Gisborne Intermediate, who had made 161-4 in the Campion game (Willis 22 at second-drop, opener Joel Kirkpatrick 44 not out), were bowled out for 74 in 19.2 overs of the Poverty Bay final. Both left-handed first-drop Oliver Mackintosh and Brandon Fearnley at No.5 made 13.
The older and younger Reynolds brothers made 15 and 12 respectively as opening batsmen. Sonise, 79-2, won the game in 10.5 overs. Gis Int spearhead Archer Allen, who took 2-9 in Round 1, in Game 2 was the pick of the bowlers. He conceded only six runs in two overs.
Johnathan Gray said: “We played well, fielded well, our three players new to the game — Tom Pinto, Ezra Brown and Olivia Viljoen — did a good job. The senior players all performed and everyone’s confident in our team.”
The Sonrise crew, coached by George Reynolds, Deevon Gray and Phil Viljoen, has a unique approach: players drive their own training and team organisation, the adults assuming managerial responsibility on game-day.
Campion captain Charlie Whitfield won the toss in Game 1 and chose to bowl. Leo Starck took 2-19, including the wicket of Willis LBW, and impressed with both ball and bat. Starck bowls an excellent out-swinger, and as a batsman times his shots crisply.
Campion fielded players new to cricket yesterday. Some, as in the case of Harafateh Singh, have been in the game for a while now but as bowlers remain difficult to read: though he bowled two overs for 21 runs, batsmen looking to play forward, and straight, had little choice but to play back and horizontal shots.
Whitfield impressed. He is a good young all-round cricketer. As a captain he has zest for the game and his tone is positive. Gayesha Mahabalage was the most successful of the Gis Int bowlers and his was the bowling performance of the day: he took three wickets for one run in four overs of full-length out-swing.
Sonrise will next play in the Northern Districts tournament at the end of March.
