A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
The blue-and-whites did it without fuss in Round 1 of Doleman Cup premier-grade cricket.
But a week on from their five-wicket win against the Galaxy World Gisborne Boys' High School first 11, the Carl Shaw-led Bollywood High School Old Boys are to be tested by an older, experienced unit in Old Boys Rugby.
Any decent cricket worth the name is the domain of good batsmanship, and so it is with the 40-over game. Chasing 108 against Boys' High, HSOB lost both opening batsmen early but were still never under scoreboard pressure.
Dave Castle at No.6 made 38 not out and first drop Scott Tallott, a lively 22.
But HSOB want to bat for more than 23.3 overs and Boys' High need to start to step up with the willow well in advance of the Super 8 tournament to be held at Palmerston North from January 30 to February 3.
The first 11 will lose captain and stroke-maker Nathan Trowell, all-rounder Cohen Loffler (whose 93 from No.5 set up their 43-run win against Hastings BHS in Gisborne last season), Luke Fisher, Adam Situ and strong left-arm pace bowlers Travis O'Rourke and Keegan Jooste.
The tall left-hander Shaw, Tallott, David Salmon and in-form Castle will welcome into their ranks this week Gareth Roberts on his debut for HSOB.
Their battle with OBR on Harry Barker Reserve No.1 will be made more interesting by the return to the bowling crease of Richie Needham.
Needham is accurate but can swing the ball back into right-handed batsmen to a disconcerting degree while also being possessed of an outswinger. All he need do is get the ball to straighten to give players comfortable against greater pace the jitters.
That ability to make the ball talk also resides in Needham's OBR teammate Amit Vyas. For both, the margin for error against batsmen of the type they're soon to face is small but the rewards are potentially great. HSOB sit atop the table; both they and David Situ's Horouta Te Waka have four competition points. OBR and GBHS are both still looking for their first win of the season.
It is a nice touch for OBR that their skipper, Nick Greeks, is bowling his left-arm orthodox spinner well enough to take 4-37 in eight overs. That strengthens their hand overall and gives them the variety that an all-medium-pace attack can lack.
“We'll be a little less rusty than last week,” HSOB skipper Shaw said.
“Big partnerships and having someone apply themselves to get a score, that's what we want — and to drop no catches. If we can stick to the basics and execute those, we give ourselves a chance.”
From 1pm, Gisborne Boys' High versus Horouta may be rip, dip or bust. GBHS in the past four years or so have husbanded their batting resources in support of adult players whose presence was of great benefit to the side.
The school players' improvement has been stunning, although the other avenue from which that might be gauged — playing for the Poverty Bay men's senior side — has been denied them and other sports and events in the past three years or so by Covid-19.
Their opponents tomorrow can mangle attacks that bowl loosely . . . and even those whose consistency and orthodoxy give them a sighter. Horouta made 246 against OBR last game out, with three half-centuries, and so spent valuable time in the middle.
Their batsmen hit a tremendous percentage in boundaries, and this is where the arts of bowling, the appreciation of length, and having more than one change of pace, are invaluable for those bowlers tasked with keeping them watchful, if not getting rid of them. For that, Boys' High have a great mentor in Lance Cairns to thank.
GBHS captain Nathan Trowell's batting goals for tomorrow's clash with Te Waka include long-lasting partnerships and his aim with the ball is for his side to take early wickets.
Horouta captain David Situ has learned much in the past three seasons. Last week, his crew beat OBR by 93 runs. They are no easy-beats.
The moderate weather this week has been good for pitch preparation on the grass wickets of the Harry Barker Reserve, with the decks used last Saturday to go again for Round 2 of senior club cricket.
While moisture dictates that the wickets may be fractionally slower than ideal, the bounce is expected to be consistent.