DJ Barry Cup semifinal at 11am

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

This clash could be one for the ages.

The 1 v 4 DJ Barry Cup two-day Premier Grade semifinal between cup holders Bollywood High School Old Boys and Gisborne Boys’ High School has all the makings of a classic.

The semifinals will both start at 11am this Saturday, with the 2 v 3 semi between a Breakers Horouta Te Waka outfit currently on cloud nine, and Coastal Concrete Old Boys Rugby, on the representative wicket.

Defending champions HSOB took first innings points against the David McDonald-coached Boys’ High in their round-robin match at the weekend, and will go toe to toe with them again on Harry Barker Reserve No.2 this Saturday.

Of their most recent encounter, a draw with his Blue-and-Whites taking first-innings points, HSOB captain Dave Castle said: “A lead of 82 was less than we’d planned to take, but it was a brilliant result situationally, because at no stage were we under pressure. Carl Shaw took his time to get in, for 103 not out — with four sixes and eight fours — and then he was able to access all parts of the ground. A comfortable win on the first innings meant we finished in first place at the end of the round-robin, which was our aim from the outset.

“Of the Boys’ High batsmen in their second innings, Nathaniel Fearnley (71 off 102 balls, with seven boundaries, from No.5) was impressive with controlled aggression. He played with excellent intent.”

HSOB began Day 2 on the No.1 pitch at 135-3 with the left-handed Shaw (37 at second drop) and Glen Udall (31 from No.5) in the middle.

Boys’ High vice-captain Jarrod Ormiston had won the toss and taken first knock.

On Day 1, left-arm opening bowler Keegan Jooste (4-31) and Nick Armour (3-25), on at first change, saw GBHS all out for 164 in 51.4 overs.

The Blues trailed Boys’ High by 29 runs at the end of Day 1. In a tense start to the second day, the right-arm/left-arm pair of David and Johnathan Gray conceded only 12 runs in the first seven overs of the day before Johnathan went straight through Udall and then Steve Lamb with the score at 147.

GBHS vice-captain and spearhead Bekko Page took 3-32 from 11 overs, three of them maidens, and Johnny Gray was well worth his figures of 3-38 from 14 overs, two of them maidens. Castle's side posted 246-6 off 60 overs, the maximum number allowable in the first innings.

The weekend before last, Johnny Gray (40 from No.8), Fearnley (38no from No.9) and David Gray (29 from No.5) spent valuable time at the crease. On Day 2, Fearnley and company took another step up. David Gray, from No.7, rattled up 57 off 71 balls, Page a run-a-ball 28 at the top of the order and Alex Shanks 20 at first drop.

Their increased productivity with the bat has made a difference to the future prospects of Boys’ High at premier level. From the season-opening 10-wicket loss to OBR on October 28 to now, they have made seven half-centuries — three to Shanks, two to David Gray and one apiece to Fearnley and vice-captain Jarrod Ormiston — with a high score of 79 to Ormiston against OBR four weeks ago.

Last Saturday, Boys’ High were dismissed for 221 in 50.2 overs. It was the first time they had passed 200 in 2023-24.

Offspinner Castle took 5-62 from 15.2 overs, one of them a maiden, and medium-pacers Shaw (3-50, 11 overs) and Steve Lamb (2-39, 11 overs, two maidens) bowled well, too . . . all the while paying runs for their success.

Needing 140 for an outright victory, HSOB reached 42-5 in 11 overs. Left-arm orthodox spinner Riker Rolls took 2-27 from five overs, one a maiden.

Jarrod Ormiston spoke for a first 11 whose club form has improved significantly.

“This game’s given us an injection of confidence with the bat, comparing the totals we're making now — 221 — with what we were getting at the start of the season," he said,

“Our bowling is good and our fielding is of a good standard, too."

Gautam Sareen has threatened mayhem with the bat all season.

And on Saturday, Horouta's star batsman delivered with the highest score by any batsman in Poverty Bay club cricket to date in 2023-24 — 150 from No.1 off 159 balls.

His innings included 20 fours and four sixes.

Sareen’s stunning knock in the third innings of the Round 3 stoush between The Waka and OBR was the highest score made by a Poverty Bay club cricketer since opener Teghbir Singh smashed 204 off 122 balls — with 12 sixes and 22 fours — in Horouta’s 275-run win against OBR in Round 5 of the then one-day incarnation of the DJ Barry Cup on March 5, 2022.

The first ton of this season was made by another Horouta man at the top of the order, Harmanpreet Singh, with 105 from 83 balls in a seven-wicket loss to OBR in the 40-over Doleman Cup on November 11. HSOB first-drop Scott Tallott struck a chanceless 116 and his captain Dave Castle a run-a-ball ton in a 235-run stand for the third wicket to take first innings points against OBR on Day 2 of Round 1 of this DJ Barry Cup.

Shubham Raihan had won the toss on the No.2 wicket and opted to bat. Horouta were bowled out for 110 in 39.1 overs. Coming in at six, skipper Raihan made 50.

OBR offspinner Daniel Stewart (3-28, eight overs, two maidens), captain and medium-pacer Matthew Cook (2-17, seven overs, three maidens) and wily legspinner Mana Taumaunu (2-20, 6.1 overs, three maidens) were the OBR bowlers to profit.

OBR were dismissed for 102 in 33.2 overs, Taumaunu the top run-scorer with 34 from No.3, as Harmanpreet Singh (4-23, 10.2 overs, four maidens) and fellow seamer Gurishwar Singh (3-28, nine overs, two maidens), bustled their way through OBR’s batting ranks.

Having bagged first-innings points, and eight runs ahead, Te Waka then compiled 257-9 in 57.2 overs — a handsome total made at a fair rate. Sareen was strong on the drive in his hard-hit 150 — he plays very well straight and is as strong on the back foot as he is on the front.

Sareen was lured down the track to his doom by the flight of Taumaunu, with assistance from gloveman Ben McCann. Taumaunu took 3-46 from nine overs, one of them a maiden. Cook (2-27 from 9.2 overs, one maiden) and Stewart (2-70 from 22 overs, four maidens) also toiled for good results.

OBR stuck to their task with the ball and in the field, and had a real crack at 266 to win outright in the fourth innings. Initially, they had a magnificent go at it.

The left-handed Gray made 69 and McCann 71 in an opening stand of 144 — the biggest partnership for the first wicket in club cricket so far this season — but Karan Solanki (21) was the only other OBR batsman to post double-figures in the run-chase. Between 144-1 and 159, they lost another five wickets.

No.9 Cook was out first ball, leg before wicket, to Billy Morse (2-46, nine overs), the tireless medium-pacer who took 5-37 in 17.5 overs, with six maidens (the first five-wicket bag of the senior club cricket season) on Day 1 of Te Waka's Round 2 match against HSOB.

Yaash Taak got 2-18 from four overs but the best bowler of the fourth innings was Gurishwar Singh with 3-26 from 8.3 overs, two of them maidens. He induced Solanki to flick the ball up to Vishal Thakur at short midwicket, a catch that sealed victory for Horouta.

Cook said: “We were only 9.3 overs away from drawing the match. T (Gray) and Benjy (McCann) had been scoring at more than seven runs an over just by playing cricket shots, with nothing fancy or risky. They ran well between the wickets, too.

“Our guys really gave it their all.”