Batsmanship a feature of games

CRICKET

The batsmanship in Round 1 of Challenge Cup cricket was superb.

Both Gisborne Boys’ High School teams — the Sebastian Wilson-led Blues and Royals, and The Admiralty under Noah Torrance-Cribb — won their T20 matches at Nelson Park.

The Blues and Royals beat the Tairawhiti Women’s Cricket Club by 37 runs and The Admiralty won their clash with the Campion College-Lytton High School combined team by three wickets.

TWCC captain Kayley Knight won the toss, chose to bowl and took 1-34 off four overs herself. First-change Jessica Hayward (1-27 off three) was the only other wicket-taker for TWCC but their opening bowlers were impressive — Maddie Ashworth swung the ball away off a good length and Grace Kuil, bowling downhill, was decidedly sharp.

Good field-setting, grass clippings and tidy bowling on the artificial wicket necessitated aerial shots.

Blues and Royals keeper-batsman Jack Whitehead-McKay (32) and George Gillies (26) shared a 57-run opening stand before the gloveman fell to Hayward off the last ball of the tenth over.

Wilson, batting at No.4, then made an unbeaten 67 off 35 balls. He hit nine fours and three sixes.

Both first-drop DJ Penfold (9 off 11 balls) and Dylan Worsnop (10 off 8) gave him great support as Boys’ High posted 158-4.

Pace bowler-cum-keeper Grace Levy made the fielding play of the game off the first ball of the 15th over. Penfold having nudged the ball towards mid-on and looking for a quick single, Levy — in her follow-through, on her knees — turned, fired and ran the GBHS No.3 out

When Boys’ High fielded, Penfold the leg-spin bowler varied his pace cleverly in taking 3-25 off four overs, off-spinner Gillies (1-10 off three) kept the ball up to the bat, Cory Thomson swung and seamed the ball in a great return to cricket (conceding just 13 runs in four overs) and at GBHS in the junior school, only Wilson, Torrance-Cribb and Bekko Page have throwing arms comparable to Thomson’s.

Knight hit six fours — including an imperious on-drive for four off seamer John Broad (1-47 off four) — in a 26-ball 32. Her fellow opener Levy (23 off 30) also batted well in a partnership that produced 64 runs in 7.4 overs and had TWCC slightly ahead in the game to that point. They reached 121-6 in 20 overs.

TWCC captain Knight felt that the game represented a good start to both teams’ Challenge Cup campaigns.

“This competition could be close,” she said.

“I was impressed by Seb’s batting and we started well before Grace and I — as the two batsmen who were set — got out. The overall fielding standard in that game was excellent.”

Wilson felt that Boys’ High could have and should have been better with the bat, adding: “Good bowling and fielding won it for us in the end. Even there, we were a little bit rough at the start but then pulled the game back, thanks to DJ.”

The bat dominated the game between The Admiralty and Campion-Lytton.

Campion-Lytton captain Liam Spring played a brilliant hand for 86 off 47 balls from No.1. He hit 15 fours and two sixes, having won the toss and chosen to take first knock.

Every batsman in the grade has a wonderful opportunity to go past 50 to 100-plus in the Challenge Cup, if they’re good enough: a great thing for cricket.

Spring led Campion-Lytton very well on Wednesday and it took a pressure-catch by David Gray, coming off the square leg boundary, to dislodge him.

The combined side amassed 187-4 off their 20 overs, Spring sharing a 56-run stand with Reuben Swanepoel (8) in 5.4 overs and a 112-run partnership with second-drop Rhys Grogan (40 off 47). Grogan hits the ball well and has shown real improvement with the bat this year.

The GBHS pace attack was led by David Gray (1-27 off three overs). Page took 2-61 off four and Year 8 student Nathaniel Fearnley bowled three overs for a mere 13 runs against Spring in full flow.

Leggie Dylan Foster (1-22 off three) had the combined captain caught off a wrong ’un from the last ball of the 15th over with the score at 169-3. It was a key wicket. At the time, Campion-Lytton were thinking in terms of 200 or more as a team total.

In response, The Admiralty’s Torrance-Cribb hammered 72 off 35 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes from No.2, while first-drop Alex Shanks (54 off 38 balls, with nine fours) was busy at the crease. The craftsmanship of their 130-run stand in 10.4 overs, boundary-hitting aside, was evident in their placement of the ball for ones and twos, and running between wickets. Shanks hit a late cut for two to bring up his 50 and is a thoughtful, determined cricketer.

For the combined team, Hamish Swann took 2-18 off four, including a maiden over. As a bowling effort, it was the equal of any in the first round, and was certainly the most disciplined. His new ball partner Grogan took 1-31 off four and Spring took 2-26 off three. In addition to his batting and efficient wicket-keeping, the Campion-Lytton captain bowls good off-spin.

Bekko Page (12 off 7 balls with two fours), batting at No.6, hit the winning runs off the third ball of the 19th over.

GBHS teacher Graham Sharp liked what he saw of the cricket at Nelson Park yesterday and Spring, on behalf of his team, said: “There’s talent in all four sides with competitive totals being posted. Campion-Lytton have some players new to the game — a tiny bit of nervousness and the odd wide to extras played a part in the result — but it all went well for the first game of the season.”