Premier grade cricket just took a supercharged turn.
Unbeaten Bollywood High School Old Boys defeated Coastal Concrete Old Boys Rugby by seven wickets, while the Galaxy World Gisborne Boys' High School first 11 defeated Horouta Te Waka.
After five rounds of the 40-over Doleman Cup competition, HSOB lead the competition with 18 points, Horouta have 10, and Boys' High and OBR have six.
Horouta won the toss and were bowled out for 110 in 29.4 overs on Harry Barker Reserve No.1.
Boys' High pace-bowling spearhead and opening batsman Cohen Loffler was their MVP (most valuable player) with a superb all-round performance. He hit 17 boundaries in scoring 62 runs off 50 balls in the successful chase to 111.
Loffler had earlier taken 2-16 from 5.4 hostile overs and caught Horouta captain and second drop David Situ (12) at cover for leg-spinner Dylan Foster, who took 2-21 from four overs.
Loffler's 91-run stand with No.1 Travis O'Rourke (32) was the biggest Boys' High partnership of the season to date. This Saturday's clash with OBR on the representative wicket might be regarded as the perfect setting for O'Rourke to score the half-century his batting form merits.
In Round 1, coming in at six, he made a busy 21 from 31 against HSOB and followed that up with 35 at first sight of Horouta. Round 3 was abandoned and HSOB pace bowler Angus Orsler got rid of him the Saturday before last for 20, but not before he and Loffler had put on 43.
Nathan Trowell was an excellent foil for Loffler with the new ball, taking 2-37 from seven overs.
Rapidly improving off-spinner George Gillies (2-19 from four) had Shubham Ralhan (8 runs, batting at six) hole out to Sebastian Wilson on the square-leg boundary, and held a superb return catch, low to his right, to dismiss next-man-in Aekamjot Singh (8).
In Wilson's return to the game following school examinations, he pounded in, bowled a maiden over, conceded only four runs and, with one ball left in the 20th over, scored the winning runs in the first Gisborne Boys' High victory of the season. He cleared Ben Brick at mid-off for four, Harmanpreet Singh (2-16 from 3.5 overs) being the bowler.
Singh's fellow seamer Hasantha Withanage took 2-16 from four overs.
Horouta had shown fight. They made a bad start to the game, going two wickets down with only seven runs on the board.
It was sweet revenge for the Trowell-led GBHS side, who on November 5 lost to Horouta by three wickets in the teams' first meeting of the season.
That Wilson should muscle the ball over the Horouta fielders to bring up the first Boys' High win of the season — one in which every team member made a contribution a week out from the Northern Districts age-group tournament here — was a nice touch.
Boys' High captain Trowell said that Loffler and O'Rourke were magnificent at the top with the bat, and opposing skipper Situ agreed.
“Our batting was very average today,” Situ said.
“Teghbir Singh, with 18 from No.1, was our top-scorer but Boys' High bowled and fielded very well.
“Batting-wise, they came out with an aggressive approach and punished our bowlers. Our fielding did not help us.”
Some days lessons are learned, with the result best forgotten.
HSOB handed out such a lesson — and a seven-wicket defeat — to OBR on the rep wicket.
Only a week after their heroic last-over win against Horouta on HBR 1, OBR were bowled out for 60 in 22.4 overs, having won the toss and taken first knock.
HSOB captain Carl Shaw took 4-10 from five overs with the new ball, but another wildcard pace-bowling option went one wicket better at first change.
Steve Lamb took 5-18 from 6.4 overs in a stunning effort from a player who enjoys his cricket. He and former HSOB Presidents B Grade teammate Jerram Chalmers were once given to doing cartwheels in the field between overs.
OBR's top order produced 21 runs and their skipper, Nick Greeks (20 runs), was their highest individual scorer, batting at No.6.
Scott Tallott held two good catches — at deep midwicket and cover, 25 metres from the boundary — to dismiss first-drop, the left-handed Josh Adams, for a duck and the dangerous Dane Thompson, fifth man to bat, for 14.
But neither team shone with the willow.
Four overs into their innings, HSOB were three wickets down with six runs on the board.
No.4 Mitch Hammond (43) and Daniel Torrie (15) saw them home with a 55-run partnership for the third wicket.
OBR opening bowlers Jimmy Holden, 2-12 from four overs, and Paul Stewart, 1-15 from four, in keeping with their reputation for competitiveness, were great value.
Such is the depth and quality of HSOB that bowling them out for less than 60 is nigh-on unimaginable but at 6-3, hearts were beating quickly on the sideline. That sort of thing has batsmen scrambling for gear.
Adams went for 15 off the five balls he bowled, as HSOB finished the match at 61-3 in 11.5 overs of the 40-over match.
Shaw's crew are in great shape.
“Steve (Lamb) was our MVP; he bowled brilliantly, with exceptional skill, patience and control,” Shaw said.
“He was unlucky not to get a hat-trick.
“Marshall Norris (1-19 from six overs) deserved more wickets; he bowled really well. Mitch (Hammond) did his job perfectly with the bat and got us home with a beautiful array of controlled shots.
“Dan Torrie also batted wonderfully. It was a really good performance. I'm really happy to see everyone improving and looking forward to continuing into the finals.”