Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

New sporting seasons always bring fresh expectation, opportunity and hope - no matter what went before in previous times.

This Saturday eight Bay of Plenty premier cricket teams will start their chase for three pieces of Baywide cricket silverware.

In recent seasons the power of Baywide cricket has been firmly in the Western Bay of Plenty.

Last season Otumoetai Cadets annexed the Baywide Cup, which qualified them for the ND club championships, which they won.

Greerton broke a 27 year Williams Cup drought to claim the long time symbol of Baywide cricket superiority, with Tauranga Boys' College winning the inaugural T20 competition.

The race for the first piece of Baywide silverware starts this weekend when eight teams chase the first past the post Baywide Cup. Local contenders Tauranga Boys' College, Greerton, Mount Maunganui, Cadets and Te Puke will be joined by East Bay United and Rotorua sides BOP Indians and Central in the chase for Baywide silverware.

Sideline Sid has been gazing into the crystal ball in order to try and select this seasons Baywide winners.

One fact he is certain of, is that both the Baywide and Williams Cup one-day competitions will be taken out by a Western Bay side.

Putting his neck on the line Sid says that the two one-day trophies will be decided between Cadets, Mount Maunganui and Greerton.

Based at the Tauranga Domain the Cadets side are still reeling from not nailing the Williams Cup last season, when Greerton got up in a dramatic finish to nail them on the line.

Led by Bay skipper Jono Boult, who was in outstanding form with both bat and ball last season, the team has fixed their aim with a steely determination on the Baywide and Williams Cup double.

Williams Cup champions Greerton put aside inconsistent for earlier in the season to get up and win the Baywide trophy that dates back to the 1930s.

While the club will see little of Brett Hampton, who has picked up a ND contract, they have secured Cameron Neal, Elliot Timoti and Tom Clout from last season's Tauranga Boys' first eleven. All three players are youngsters of real quality who are likely to thrive in the Greerton environment.

Master blaster Pete Drysdale leads a quality batting attack at Mount Maunganui. Drysdale dominated last season's Baywide batting statistics with 329 runs and a top score of 140 not out.

New season skipper Mark Divehall is another that likes nothing better than to put bat to ball.

Murphy's Law would suggest Sideline Sid leaves out Te Puke and Tauranga Boys' College at his peril.

Te Puke, which has claimed the most Williams Cup victories over the years, weren't that far away in the Baywide competitions last season and has added a notable batsman to their ranks this year.

Charles Williams, who will assist Coach Pete Swan with the coaching duties, is another who puts the boundaries under siege when he is in the groove.

Tauranga Boys' College are mentored by teacher and former ND player Mark Orchard and can never be left out of the equation.

The school that has produced Black Caps Kane Williamson and Daniel Flynn in the last decade is a real nursery for Bay of Plenty players of the future. They are currently away in the sunshine in Queensland preparing for the rigours of a long season of Schools and Baywide cricket.

Seeya at the Game.