Tauranga Boys College into Gillette Cup Finals

Tauranga Boys College have qualified for the Gillette Cup finals tournament beating Hamilton Boys High School at Nicholson Field.

The two sides squared off after Hamilton defeated Gisborne Boys High and Tauranga sneaked home against St Peters Cambridge last week. In another thriller, the Tauranga side prevailed over their Hamilton counterparts with just three balls to spare andtwo wickets in hand.

Winning the toss, a good partnership of 73 between Anish Desai (60) and Joe Walker (12) put Hamilton into a strong position at 3/119 after 33 overs. Looking to post a challenging target, the introduction of part-time offspinner Tom MacRury changed the course of the match. MacRury picked up a 5 wicket haul (5/15) from 7 overs as Hamilton Boys lost their last 6 wickets for just 44 runs. Josh Dwight also bowled well finishing with 2/28 from his 10 overs.

Following on from his half-century against St Peters, Elliot Timoti gave the Tauranga side a solid start making a well-made 42. He was well-supported by Alex Oakley who top-scored with 52. Oakley was the 7th wicket to fall at 139, leaving the tail-end batsmen to take Tauranga Boys to victory. Mitch Bodnar made a significant contribution to the win, holding his nerve in a tense finish, unbeaten on 28.

Elliot Santner was the best of the Hamilton bowlers taking 4/26 with Nikhal Vishwanath picking up 3/27.

Tauranga Boys College now progress to the Gillette Cup finals tournament which is being held at the NZ Cricket High Performance Facility in Lincoln, Christchurch, from 2-6 December.

First contested in 1990, the Gillette Cup is now one of the longest running competitions in secondary schools sport.

The finals tournament will feature secondary school sides representing each of the 6 major cricket associations (Auckland, Northern Districts, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago).

Tauranga Boys will be representing the Northern Districts association. King's College from Auckland won the Gillette Cup in 2010 beating Christchurch Boys High School in the final.

Results: Gillette Cup Regional Final (ND)

Hamilton Boys High School: 163 all out (46.5 overs). Anish Desai 60. Tom MacRury 5/15. Josh Dwight 2/28.

Tauranga Boys College 8/164 (49.5 overs). Alex Oakley 52. Elliot Timoti 42. Mitch Bodnar 28 not out. Elliot Santner 4/26. Nikhal Vishwanath 3/27.

This article was submitted by Phil Kai Fong.