Cody Andrews had another commanding performance with the ball. He took six wickets and had two hat-trick opportunities in his 10 overs.
He single-handedly worked through the Boys’ High batting line-up, but Wilson’s innings stood out at the end.
The final duo had to survive almost 10 overs at the crease. Despite the pressure, they stepped up and were still there at the end — with Boys’ High on 125 runs from 42 overs — in one of local cricket’s most exciting draws in years.
The number of onlookers built towards the end of the game, as the other matches finished and prize-giving approached.
OBR had looked confident when they declared. They had a plan, and it got them tantalisingly close to victory.
Ian Loffler had battled to 44 runs from 68 deliveries on a slow outfield that required lots of running between the wickets.
He and his brother Joe put on 47 runs for the fourth wicket, and OBR looked set for an excellent total.
Late in the innings, it looked as if Timoti Weir had been dismissed for a “diamond duck”, run out without having faced a ball.
Square-leg umpire Stewart Patrick initially signalled Weir was out, but the batsman stayed put. After a quick conference with bowler’s-end umpire Jason Trowill and Boys’ High, it emerged wicketkeeper Wilson had dropped the ball before he took off the bails, and Patrick’s view had been obscured.
Boys’ High had a mixed start to their innings. Graham Sharp looked strong and confident, but his batting partners were unable to support him.
Sharp’s 53-run innings was one of only two double-digit knocks, the other being Wilson’s, as Boys’ High struggled to find their feet.
Every time Andrews ran in to bowl, it was tense. The accuracy and raw pace of his deliveries wreaked havoc in the Boys’ High batting. Andrews got a leg-before-wicket decision to start his haul, and clean-bowled his next five victims.
As the innings wore on, the Boys’ High supporters’ belief grew.
When Daniel Stewart lost his wicket after bravely scoring four runs off 15 deliveries, the task looked insurmountable.
Luckily for Boys’ High, Andrews had bowled all of his overs. But the OBR bowling resources are deep.
Sam Patterson, Jimmy Holden, Matt Cook, Jonathan Purcell and Ian Loffler all had a crack at the final Boys’ High partnership, to no avail.
Loffler, a key player on and off the field for OBR, said he was proud of his team and believed they had shown they were the best one-day team in Gisborne.
“We were clearly the better one-day team, winning the Doleman Cup and dominating the game on Saturday.”
The intensity from both teams was clear, and Loffler said he was proud of how his team stepped up to the challenge.
“It really showed our club culture and how we play for each other.”
Loffler is stepping down from the premier grade, and said the final was a great way to finish his career with OBR’s top team.
Boys’ High were the most consistent team this season and deserved the win and the accolades, Loffler said.
“It was a great spectacle, a final to remember. That last-pair fight was the best I’ve seen. We tried everything.”
Boys’ High coach Mal Trowell had a nervous wait during the final overs, having taken the field as a player and scored eight runs off 18 balls, and had nothing but praise for his charges.
“What a ride of emotions . . . they were absolute gold,” he said.
“That’s one of those moments you will remember forever.”
He said the team embodied the school’s motto “Toa Hinga Kore, Toa Mate Kore” (“Courage Knows No Defeat”) in the way they played on Saturday.
Trowell was particularly grateful to Nic Hendrie, Graham Sharp and Josiah Turner, who played the season with the schoolboy side to help mentor the squad.
“The men have come so far this season and have done themselves and their school proud,” Trowell said.
“Cricket sometimes is a wonderful leveller, and things go your way.”
