By Callum Hill
The University of Canterbury Blues Awards provided a successful night for the Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club as the Premier side took out one of the supreme awards, team of the year, after a tight victory over Lancaster Park in the Metro One Day final.
BWCUCC have always been proud of their affiliation with the University. The Premier side that took home team of the year featured seven current or past UC students, one of which was Thomas Zohrab (Law and Criminal Justice) who was man of the match taking 4-24 off his 10 overs and scoring 48 not out to guide BWCUCC home for only their second title in over 25 years.
Premier Captain and Canterbury representative Matt Hay was on hand to receive the award. After an impressive season himself with both bat and ball.
“We were really clear at the start of the season that we wanted to add to the clubs proud legacy and firstly to win the one day cup was really exciting and to be acknowledged on a larger scale up against some really strong other clubs was exciting & reinforced what we are trying to achieve.” Hay explained when asked about what the accolade meant to the club.
It was not only a special night for the Premier side. A number of Special mentions go out to UC students Mitchell Hay (Engineering) and Will O’Rouke (Sports Coaching) who received Blue awards for representing Canterbury last season in all three formats. Both men received professional contracts for the 2022/23 season. Premier scorer Arun Kumar (Engineering) won official of the year, for his involvement in scoring ICC Test matches at Hagley oval this summer.
Overall a successful night for the entire club. Not just for the players, but for everyone behind the scenes. A special reflection on a fantastic summer.