Life Members
Steve Erikson
Steve joined Cadets in the mid 1980’s after moving to Tauranga from Whanganui. He played both premier and reserve grade cricket. When Steve joined the club Cadets not only gained a good cricketer but also an outstanding administrator. He was Secretary/Treasurer for the club and was part of the committee that employed our first professional coach. Steve left the club in 1991 when he was transferred to Rotorua for work commitments.
Rick Spratt
Rick joined the club in 1981 and played until 1997, captaining the team for many of those years. After retiring from playing he also spent time coaching the premier team. During this time Rick served on the committee including three years as President. Along with a few of the others on this list his efforts on the committee had a huge impact on the development of the Otumoetai Cadets club becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Ken Lett
Ken came to Cadets in the mid 1980’s. He played for the reserve team for a while including some time as captain. When he stopped playing he managed the premier team. Throughout his time at the club he was a member of the committee including seven years as President. Ken also spent some time as an official umpire in the Bay of Plenty premier competition.
Brian Pope
Brian joined the club in its second year of existence in 1978. He played premier, reserve and B-grade throughout his long playing career at the club. Brian was heavily involved in administration including running junior cricket for a number of years. He had three stints as President, (1984-87, 1989-90, 1995-98), seven years in total spread over 14 years.
Selwyn Wakefield
Selwyn was a hugely popular member of the club from the mid 90s/early 2000s. He was the team scorer for the premier team and also scored for the Bay of Plenty team. He managed the premier team briefly and the BOP team as well as serving several years on the Cadets committee. Selwyn now resides in Auckland.
Paul Wills
Paul arrived from Taupo in the 1991-92 season. He quickly established himself as a top order batsman in the premier team. Paul play until the early 2000’s. Because of his banking background he was quickly drafted onto the committee as Treasurer and held the position for many years. He also served as President for a period. Paul has also been heavy involved in the administration of the Western BOP Cricket Association.
Paul Wadsworth
Paul came straight from Otumoetai College to Cadets in the 1988-89 season. He was an aggressive middle order batsman and often wicketkeeper through the 90’s and into the 2000’s and captained the team to a number of titles. He was on the committee for many years with three of those spent as president.
Grant Manners
Grant moved to Cadets in the 1994-95 season after starting his career playing in Rotorua. He played premier cricket until 2002 opening the batting. After a number of years away with family commitments he returned to play reserve grade in 2014. Grant was responsible for starting junior cricket at the club in the 2015-16 season and taken on admin roles at the club since.