A strong mix of youth and experience makes up the 11 players who will tackle Mid Canterbury’s first Hawke Cup match of the season when they take on Otago Country in Alexandra today.

The match, which was supposed to be the second in the Hawke Cup season, is now officially the first after Mid Canterbury’s first match was abandoned due to the flooding in Rangitata cutting off access for the baggy green and golds to get to Timaru for the match.

Coach Garfield Charles has chosen a starting 11 which boasts some in-form players from age-group representative cricket, plus some proven performers who will be asked to step up and lead from example, laying a solid platform for the new players.

The side hit the road during the middle of the day yesterday to head to Central Otago for the match and did so with some new faces in the van.

16-year-old Angus Jemmett has been given the opportunity to further his potential with a call-up into the side, making him one of the youngest debutants for Mid Canterbury in Hawke Cup history.

Jemmett, who hails from one of Mid Canterbury’s most prolific cricketing families had a strong Under 17 representative tournament for Mid Canterbury prior to Christmas, finishing in the top 10 run scorers for the tournament as well as making the top 10 wicket takers list as well.

Despite his youth, the Ashburton College student possesses a cool head out in the middle and the experience of the most elite of regional cricketing competitions will only further enhance his prospects for the future.

He’s joined by fellow youngsters, Devon Flannery who has been named as 12th man and also Will Graham who got his first taste of the Hawke Cup scene last year.

Jemmett and Flannery got a taste of senior representative cricket earlier in the season when they were both a part of the Rob Biggar Memorial winning side against South Canterbury.

Experienced shoulders such as the Southby brothers, James and William will be tasked with leading the way and joined by other familiar names; Nick Gilbert, Des Kruger, Archie Redfern, Matt Tait, Richard Turpie, Jay Houston and Shaun Stagg.

Otago Country will be wary of the threat Mid Canterbury pose, especially when the ball is thrown in the direction of Turpie, who 12 months ago produced one of the most remarkable spells of bowling in Mid Canterbury cricketing history when he ripped through their batting line up taking to take 8-13 off nine overs, including a hat trick.

That spell took Otago Country from being in a position to push for success, to absolute desperation as Mid Canterbury went on to win and book a Hawke Cup challenge against Southland.

From that match against Southland, there have been three changes to the side.

Jemmett, Graham and Flannery come into the side replacing, Alex Hooper, Matt Winter and Deon Biggs.

The two-day match kicks off this morning and will run into Sunday with a win for either side going a long way to helping them book a spot for a Hawke Cup challenge later in the season.

Mid Canterbury: James Southby (C), Nick Gilbert, Des Kruger, Archie Redfern, William Southby, Matt Tait, Richard Turpie, Jay Houston, Shaun Stagg, Will Graham, Angus Jemmett. Devon Flannery (12th man). Coach: Garfield Charles, Manager: Mike Southby, Scorer: Bob Bruhns.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 11 January 2020

Erin Tasker. Photo supplied.Mid Canterbury Netball has recently welcomed a new centre manager to their team, but she’s no stranger to the local netball scene.

Erin Tasker comes to the role from a background in media, having spent much of the past 17 years writing for newspapers in Mid Canterbury.

That’s meant many a Saturday afternoon in years gone by, and Thursday nights in more recent years, spent sideline at the Mid Canterbury Netball premier competition taking notes and photos.

“Someone said to me during the last netball season that I must dread having to work Thursday nights to cover netball, but I didn’t. It was the complete opposite, actually. I love watching netball so it was always one of the highlights of the week,” Tasker said.

The opportunity to take on the role of centre manager for Mid Canterbury Netball was both exciting and a little daunting for Tasker, but it had been time for a new challenge, and she was looking forward to taking a step outside of her comfort zone.

“After 17 years of doing the same job, it’s a whole new world and a little scary, but everyone has been so welcoming and so helpful, it’s made the transition so easy,” Tasker said.

Tasker – a mother of two boys – is one of three employees with Mid Canterbury Netball, joining netball development officer Natalie Shaw, and coach developer Claire Tappin.

Following the departure of administrator Aimee Cosgrove, the Mid Canterbury Netball board decided to change the administrator role to one of centre manager, and bring more of the voluntary work required in an organisation like Mid Canterbury Netball, under the umbrella of a paid staff member.

