Double for High School Old Boys

Crucial contribution: High School Old Boys bowler Jak Rowe, pictured in a game against OBR, took 3-30 in Saturday's DJ Barry Cup final against Horouta at Harry Barker Reserve. HSOB had a first-innings win, which was enough to secure the trophy. File picture by Paul Rickard

High School Old Boys have picked up their second piece of cricket silverware for the season, adding the DJ Barry Cup to the Doleman Cup that they won before Christmas.

Bollywood Stars HSOB were too good for Horouta in Poverty Bay club cricket's DJ Barry Cup final at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday.

Chasing Horouta's first-innings total of 90, HSOB No.3 Rowan Smith (52) guided his team past the target and only a calamity could have denied them the title from there.

Horouta chose to press to win the game outright and by 6.40pm it was clear this was a forlorn hope and the captains agreed to call off the contest.

The HSOB win was set up by persistent pressure from left-arm seamer Jak Rowe (three for 30), who troubled batsmen just outside off-stump and cleaned up the Horouta tail.

The pitch offered some movement for the bowlers and many of the batsmen struggled to find their timing, with the ball holding in the surface.

Several batsmen in Horouta's first innings fell to catches in front of the wicket and the dismissals included return catches for three HSOB bowlers.

HSOB captain Carl Shaw said it felt good to win their second trophy of the 2019-20 season.

“Jak Rowe's spell was exemplary,” he said.

Shaw, who took three wickets himself, said Rowe's pressure created wicket-taking opportunities for the other bowlers.

One of those bowlers was left-arm spinner Daniel Torrie, who took 2-4 in two overs.

“Our batting was shaky but Rowan Smith was awesome,” Shaw said.

“He stuck it out, then saw us home.”

The day started well for HSOB when they won the toss and chose to field.

Horouta lost two quick wickets, one of them to a run-out.

Horouta captain David Situ (19) and Graham Hudson (21) rebuilt the innings for a period but Situ was caught in close on the off-side by Smith and when Hudson departed, Horouta were 68-6.

They made it just past the drinks break, which was taken in the 25th over.

Situ said he felt that at the change of innings, 90 could be defended.

He had reason to think so after the first over, when Horouta had one wicket and could easily have had two.

Shaw, who had made an unbeaten century the last time he batted, was given out lbw off Hudson's first ball and then Smith survived a huge shout for lbw.

HSOB were in some difficulty at 35-3 but Smith and Ajay Kumar (15), playing in his final game for HSOB, steadied the ship.

HSOB got to the target with four wickets down in the 25th over.

With the game more or less in the bag, they went on to make 150 in 33.4 overs.

That left Horouta with the extremely unlikely scenario of needing to get to a lead and then bowling out HSOB again — all in the space of 16 overs.

They had a hit for three overs and then pulled the pin.

Situ said they might have had some sort of show of winning outright if they had wrapped up the HSOB first innings quickly. But the task was beyond them.

The final didn't go their way but Horouta had a creditable season, snaring wins in the Doleman Cup 40-over competition and going into the DJ Barry Cup final as top qualifiers.

“We smashed all our goals we set at the start of the season,” Situ said.

They proved that they belonged in the A Grade.

HSOB had two convincing wins in finals this season — beating OBR fairly comfortably to win the Doleman Cup and then taking care of business against Horouta to lift the DJ Barry Cup.