Best of season

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

CRICKET by Ben O’Brien-Leaf

The Poverty Bay boys’ primary team played their best cricket of the season yesterday with their first win on Day 2 of the Northern Districts tournament.

Waikato Valley beat Poverty Bay by 45 runs in the first game of the day but the Bay bounced back with a 115-run win against the Hamilton invitation team.

Skipper Te-Reimana Gray said Seb Wilson and Campbell Steele bowled brilliantly for the Bay in the middle of the Valley innings. Against the invitation side, the Bay put in “a great all-round performance”.

“Our spinners, Campbell (Steele), David (Gray) and Dylan (Foster) were really accurate,” he said.

Poverty Bay got two run-outs. One was the result of a “perfect return” by Peter Reynolds to Angus Baker at the stumps and the other was a direct hit by Wilson.

In the first game, Waikato Valley won the toss and reached 140-6. Poverty Bay left-arm spinner Campbell Steele took 2-26 off four overs.

The Bay made 95-6 in their 20 overs of the nine-a-side match. Peter Reynolds hit three boundaries in his run-a-ball 19 to top the Bay’s scoring.

Against the invitation team, Gray won the toss and featured in the Bay’s best partnership of the day: an 85-run stand with Sam Briant for the fifth wicket.

Second-drop Briant struck three sixes and three fours in his 42 runs from 32 balls, while Gray, in at No.6, hit a six and four fours in his 41 off 33 (retired).

Poverty Bay made 160-7 in 20 overs and then bowled the invitation side out for 45 in 11.3 overs.

Steele and David Gray both took 2-13 off three overs, and Dylan Foster took 1-8 off 2.3 overs.