IN GOOD TOUCH: Craig Christophers tops the batting and bowling leaderboards for Gisborne club cricket and will be keen to do his part for OBR when they take on Gisborne Boys’ High School (1) in a Walker Shield Twenty20 semifinal at Harry Barker Reserve tonight.
Picture by Paul Rickard
IN GOOD TOUCH: Craig Christophers tops the batting and bowling leaderboards for Gisborne club cricket and will be keen to do his part for OBR when they take on Gisborne Boys’ High School (1) in a Walker Shield Twenty20 semifinal at Harry Barker Reserve tonight.
Picture by Paul Rickard
CRAIG Christophers is shaping up as the main man as OBR take the next step on the road to a local cricket treble. Christophers — in his 19th season with the club — tops the batting and bowling leaderboards heading into their Walker Shield Twenty20 semifinal against Gisborne Boys’ HighSchool (1) at Harry Barker Reserve tonight.
Barring the biggest upset of the season, Christophers and his Bain Construction OBR teammates — who won the Doleman Cup before Christmas — will book their spot in the final. Christophers has taken 10 wickets for 27 runs with an economy rate of 2.25. In seven T20 innings, he has scored 220 runs — including a highest score of 54 — for an average of 31.43.
Such is the strength of the OBR batting, Christophers is followed by Kieran Venema, Ian Loffler (in his 16th season with the club), Patrick Mathers and Jonathan Purcell on the batting ladder. Christophers is also leading the race for the most valuable player (MVP) award, ahead of Bollywood Stars all-rounder Ajay Kumar.
Paul Stewart is the only GBHS (1) player in the top 10 batsmen, at No.7. Stewart is ranked 10th in the bowling department, while Korban Harrison-Allen and Peter Kapene are second and third.
If this game appears cut and dried, the same cannot be said of the other semifinal, between second-ranked Tamarind High School Old Boys and third-ranked Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates. The teams go into the game on the back of two wins each last Saturday.
