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CRICKET
Both principals have signed off: it’s on.
The Gisborne Boys’ High School Colts cricket team and the Campion College juniors will spend tomorrow out of class, playing for the William Townley Shield.
Shield holders Boys’ High and Campion will play the C Grade final not as a nine-a-side Twenty20 game on an artificial pitch at Nelson Park, but as a 12-a-side 40-over game on the representative wicket at Harry Barker Reserve.
In Colts captain Daniel Stewart’s team are players who have produced the goods against Campion in both the one-wicket win on February 14 (Nathan Trowell 18 not out, Patrick Brownlie 2-13) and the 31-run loss in Round 5 last Wednesday (Cohen Loffler 32no).
“Our batting has improved a lot and different players have stepped up during the season,” Stewart said.
“Also, we must bowl good line and length, then field hard to restrict Campion.”
Stewart knows the threat posed by the opposition tomorrow and is a savvy off-spinner himself, but Campion leggie Liam Barbier is a bowler in sensational form. He took 5-8 off 3.1 overs to demolish Coastal Ultrasound Horouta in the Hope Cup semifinal a fortnight ago and eight days later — defending 89 — took 2-32 off 10 against Gisborne Boys’ High School’s first 11.
Last Wednesday, three of his teammates made 30: captain Max Briant (33 retired), all-rounder Blake Marshall (31 retired) and the mercurial Nathan Andrews (30 retired).
Batting depth and run-production are crucial factors for both teams. Boys’ High vice-captain Matt Foster (43 retired against Gisborne Girls’ High School), Ben Phelps (39 retired against the Primary team) and Travis O’Rourke (36 against GGHS) have all made C Grade runs since Christmas.
The move to play this game in the 40-over format was made to give batsmen more than the hitherto mandatory 25 balls each and deserving bowlers more overs.
With the requirement to bowl six legal balls to be observed, five-over blocks from each end being dispensed with and the C Grade final being played with full-size boundaries, important elements will be restored to the game.
Hard-hitting left-hander Edward Fili-Weti, Year 11, will lead Campion tomorrow, and coach Mark Naden sees real potential in his squad.
“We have keen young players who will carry on and form the backbone of our first 11,” Naden said.
“We want other boys to see how well they’re doing and join the journey.”
There is likewise a buzz in Boys’ High cricket circles, with new principal Andrew Turner sharing his Colts’ passion for development and improvement.
“It’s a game that requires time to master,” he said.
“The physical attributes take time to develop, as do the mental and emotional qualities.
“A 40-over match provides the perfect opportunity for young men to develop further in those areas.”