Big guns make presence felt

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

The big guns fired.

The biggest gun in the Poverty Bay development cricket leagues is 6ft 5in Bollywood High School Old Boys Pups all-rounder Max Briant.

Batting at No.8, he scored 58 (retired) off 29 balls at Nelson Park on Saturday. It was his second half-century of the nine-a-side T30 development league.

The Pups beat the Bollywood Stars by seven runs and the Eastland Broncos had a six-wicket victory over the Auto Tyres Eagles in Round 5 at the weekend.

Briant hit two sixes, nine fours and only two singles in 20 minutes at the crease.

“Matt Foster bowled good lines and put pressure on me towards the end of my innings,” Briant said.

“I’m lucky to have had (Year 7 student) Cory Thomson out there with me at the end. He ran two pressure-singles for me to get to 50.”

Seamer Matt Foster (3-24 off 4.2 overs) and his younger brother, leg-spinner Dylan (3-38 off five), bowled superbly for the Stars.

Pups openers Luke Fisher (24 off 41 balls) and Briant’s co-captain Blake Marshall (22 off 21) gave their side a rollicking start, on the way to 176 all out in 28.4 overs.

The Stars reached 169-7 in 30 overs, their captain and wicketkeeper Liam Spring top-scoring with 44 off 18 balls as the last man in.

Daniel Watts, batting at No.6, made 25 runs off 33 balls and Kayley Knight, batting at No.7, made 21 (retired) off 37.

Briant, Fisher, Marshall, Spring, Watts and Matthew Foster are all key members of the Poverty Bay boys’ junior secondary schools team at the Northern Districts tournament in Rotorua this week.

Batsmen are starting to put their heads down.

Broncos second-drop Te-Reimana Gray (26 off 20 balls) and opener Nathan Trowell (21 off 21 balls) saw their team home to a six-wicket win against the Eagles.

They chased down the Eagles’ 67 in 8.3 overs.

“Te-Reimana was classy and he hit three pull-shots for six,” Trowell said.

“Running between wickets with him is intense.”

The Eagles won the toss, batted first and were bowled out in 21 overs, Travis O’Rourke top-scoring with 10 not out.

Gray’s younger brother, leg-spinner David (2-13 off 3.3 overs) showed good control. He and pace bowler Sebastian Wilson (1-2 off two) kept the Eagles under their thumb.

Seamers Peter Reynolds (1-7 off two) and Noah Torrance-Cribb (1-20 off two) both bowled well for the Eagles. Reynolds was nippy and, targeting off-stump, a constant threat.