A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Archie Gillies can do a bit of everything.
The Gisborne Boys’ High School Year 9 student played a dab hand for defending Hope Cup Senior B Grade champions Civil Project Solutions Ngatapa Green Caps with four wickets for seven runs against Campion College first 11 last weekend.
Off-spinner, sometime wicket-keeper and capable top-order batsman Gillies bowled 4.4 overs under the watchful eye of skipper Charles Morrison — a quality offie himself — in Ngatapa’s 62-run win.
“Archie was awesome. He bowled a tight line in a great spell, was hard to hit and brought a great level of energy,” Morrison said. “This was a good win against Campion and one of our better all-round performances.”
Campion’s Taye McGuinness also had a top day — 3-14 with his medium pace and 31 runs with the bat.
His fellow co-captain Rhys Grogan won the toss and opted to bowl on the representative wicket at Harry Barker Reserve.
Hope Cup holders Ngatapa rattled up 144-9 in their 30 overs — Isaac Thomas making 47 from 42 balls at first drop.
Thomas has been of great assistance to the Green Caps with bat and ball this season, and needed to be against Campion.
Ngatapa’s next-best with willow in hand in the Round 12 clash was fourth man in Edward Nepe, who made 14.
Connor Starck sent down six overs in taking 3-25 for the students, who had a fair run chase to make in 145 and were missing the batting talents of regular captain Hamish Swann.
Spearhead Thomas (2-8, four overs) reduced Campion to 2-2, Tim Fox (2-14, two overs) took the king wicket of McGuinness and Gillies then cut a scythe through the college’s middle order. They were dismissed for 82 in 24.4 overs.
The spinners were in their element when the Blue and Whites crossed swords with Jett Whitaker and company.
Gisborne Boys’ High School second 11 captain Whitaker was well-served by off-spinner Ted Gillies (3-17 off five overs), leg-spinner Conrad Parkes (3-30 off four) and left-arm orthodox spinner Charlie Whitfield (1-15 off four overs), but Chicking High School Old Boys Presidents nevertheless took the honours on ground No.4.
Presidents’ 66-run win owed as much to a robust cameo by pace bowler-come-straight-hitter extraordinaire Yegan Lanka (27), the Blue and Whites’ 10th man to bat, as it did to offies Blake Crosby (5-17, three overs) and Paul Jefferson (3-20, six overs) in the students’ chase.
Lanka cleared the short boundary three times in 16 balls. That knock, and HSOB left-arm orthodox spinner Sean Moran’s armball to Steve Whitaker, tipped the balance in favour of the Marshall Norris-led Presidents.
Whitaker won the toss, opted to bowl and HSOB put up 166-9 in 30 overs.
Jefferson (24), sixth man in Billy Stackhouse (22), Lanka and wicket-keeper Ollie Needham (20) at No.8 were the major contributors.
Jefferson and Crosby (16) got the Pressies under way with some classy off-side play in a 45-run opening stand.
Parkes and Gillies held sharp caught and bowled chances.
GBHS made a good start in pursuit of 167 with a 35-run stand between their adult player Steve Whitaker (41), and Caleb Taewa (9) before Jefferson bowled Taewa with the first ball of his spell nine overs in.
The HSOB spin-attack took all 10 Boys’ High wickets on a track that suited accurate, frill-free fingerspin.
The quicker, straight delivery from over-the-wicket by Moran (2-22, six overs) to Whitaker decided the contest. It was well disguised.
GBHS were dismissed for 100 in 24 overs.
“It was a good game for us, everyone played well, but Blake and Paul Jefferson were our best today,” skipper Norris said.
“Thanks to Daniel Torrie for stepping in when we needed him. I thought young Conrad showed great form with the bat (for GBHS). He drives well just like his brother (Otago Volt
Thorn Parkes).”
Breakers Horouta Te Waka did cricket a great service on Saturday.
David Situ’s promotion of two players from the Senior B Grade to the Premier Grade and Riley Horsfield’s willingness to play juniors Raffaele Colucci, Jack Williams, Mycah Langford and Tarn Boyle enabled both sides to meet their commitments.
Situ and Horsfield are to be praised, so too OBR and Ngatapa for the same generosity.
Jack Roberts, an excellent prospect at Gisborne Intermediate School, had his first taste of victory in Poverty Bay senior club cricket for Ngatapa on Saturday.
The Waka ended up losing to last season’s beaten Hope Cup finalists Rawhiti Legal Old Boys’ Rugby under Thom Berry by 136 runs .
Berry made 77 retired off 54 balls from No.2, including a six and 10 fours.
He and Tom Garrett (62), amassed 128 at the top of the order in a total of 239-3.
Mana Taumanu (28 not out) was also in good touch at No.4, while youngster Tarn Boyle — a tearaway fast bowler — claimed a great scalp on his Horouta debut, that of Garrett, caught by Daniel Williams at long on.
Boyle took 1-31 in four overs, Langford 1-39 in three overs and aspiring paceman Raffaele Colucci had a catch dropped during his four-over spell.
Horsfield led his new teammates by example with the bat. He hit three boundaries in his 50 off 70 balls at first-drop. His was their highest individual score of the innings. GBHS Year 9 Jack Williams scored 10 at No.6, Boyle 12 at No.8.
OBR’s left-arm spearhead George Reynolds took 3-11 from four overs, leg-spinner Mana Taumanu 3-17 in 3.3 overs and savvy medium-pacer Amit Vyas 2-16 in three overs.
Horouta were dismissed for 103 in 24.3 overs.
“We have some up-and-coming cricketers,” Horsfield said. “They all bowled really well, it’s just a pity that they were bowling to Thom (Berry) because if it was anyone else they’d have ripped them apart.”