The last two Western Bay of Plenty age group cricket teams have returned home from the 2015 Riverbend Cricket tournaments in Hawkes Bay after what's being described as a highly successful tournament.

With emphasis on player development, both on and off the field, the annual Riverbend competition is a major component in the WBOP junior cricket pathway.

Photo: file.

The last team at the tournament was the WBOPCA Year Eight Representatives side which finished in third place in the Riverbend Year Eight Championship. After winning their first two 50-over encounters and day three washed out, the Western Bay side qualified for the championship semi-finals.

The Western Bay reps failed by just five runs to defeat North City from Wellington to earn a berth in the title decider.

The playoff for third place was equally as tight, with Western Bay posting 138/3 and then restricting Midlands to 131/7. Individual honours were Tim Pringle (61) and Taylor Bettelheim (52no) on day one and Fergus Lellman with his sides top score of the tournament of 76 against Howick-Pakuranga on day two.

Earlier in the week the two Western Bay Year Nine and Ten sides posted identical records of four wins and two losses. On day three WBOPCA Gold completely outclassed local side Taradale.

The Western Bay side posted a massive 264/6 with Marcel Collett blasting a tournament century when he finished his turn at bat with 115 runs to his name. Iman Singh also played a big part in the Western Bays team's big score hammering 68 runs. The Gold bowlers then rolled Taradale for 78 to grab a 168 run victory.

WBOPCA Year Eight Representative Team

Day One (50-over match)

Napier-Tech 173/5 lost to WBOP 174/3 (Tim Pringle 61, Taylor Bettelheim 52no)

Day Two (50-over match)

WBOP 200 all out (Fergus Lellman 76, Taylor Bettelheim 40, Carson Wills 18) defeated Howick-Pakuranga 144 all out (Tim Pringle 4/25)

Day Three - Washed out

Day Four (30-over matches)

Top Four Semi-Final

North City (Wellington) 118 all out (Fergus Lellman 2/15, Tim Pringle 2/16, Rhys Donaghy 2/17) defeated WBOP 114/7 (Taylor Bettelheim 32, Hunter Dickson 25no, Ryan Schneebeli 22)

Third and Fourth Place Play-Off

WBOP 138/3 (Carson Wills 47) defeated Midlands 131/7 (Finn Hoare 2/13)

Played Four Won Three Lost One

WBOPCA Year Nine & Ten

Day One (45-over matches)

WBOP Blue 114 all out (Dominic Crombie 33, Cameron Riley 20) lost to Napier-Tech Year Ten 115/3

WBOP Gold 214/7 (Iman Singh 40, James Beard 30, Eddie Johnson 27) defeated Cornwall Hastings 184 all out (Finn Sears 3/13, Max Delaney 2/22)

Day Two (50-over matches)

WBOP Blue 189/9 (Cameron Riley 48, Louis Robinson 40, Dominic Crombie 28) defeated Cornwall Hastings 111 all out (Louis Robinson 3/14, Jacob Logan 2/5, Dominic Crombie 2/12)

WBOP Gold 137 all out (Iman Singh 27, Scott Ellerington 35, James Beard 25) lost to Havelock North 138/6 (Oakley Dench 2/6)

Day Three (50-over matches)

WBOP Blue 166/9 (Dominic Crombie 35, Jeremy Guernier 33no) defeated Napier-Tech Year Nine 89 all out

WBOP Gold 264/6 (Marcel Collett 115, Iman Singh 68, Scott Ellerington 20no) defeated Taradale 78 all out (Colt Jerram 2/7, Finn Sears 2/14)

Day Four (T/20 matches)

Havelock North 80/9 (Ben Woodrow 4/10, Louis Robinson 2/10) defeated WBOP Blue 71

WBOP Gold 116/8 (Max Delaney 44no, Tasman Carsons 20) lost to Napier-Tech 119/4 (Euan McNaught 2/18)

Taradale 71/9 (Louis Robinson 2/8, Luke Elliffe 2/17) lost to WBOP Blue 72/2 (Ben Woodrow 36no)

WBOP Gold 98 all out (Finn Sears 26) defeated Rotorua 97/9 (Euan McNaught 3/3, Finn Sears 2/19)

Both Teams – Played Six Won Four Lost Two