Volunteers were a crucial part of any sporting organisation, and many organisations were finding that they were becoming harder and harder to find. Tasker said that Mid Canterbury Netball was fortunate to have the good, strong group of willing volunteers that it had, which helped to ensure that the many competitions run throughout the year ran smoothly.

Netball was played by more than 1300 people in Mid Canterbury all year round now thanks to the facilities at the EA Networks Centre. Mid Canterbury Netball moved to the EA Networks Centre from its previous home at the College courts on Middle Road in 2015, and numbers had been on the up since.

Social netball has been one of the biggest areas of growth, going from six teams to 12 after the initial move. In 2018, 19 teams entered in the popular competition, and in 2019 that number grew to 24.

Mid Canterbury Netball’s summer league has also grown at a rapid rate. In 2018 it attracted 32 teams, and in the 2019 pre-Christmas competition there were 40 teams playing at the EA Networks Centre every Wednesday night. A new, post-Christmas Summer League competition will get under way on January 22 and registrations are now being taken through the Mid Canterbury Netball website.

Mid Canterbury Netball want to keep that momentum up and aim to create opportunities for anyone who want to give netball a go, the chance to do just that.

“It’s a great sport and we’re so lucky in Mid Canterbury that we’ve got this fantastic facility that allows us to play it all year round,” Tasker said.

Although she hasn’t played for a number of years herself, Tasker played netball growing up and remembers many a frosty Saturday morning spent at the College courts.

“It’d be so cold that the ball might hit the end of your finger but you wouldn’t really feel it, until a few hours later when your finger was all swollen,” Tasker said.

“Netballers in Mid Canterbury these days are so fortunate to have these facilities, and they’re well and truly making the most of it.”

© The Ashburton Guardian - 8 January 2020

Ashburton dental students Albertene Hefford, front, and Ruby Wills work on young patients in Cambodia. Photo supplied.Two young Ashburton women have been helping change lives and the dental hygiene habits of hundreds of poverty-stricken children in Cambodia.

Ruby Wills and Albertene Hefford, both 22, have just completed the fourth of five years training at Otago University to become dentists. They put their skills to work recently by volunteering to treat youngsters in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, where dental care is not free for children.

The work was heartbreaking and took an emotional toll on the women, but they say that the volunteer dental programme is slowly changing the habits of young Cambodians.

Ruby, who is also president of the New Zealand Dental Students Association, said the mobile clinic was set up in a school hall and equipment was basic, with electric drills run from generators.

Around 200 children, mostly between the ages of six and 12, were treated in the week-long clinic.

She said many presented with serious decay and she was one of five volunteer dentists from Otago treating, filling or extracting teeth. Some children had teeth that had decayed down to the root stump, which would have been very painful.

Cambodian dental students assisted in the clinic, often interpreting for the Kiwis.

The volunteer work was organised by One2One, which offers health programmes in developing countries.

Ruby and Albertene, who both went to Ashburton College, saved at least $2000 each over the past two years so they could be part of the volunteer team.

In exchange, they had a life-changing experience, working seven hours a day, in 30 degree heat, wearing masks and gloves.

In Cambodia, a local dentist first screened the children who then proceeded down a treatment line with notes about recommended work, which ranged from fluoride treatments and sealant for permanent teeth to basic fillings and extractions.

Ruby said poor oral hygiene, a lot of sugary food and a lack of education resulted in some heart-breaking situations, but the children were brave.

All were sent away with a toothbrush, toothpaste and instructions on how to clean their teeth.

A positive was that some children who had been treated at an earlier clinic showed improved oral health, she said.

“You could see improvement and could tell some had avoided further issues due to the education and the work. The idea is that we are helping them for now and setting them up for the future.”

Ruby said the experience was also about helping the student dentists better understand patient behaviour; they hope to do more charitable work in New Zealand when they graduate.

“Confidence, smiling and eating … that is huge.”

In their final year in 2020, the two women will do 24 hours a week clinical work, a lot of it charitable, in Dunedin as well as a five-week placement.

Albertene is heading to Gisborne for her placement while Ruby is off to Tonga.

Ruby said it was important for graduating dentists to know as much about the cultural backgrounds of their patients and barriers for maintaining good oral health.

“We do a lot of dentistry and gain more knowledge about different cultures here in New Zealand so we can better treat people.”

By Linda Clark © The Ashburton Courier - 7 January 2020