One of the oldest trophies in Bay of Plenty sport is up for grabs this weekend.

Expect excitement in the second half of the current cricket season, with nine rounds of preliminary Versatile Williams Cup competition leading into the March playoffs.

Today's opening Williams Cup round provides a mouthwatering clash between two Baywide heavyweights.

The 2023 Bay of Plenty Cup titleholders Mount Maunganui will host defending Williams Cup holders, Cadets, at Blake Park, in a replay of last seasons Williams Cup title decider.

A Rotorua derby, between Craigs Geyser City and Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians will take place at Smallbone Park.

Generation Homes Lake Taupo, will hit the road to meet Eves Realty Greerton at Pemberton Park, with Flying Mullet Te Puke at home to Craigs Tauranga Boys College.

The Williams Cup was presented to the Rotorua Cricket Association in 1932, by Mr and Mrs Godfrey Williams. The long-time cricket prize was first contested as a challenge trophy before becoming the major Baywide trophy.

New Zealand in 1932 was a vastly different nation from today. The country had a population of just 1.5 million residents with horses still the primary transport in many rural regions.

Rotorua was the seat of Bay of Plenty local government, with all major government departments firmly entrenched in the Geyser City - while Tauranga was little more than a sleepy fishing village.

Perusal of the Williams Cup engraving reveals a plethora of different clubs who have won the big prize over the last ninety plus years. The first name engraved on the Williams Cup is the (Rotorua) City Cricket Club. 

Tauranga Albion brought the trophy to the Western Bay of Plenty for a three year spell, in 1936, with Te Puke winning the first of their record 16 Williams Cup during 1938.

The time-honoured trophy bounced around the Eastern Bay of Plenty and Rotorua before Arawa CC  took a seven year stranglehold on Williams Cup in the 1960s.

Taupo was the home of the Williams Cup from 1967 through to 1976. The 80s saw the cricket prize spend plenty of time in the Western Bay, with Mount Maunganui victorious for the first time in the 1978-79 cricket year. 

Cadets established their superiority for the first time in 1995, with last season's title their 13th crown in nearly thirty seasons.

BOPCA Versatile Williams Cup Draw 13 January 2024

Craigs Geyser City v Sanford Wall Lawyers Central Indians, Smallbone Park; Flying Mullet Te Puke v Craigs Tauranga Boys College, Te Puke Domain; Eves Realty Greerton v Generation Homes Lake Taupo, Pemberton Park; Bond & Co Mount Maunganui v Element IMF Cadets, Blake Park; Papamoa the bye.