Ngatapa’s 2 v 3 clash with the Bollywood High School Old Boys Presidents (21pts) on HBR No.4 (umpires James Raroa and Marty Bennett) is a juicy one. On October 31, the Ngatapa mob bowled HSOB out for 43 to win the season opener at Nelson Park by seven wickets and, in Round 6 (despite pace bowler Jason Lines winning four leg-before-wicket decisions — he took 4-13 in six overs) their margin of victory was five wickets.
Eerily, Yegan Lanka also took 4-13 off six for HSOB — against Campion heading into this weekend. He, Lines and Kyle Jean-Louis (4-16 against Ngatapa a month ago) are all in fine fettle with the ball. The HSOB quicks, perhaps more so than their batsmen, have played the greatest role in the side’s seven wins to date.
Presidents skipper Ollie Needham said: “Our best chance of success is to bowl first, put Ngatapa under pressure with our attack and hopefully not have too many to chase. We’re expecting a tight tussle against a team with the most depth and quality in the competition when they put their best 11 on the field.
“Their wily spin and seam attack has another dimension with the pace of Ryan West.
“They bat all the way down, so even if they lose wickets early on, they can muster competitive totals. All that said, we came closer last time and we’re capable of an upset on our day if things go to plan.”
HSOB opener Matt Jefferd carried his bat for 46 against Campion College in Round 14 but while all-rounder West’s ability has shone through on either side of Christmas (his unbeaten 56 against GBHS was a good knock), the caps can’t afford to open the door for Needham and company. In Round 11, they lost their first four wickets for two runs against HSOB yet won by nine runs.
Ngatapa captain Mike Gibson, veteran Grant Walsh, and classy batsman and off-spinner Charles Morrison know full well that a slip-up now could cost their side the chance to win an astounding third consecutive Hope Cup title. It’s unquestionably been an up-and-down season for HSOB until now, but to knock the defending champions out tomorrow would give their confidence a titanic boost.
Wit is a rare quality in cricket captains.
When Horouta captain Mel Knight says her side “would prefer to bat first, have runs on the board to put OBR under pressure”, that is cricket coded language for “expects a hard game”.
And tomorrow’s battle will be tough for The Waka to win. They’ll need to reverse a 143-run defeat in seven days, the first meeting this season also being a victory (by 95 runs) to the Craig Christophers-led OBR. The competition leaders made 257-1 against Horouta last Saturday and bowled them out for 114 in 19 overs.
The medium-pace of old salt Amit Vyas (4-47 from six) was the cause, and Lloyd van Zyl, who took 2-25, is more dangerous than those figures suggest.
Christophers said: “Last year we lost in the semifinal and didn’t reach the summit, so this year it’s important to snake through the challenges of this weekend’s game to give us a chance at the title.”
