Paraparaumu heatwave fells junior cricket but sausage sizzle remains operational at 26 degrees

Junior cricket at a Paraparaumu domain was called off on Saturday morning after the mercury hit 26 degrees, a temperature the club's welfare officer described as "frankly dangerous for the under-11s". The sausage sizzle, positioned three metres from the boundary, continued uninterrupted for another four hours.

Parents were advised via group text at 10.47am that all matches were cancelled due to "extreme heat conditions". The same text confirmed sausages remained $3, onions were included, and Eftpos was down again.

Sizzle coordinator Bev Rutherford, 61, told The Daily Yarn she'd considered stopping but the sausages were already defrosted. "You can't refreeze a snarler, love. That's how you get people crook. The kids weren't playing but they were still hungry, weren't they."

One parent, standing in full sun holding a bottle of warm Powerade, said the cancellation was "the right call" and that his son was "gutted but coping". The son, aged nine, was observed eating his second sausage and asking for a third.

MetService confirmed Paraparaumu reached 26.4 degrees, which a spokesperson described as "quite warm for the Kāpiti Coast in this bracket". Bev has flagged she may run the sizzle again next Saturday regardless of whether cricket proceeds. The onions, she noted, were bought in bulk.