Manawatū Cricket Association

12/10/2026

What's on in junior cricket this term 🏏

There's something for every age, from Smash Play for our youngest cricketers through to The 100 for Year 9/10s. Here are the start dates:

📅 Wed 21 Oct – Secondary school cricket
📅 Thu 29 Oct – Smash Play Coaching Session (free)
📅 Fri 30 Oct – The 100 · Year 9/10
📅 Sat 31 Oct – Saturday junior club cricket
📅 Week of 2 Nov – Smash Play · Years 1–4
📅 Thu 5 Nov – Dual Pitch Smash · Years 3–6
📅 Sun 15 Nov – Super League · Years 6–8

Swipe through for times, venues and how to join 👉

Questions? Flick us a message or email [email protected]

12/10/2026

Backyard Cricket Skills Ep.18 — Spin pivots

Every good spinner has a strong base. This is how you build it.

Drive up and over your front leg, then let your back leg swing right round so you finish facing where you've bowled. That's about a 180-degree turn through the crease.

The keys:
Front leg firm. Bowl over it, don't collapse into it.
Back leg and hip come all the way round, not halfway.
Finish balanced, chest facing your target.

Then level up:
Level 1: no ball. Walk through the action slowly until the turn feels natural.
Level 2: add the ball and bowl at a target. The river from Ep.15 works well here.
Level 3: add two or three steps in.

Ep.7 was about getting revs on the ball. This is about putting your whole body behind them.

11/10/2026

Manawatu Women's Fixture for the summer are out.

The Copelin Cup is CD's senior women's one-day trophy.

📍 Sun 8 Nov – v Taranaki, New Plymouth
📍 Sun 22 Nov – v Hawke's Bay, Napier
📍 Sun 6 Dec – v Wairarapa, Masterton
📍 Sun 24 Jan – v Wairarapa, Palmerston North 🏠

Wairarapa are the back-to-back defending champs, so we've got a job to do. Come down and support the team at our home game in January!

11/10/2026

SuperSmash back in Palmy this summer.

Save the dates.

11/10/2026

🏏 This Wednesday: Junior Coaching Evening

📅 Wednesday 14 October, 6.30–8.30pm
📍 Fitzherbert Park

Whether you've coached for years or you've just put your hand up to help, there'll be games and drills you can take straight to training. We'll finish the night with Kingi from Sport Manawatū.

Junior cricket starts Friday 30 October, so this is good timing.

Free, drinks and nibbles provided. Just turn up.

11/10/2026

Backyard Cricket Skills Ep.17 — Duck and weave

Grab a tennis ball and someone to throw it. They bounce it in short so it rises at you, and your job is to get out of the way.

The keys:
Eyes on the ball the whole way. Don't turn your head away.
Decide early: duck under it, or sway out of the line.
Stay balanced and keep your hands down, out of the way.

Then level up:
Level 1: your thrower lets you know it's coming short
Level 2: they mix it up, short or full, and you decide
Level 3: bat in hand. Duck, sway, or leave it alone

Every batter faces the short ball eventually. The ones who look comfortable against it practised getting out of the way first.

Tennis ball only for this one.

10/10/2026

Backyard Cricket Skills Ep.16 - Obstacle course

This one's just for fun.

Set up a course with whatever you've got: cones, shoes, buckets, the garden chair. Then get round it with your bat and ball, two ways:

On the ground: dribble the ball round the course with your bat, like hockey. Keep it close and under control.
In the air: juggle the ball on your bat the whole way round, like Ep.1. Drop it and you go back to the start.

Time yourself and try to beat it. Or race someone at home.

It's all hand-eye and bat control, the same feel for the ball you want when you're working it into gaps. But mostly, it's a good laugh.

09/10/2026

Backyard Cricket Skills Ep.15 - The river

Every bowler needs a spot to aim at. This is it.

Mark out a box on the ground in front of you with cones, chalk or tape. That's your river: the area where a good ball lands, on a good line and a good length. It doesn't need to be a full pitch, just enough room to bowl a few steps in.

Then bowl, and aim to land every ball in the river.

Count how many out of six land in it. That's your over.
Getting four or more? Make the river narrower.
Getting six? Make it smaller again.

Having the river in front of you trains your eyes to pick a spot before you let go. Take it into a match and you'll see it on the pitch even when it's not marked.

08/10/2026

Looking to upskill on PlayHQ for the season? NZC will be offering online club admin training such as E-scoring and App training sessions to help administrators, volunteers and scorers upskill ahead of the 2026-27 cricket season. Click on the link below to get started

​Join the PlayHQ team for the Summer 2026 product launch built around game day readiness, a major release for New Zealand Cricket.Suitable for all MA & DA competition leads and Club and School Managers.

08/10/2026

🏏 Junior Coaching Evening — next Wednesday

📅 Wednesday 14 October, 6.30–8.30pm
📍 Fitzherbert Park

Coaching juniors this season, helping out at your club, or just keen to learn? Come along. We'll be out on the park running warm-up games, batting, bowling and fielding drills, then finishing with a chat and Q&A.

Free, drinks and nibbles provided. No need to register, just turn up.

Tag someone who's coaching this summer 👇