blame the lack of a building on a disappointing end to last season.

"We lost a lot of players to various rep sides at vital times," he said. "We won the one-day title but couldn't go on with it.

"This season we are confident that we can make a dent on Cornwall and win the championship, clubrooms or no clubrooms."

Scott and Armour both believe the club's bad run of luck has brought players closer together and has enhanced their determination.

Premier grade points (after one round): Howick Pakuranga 7.70, Cornwall 6.75, North Shore 6.45, East Coast Bays 6.20, Suburbs New Lynn 6.03, Grafton 5.85, Parnell 5.58, Takapuna 5.36.

First grade points: Birkenhead 10.02, Waitakere City 6.38, Eden Roskill 5.90, University Akarana 5.70, Papatoetoe 5.41, Ellerslie 3.27.