Michael Francis bowling against OBR in Hope Cup cricket on Saturday. Picture by Liam Clayton
Is it the biggest form reversal local club cricket has ever seen?
High School Old Boys Presidents are through to the Hope Cup final on Saturday after crushing Old Boys Rugby at the weekend.
Their nine-wicket win — as the third-placed team in the 2 v 3 Senior B semifinal — coming off the back of a 115-run loss to Coastal Ultrasound Horouta, ranks as one of the biggest turnarounds in recent history.
Rawhiti Legal OBR had won the first meeting in Round 4 on November 2 by eight wickets, the Round 8 clash by 54 runs and the Round 14 match by 77 runs a fortnight ago. Going on results before Saturday's game, the gap between OBR and HSOB was a yawning chasm.
The Isaac Hughes-led Bollywood HSOB Presidents bowled OBR out for 127 in 25.2 overs of the 30-over match on Harry Barker Reserve ground No.1.
Jake Theron took 5-24 in six overs and left-arm orthodox spinner Daniel Torrie, 3-11 in 3.2 overs.
OBR were without hard-hitting Thom Berry, and lost left-hander Peter Stewart for eight, leg before wicket to seamer Glen Udall (1-22) in the sixth over with the score at 35.
OBR skipper Craig Christophers (33) was bowled by Theron, and former Poverty Bay skipper Ian Loffler (16) was well caught by tall gloveman Ollie Needham off the bowling of veteran Mike Francis (1-29).
Hughes said: “Jake bowled brilliantly — full and straight, and he swung the ball away at good pace. He attacked the stumps.”
Key to High School Old Boys' successful run chase was Udall's innings of 51 from No.2. It was a commanding half-century of poise, precision and placement against a capable pace attack. He hit eight fours before he fell to leg-spinner Mana Taumaunu (1-7 off two overs).
Needham carried his bat for 33 off 61 balls and first drop Simon Blaker was also unbeaten on 18, hitting four boundaries in 11 balls.
HSOB took 24.2 overs to reach their target of 128.
“We knew we needed 180 at least against them in a semi — then there's scoreboard pressure — but Glen batted really well,” Christophers said.
“On the day, we came a distant second. Still, the boys had fun and our newbies have already bought their first bit of cricket kit ahead of next season. We'll all be back.”
With their seven-wicket win against Horouta, 2019-20 Senior B champions the Ngatapa Green Caps earned a place in the Hope Cup final.
The competition leaders took 24.4 overs to chase down the total of 103 scored by fourth-placed Horouta, whose captain, Heyan Ranasinghe, had won the toss.
Horouta were dismissed in 28.2 overs, as big George Williams (3-11 off four overs) produced a sensational spell of outswing bowling on HBR 3.
He bowled out former Northern Spirit off-spinner Mel Knight (2) and wicketkeeper Ranasinghe with the fourth and fifth balls of the sixth over to turn the match on its ear.
A side losing such an experienced first-drop and No.4 so early batting first will be under added pressure from that point on.
The control of off-spinner Jeremy Castles (2-2 in 2.2 overs) was a revelation. He and medium-pacer Tim Gardner (2-34 off six overs) gave Williams excellent support.
Piumal Madusanka (22 from 23 balls), eighth man in, and No.5 Etienne Botes (19 off 22) are busy cricketers whatever the circumstances, but the bowling was top-notch.
For Civil Project Solutions Ngatapa, wicketkeeper-batsman Simon Wilson (30) and Jack Jefferd (28) shared an opening stand of 56 runs.
Madusanka (1-19) bowled Wilson with one ball remaining in the 13th over. Fellow seamer Hasantha Vithanage (1-20) and left-arm orthodox spinner Clarence Campbell (1-2) also bowled well for Horouta.
The Green Caps' Castles, No.3, and captain Mike Gibson (fifth man in) were unbeaten on 14 and 1 respectively at the end.
Gibson later spoke of the importance of enjoying the game. He and his team were impressed by the good line-length seam bowling of Northern Spirit A all-rounder Kayley Knight (0-26 off five overs).
Ranasinghe said 103 was not a defendable total.
“But still we fought.”
Campion College were superb.
College player-coach Mark Naden (71) and captain Liam Spring (43) shared a 116-run partnership against Gisborne Boys' High School, a stand that laid the platform for victory in the Hope Cup playoff for fifth.
Campion won by 63 runs, thereby turning the tables on a team who had beaten them by 59 runs in the last round-robin match a week ago, and by five wickets on an artificial pitch at Nelson Park on November 4.
Spring won the toss and chose to bat. To be successful on the No.4 wicket — particularly bowling to a skilled exponent of the pull shot, such as Naden — the Boys' High bowlers needed to pitch the ball up.
In the 13th over, Naden hit four pull shots for four off balls 2 ,3, 5 and 6 from medium-pacer Cohen Loffler . . . 67-0 became 83-0.
First-drop Daryl Dunn struck 35 off 27 balls and all-rounder Blake Marshall, in at No.4, made his highest Senior B score of 39 not out from 27 balls.
Campion reached 201-4 in 30 overs. Gisborne Boys' High School's highest total this season had been 183-6 against HSOB Presidents four weeks before.
Captain and off-spinner Daniel Stewart took the big wickets of Naden and Dunn and finished with figures of 2-20 off four overs.
He went around the wicket to have big left-hander Dunn well caught by 'keeper Jack Whitehead-McKay.
Stewart and seamers Matthew Foster (0-20 off six overs) and Nathan Trowell (with a first spell of 0-15 off four, and final figures of 0-33 off six) came the closest of the Boys' High bowlers to restricting Campion's batsmen.
Boys' High were 138-9 at the end.
Year 9 outswing bowler Hamish Swann took 3-15 off four overs. His wickets included those of Boys' High No.3 Nathan Trowell (35 runs off 46 balls) and Max Briant (34 from 43, with four fours and a six). Swann hit Briant's off-stump and Trowell was caught by Jonty Fenn — as Loffler (15) had been — at mid-off.
The dutiful slow-medium of Cameron Rowell (1-21 off five) proved difficult for Boys' High to score from.
Marshall took 1-14 off five and saved at least 20 runs in the field, while Grace Levy bowled good line and length.
Campion's sole female cricketer on the day bowled six overs without luck or joy for 33 runs but did run out No.6 Luke Fisher for six.
Wicketkeeper Spring said: “I was proud to see Campion put 200 on the board with an awesome batting performance, and then follow that up with the ball to finish this season on a high.”