new weapon: OBR skipper Craig Christophers has added an off-break to his bowling armoury. Picture by Paul Rickard
ANOTHER epic Hope Cup final is in the offing as High School Old Boys Presidents and OBR shape up for the decider at Harry Barker Reserve tomorrow.
Against seemingly insurmountable odds, the long-shots of 2021 — the Bollywood Stars High School Old Boys Presidents — have made it back to defend their Hope Cup title in their third straight appearance on the grand stage.
Ngatapa secured their second consecutive title in 2020 by beating Presidents, then under Isaac Hughes, by 33 runs but last year the Ollie Needham-led HSOB crew claimed victory over Rawhiti Legal OBR. Their winning margin on that day was 25 runs.
Of last year's triumphant side in blue and white, only Nathan Quimpo and Marius Weyers won't feature for the Presidents tomorrow from 2pm onwards.
For OBR, Philburgh Viljoen Jnr (Phil Snr is playing) and Matt Henwood are the only two of the 2021 beaten finalists not to return.
OBR captain Craig Christophers and hard-hitting wicketkeeper Thom Berry, who made 68 and 80 not out respectively in the 145-run opening stand that buried Horouta Te Waka in the 2 v 3 semifinal last Saturday, will share the spotlight again tomorrow.
They decided the outcome of that game. Te Waka first-drop Chaitanya Sambare (71) played a fine innings to little avail.
Presidents' hopes rest in large part on the standout performers in their bowling attack — Jason Lines, Mahmood Khan, Yegan Lanka and Nic Armour.
OBR won the season opener — the highest-scoring game on October 30, last year and the first meeting of tomorrow's return finalists this season — on an artificial wicket at Nelson Park by 53 runs. HSOB held their nerve in Round 9 to win the round-robin rematch by one run.
Thom Berry and Jannie Jacobs, whose unbeaten 126 kick-started this campaign for OBR, have scored centuries this season; so, too, has Jarrod Renouf, who made 101 from No.1, with five sixes and 11 fours against a young Campion College side in 31-degree heat, from 61 balls five weeks ago.
Both teams have firepower but also subtlety. For HSOB, that subtlety resides in Armour, Khan's outswing from the line of the stumps or the measured inswing of Kyle Jean-Louis. For OBR, subtlety is Mana Taumaunu's looping leg-break. That, allied to Berry's glovework, spelled doom for Sambare in the semifinal last week. The Christophers off-break, a recent invention, is at least as dangerous.
OBR have the competition's No.1 bowler, left-armer George Reynolds (23 wickets at an average of 7, best of 6-21) who cannot now be overtaken. The 6-21 he took against Ngatapa in Round 8 saw three batsmen bowled and two adjudged leg before wicket. He attacked the stumps and odds-on will again in tomorrow's final on HBR 2, which gave both pace and spin bowlers, and batsmen, their due on merit.
Observers will see the bad ball or loose shot prove costly in this final.
Glen Udall will have the gloves for HSOB again tomorrow.
Ollie Needham last Saturday carried his bat for 53 and took 1-14 from four overs with the new ball. He was — like Christophers — the team and match MVP (most valuable player) of his semifinal.
Both skippers expect great things of this final.
Needham said: “We'll play with confidence and composure to give ourselves a chance against a strong OBR side. With the bat, we want a platform to allow our strokemakers to play freely and with the ball, to consistently hit areas and take our chances that come our way will be crucial. Win, lose or tie, I'll be proud of the effort and improvement we've made this season to give ourselves a chance of lifting the coveted Hope Cup again.”
Craig Christophers is keeping an open mind: “We don't know what to expect, of and from them, but we do want to do the basics well ourselves. That means batting for 30 overs, limiting the number of extras that we concede as a bowling group and fielding unit, taking our catches and enjoying ourselves.”
BOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS' PRESIDENTS: Ollie Needham (c), Glen Udall (wkp), Nicholas Armour, Marcus Gray, Kyle Jean-Louis, Matt Jefferd, Mahmood Khan, Anil Kumar, Yegan Lanka, Jason Lines, Jarrod Renouf, Billy Stackhouse, Jake Theron.
RAWHITI LEGAL OLD BOYS' RUGBY: Craig Christophers (c), Thom Berry (wkp), Deevon Gray, Johnathan Gray, Jannie Jacobs, Matt Lotar Mcfatter, George Reynolds, Peter Stewart, Mana Taumanu, Lloyd van Zyl, Phil Viljoen, snr, Amit Vyas, Tama Wirepa.