Shaw's unit, reinforced now by Castle, beat Horouta by seven wickets, missed out on two weeks' play because of rain, then beat the Gisborne Boys' High School first 11 by 95 runs. In Round 5, they beat Horouta by 104 runs and the following Saturday they beat OBR by two wickets. Horouta lost to HSOB, who might well have gone through the first of the three championships unbeaten, by 114 runs.
Shaw with 77 and Sean Wills (85 from No.4) were the best batsmen for HSOB in the 114-run semifinal win.
Boys' High played some good cricket during the Super 8 Schools tournament in Gisborne to place sixth, and to win two of two Walker Shield T20 matches on successive weekends is a feat of endurance, heart and skill.
They beat OBR by four wickets in Game 1, January 29: big left-arm seamer Travis O'Rourke (2-19) and teacher and opening bat Graham Sharp (59) were the stand-outs, with a skilful 34 from captain and first-drop Nathan Trowell. In Game 2, Trowell (2-21) and menacing left-armer Keegan Jooste (3-26), with the support of other bowlers and fielding to force three run-outs, helped Boys' High dismiss Horouta for 117. Sharp (75no) and Cohen Loffler (33no) carried their bats for a win by 10 wickets. Horouta No.3 Harmanpreet Gill's 50 constituted a brave effort for the Waka on a tough day.
In the final, Sharp (48), Loffler (29) and Trowell (32) made sure that GBHS put up a decent total: 141-5.
HSOB left-arm orthodox spinner Ryan Majstrovic has flighted the ball nicely since the age of 14 and took 3-22 at this juncture but the Boys' High running between wickets was a concern. Talented No.3 Kelan Bryant was run out for 18 and O'Rourke for a black duck — that is, without facing a ball.
First-year first 11 man Alex Shanks dominated with the ball. He took 4-20 with his medium pace. He held two return catches, held two catches off other bowlers and ran out Shaw (1) to turn around a game that GBHS looked nearly to have lost.
HSOB openers Tallott (34) and Baxter Mackay (28) put up 66 at the top of the order, but veteran Glen Udall was run out soon after Shaw and although they batted to term, HSOB were six runs adrift in the end.
Trowell said: “Our lads thoroughly enjoyed the season. The high points were that we had success in our interschool matches and also the Super 8. In terms of club cricket, we aimed to win the T20 competition and I'm proud of the lads and how far we've come as players — I'd like to thank Malcolm Trowell (head coach-adult player), Lance Cairns (assistant coach), Graham Sharp (adult player), Nicholas Hendrie (adult player), Josiah Turner (adult player) and Mike Foster (adult player) for helping us.”
The DJ Barry Cup, formerly the prize for the premier grade two-day final, was won this year by HSOB. They qualified first for the final having won five from five. OBR won three from six, Horouta two from six and Boys' High one from five.
HSOB beat Horouta by 90 runs in Round 1. Castle top-scored with 48 even as Gaurav Chetan Kashyap (3-22) and Teghbir Singh (3-31) starred with the ball. Four HSOB bowlers — Gisborne Boys' High School Year 10 player Nathaniel Fearnley (2-9 with one maiden over in his three-over spell) included — took two wickets apiece. They beat Boys' High by 62 runs the following Saturday on the back of Mitch Hammond's 75 from No.4 and left-arm bowler Jak Rowe's 3-23.
HSOB then had their first scheduled meeting with OBR, and the replay, subsequently rained out.
They beat Horouta by 63 runs in Round 4 — Mackay and Wills both made 44 and Castle, 41. Majstrovic took 4-32 while another left-arm orthodox spinner, Daniel Torrie, had Teghbir Singh stumped by Glen Udall. Singh hit one six and 10 fours in his 59-ball 68, a knock to sound alarm bells for Horouta's future opponents.
In Rounds 4 and 5, Castle bowled out taking 3-16 both weeks with five maiden overs and three maidens in a fortnight — the most disciplined performances, back-to-back, by a premier-grade bowler this season.
The best individual innings in Round 5 was Tallott's hand for 64 from No.3 in the HSOB win against OBR. On March 3, Torrie took 6-35 with a good loop and length against GBHS to set up the blue-and-whites' second consecutive eight-wicket win.
Ajay Kumar made an unbeaten 71 in the chase while on the next ground another No.2 batsman made Poverty Bay club cricket history.
Teghbir Singh hit 204 — with 12 sixes and 22 fours — in 153 minutes. He hit sixes to bring up 50, 100, 150 and 200: a feat no batsman has performed in 126 years.
Matt Cook was OBR's best bowler on the day, taking 3-78 in nine overs.
Horouta vice-captain Shubham Ralhan then took 6-51 and his crew beat OBR by 275 runs.
Round 7 was rained out but OBR tasted sweet revenge in a late-starting DJ Barry Cup preliminary final reduced, because of conditions. On March 19, Ian Loffler (37) and Thom Berry (77) gave OBR a great start with their 79-run opening stand. The side finished with 149-4.
Horouta's Ben Brick fought for 32 from No.6 but Nick Greeks's OBR hustled relentlessly. Left-arm orthodox spinner Greeks was excellent value with 2-18, and old hand Jimmy Holden took 4-16.
OBR — who drew with DJ Barry Cup holders Gisborne Boys' High in the 2021 final — beat The Waka by six wickets and earned the right to play HSOB for the trophy OBR last won in 2019.
Heavy rain and ground closures made it impossible to hold finals in either the Senior B or premier grades. All 10 senior club team captains made every effort to facilitate play but this was not a stop-start season. Premier umpires Jason Trowill and Stewart Patrick, the last two recipients of Poverty Bay's Rees Scragg Memorial for Service to Cricket, did with the local administration all that they could on behalf of the game.
They went the extra mile, as did everyone involved, to support Poverty Bay Cricket.
JUNIOR MEN'S AWARDS
