The two Graces fronted the charge towards 88. The tall Kuil, third in to bat, was bowled by Makiri for 26 off 31 balls. Makiri had already dismissed opener Amelia Garbett for a duck and later took the wicket of Reynolds, also without scoring, off the last ball of the match.
The women’s pluck had made a great game of it. Robertson and Jett Whitaker (1), batting at No.8, were run out in the Blues innings. Makiri returned the favour to break TWCC’s excellent, potentially match-winning stand of 43 by Levy and Kuil for the second wicket. It was the biggest partnership of the game.
Fearnley, who — like Boys’ High Admiralty skipper Riker Rolls — batted himself last in the semi to give younger cricketers a chance to shine, spoke highly of Robertson’s hard running between wickets and his ability to adjust to the bowlers’ extra bounce.
TWCC founder, coach and umpire Mel Knight saw Makiri generate disconcerting swing into right-handed batters.
Makiri conceded only one wide as a sundry. His recent spurt in development and improvement as a bowler and all-round player are the results of much hard work and dedication.
Rhys Grogan did more than make 57 on Wednesday.
He flew a sail of batsmanship not seen enough in T20 cricket. His balanced and precise footwork against a great young spin bowler in Riker Rolls was the key to Campion College’s 59-run win against the Gisborne Boys’ High School Admiralty.
Both teams had their moments on the representative wicket after Campion were put in to bat by Admiralty captain Rolls. They made 143-4. Opener Grogan’s 57, No.5 Hamish Swann’s unbeaten 24 and second drop Connor Starck’s 20 not out were the three innings that solidified an imposing team total.
Starck and Swann’s 48-run stand for the fourth wicket was the biggest partnership of the game.
Leg-spinner Harvey Reynolds took 2-26 and left-arm orthodox spinner Rolls 1-21. Both bowled out. Their fair loop and length drew all three of Campion’s strokemakers down to drive and made for good cricket to watch.
The Admiralty were bowled out for 84 in 17.1 overs, their batting highlight being the the 35-run stand between opener Reynolds (16) and No.5 Robbie Newlands (14). They were the only GBHS batsmen to spend time in the middle.
Swann was the most successful bowler for Campion. His devilish lobs — in the style of Richard McMurray — netted him 3-8 in three overs.
The Campion attack is varied and accurate. Grogan bowls off-spin in the Challenge Cup but at Senior B level bowls a good outswinger, as do Starck and Taye McGuinness.
Anikate Bandral is Campion’s leg-spinner, while Ramandeep Singh, Gagandeep Singh and left-armer Joe Singh bowl good medium pace.
