Knight proves a match-winner for Tairawhiti WCC

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Kayley Knight’s not just pacy or just an all-rounder. She’s a match-winner.

The Northern Brave opening bowler was the Tairawhiti Women’s Cricket Club’s MVP (most valuable player) in their 11-run, Challenge Cup T20 win against the Gisborne Boys’ High School Admiralty this week.

Knight’s unbeaten 78 off 87 balls from No.6 (which she later backed up with four tidy overs for 13 runs) made the TWCC captain the overall MVP of the Round 2 match at Nelson Park.

Knight won the toss and chose to bat on the artificial wicket but the TWCC didn’t have things all their own way. Left-arm orthodox spinner Riker Rolls (3-15) bowled left-hander and first-drop Elenor Walsh, Grace Levy and opener Jess Hayward.

The women then recovered from 17-5 with one ball remaining in the third over, to 113-5 courtesy of a 96-run stand between 18-year-old Knight and Helen Evans (four not out off 17 balls). Knight showed discipline and skill in farming the strike.

GBHS captain Bekko Page took the new ball (2-25 off four overs) and did an outstanding job for his team all-round. He made 42 off 40 balls at first-drop, opener Nathaniel Fearnley (21) and hard-hitting ’keeper Gareth Langford (17) the only other batsmen to get set. Langford was the last to fall, leg before wicket to a Jess Hayward donkey-drop that hit him on the fall.

The decision from umpire Mel Knight was exactly correct, and the Admiralty were dismissed for 102 with five balls left to bowl.

Gisborne Boys’ High School’s Blues and Royals set about their work without fuss.

And in so doing they beat Campion College by 53 runs. Akira Makiri was the Boys’ High MVP, leading all batsmen in the match with an unbeaten 29 from No.3. He then took 4-16 — including a hat-trick — in 3.2 overs to back up his great form (86no from No.1, 1-19 off four overs) in the Horouta Dragons’ 78-run win against the High School Young Boys at Junior Colts level on Saturday.

GBHS put up 118-3, with capable and much-improved left-handers Jarrod Ormiston (22) and Kavindu Withanage (24) both batting with application.

Promising Year 9 player Connor Starck, Campion’s best bowler, took 1-5 in the only over he bowled before he left the field of play due to injury.

In Campion’s innings, Makiri and Malsha Mahabalage (3-8 in three overs) cut a swathe through the same batting line-up that ran down TWCC’s total of 51-8 with six wickets in hand a fortnight ago. Left-armer Lukas Fry took 1-7 from two overs — bowling well within himself — on his return from injury.

Campion were bowled out for 65 in 15.2 overs, No.3 Rhys Grogan top-scoring with 12. Grogan, Hamish Swann and Taye McGuinness are Campion’s three most experienced Challenge Cup cricketers.

Makiri’s hat-trick had Grogan caught by ’keeper Ormiston, Swann bowled and McGuinness lbw off the fifth ball of the sixth over. The College’s last six batsmen scored 13 runs. All players in the Blues and Royals-Campion College clash owe a debt of gratitude to CricHQ scorer-umpire Jonty Fenn, a genuine servant of the game.