T20 Challenge Cup: Bryant keen to get back into the fray

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

Kelan Bryant is a natural timer of the ball.

And he got back into the swing of things in Round 1 of cricket's T20 Challenge Cup with a superb innings of 56.

Bryant's was a match-winning turn for the Blues and Royals, who beat the Admiralty by four wickets in the Gisborne Boys' High School derby. Campion College beat the Tairawhiti Women's Cricket Club by six wickets.

The games were played on artificial pitches at Nelson Park in good spirit, well-officiated as they were by qualified umpires James Raroa, Martin Bennett and Clarence Campbell.

Admiralty captain Lukas Fry won the toss and chose to bat. His crew posted 121-5, hard-hitting first-drop Gareth Langford top-scoring with 24 runs from 19 balls, a knock that included two sixes and two fours.

Bekko Page (1-21) took the king wicket of opener Nathaniel Fearnley in the second over. He received good support from his fellow pacemen Bryant (3-19) and Dylan Worsnop (1-16). Left-handed bat Riker Rolls was compact and well-organised, and made an excellent 21 at No.6 for the Admiralty.

Fry (2-23) and Fearnley (1-23) joined forces with the new ball but Bryant was the star of the show with the bat: the Blues and Royals' No.1 dispatched two sixes and seven fours in his 32-ball innings.

He and first-drop Bekko Page (30 not out) put on 103 runs together until Fry, left-arm around-the-wicket, yorked him from wide on the crease. Page brought the Blues and Royals' win up in delightful fashion with a quick single crafted by soft hands and batsmanship — a nice touch in this era of forced improvisation and wild stroke-play.

The TWCC will bounce back.

Tairawhiti Women's Cricket Club are a good all-round side but on Wednesday at Nelson Park, Campion College's fifth-change bowler blitzed them with the ball.

Northern Spirit representative Kayley Knight won the toss and chose to bat first — a fair decision — but Campion seamer Aidan Armstrong took 3-7 in 10 balls and TWCC lost three batters with the score at 47.

TWCC were dismissed for 51 in 14.4 overs, Knight at No.3 was the women's top-scorer with 12 from 33 in 46 minutes.

Against tight bowling from second-change medium-pacer Taye McGuinness (1-4) and others, Grace Kuil (11) at No.5 hit the only two boundaries in the first innings.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Daniel Baillie, who carried his bat for 14no, led all scorers. His opening partner, Armstrong (8), fell with the total at 12 and first-drop Izahn Duckworth was then run out for a “black duck” (without facing a ball). The college showed grit and a willingness to graft for 13.5 overs to score 53 runs for victory.

Campion's teacher-in-charge of cricket, Mark Naden, sees his boys' six-wicket win as hard-earned success:

“Since the Labour Day Weekend tournament in Napier, our boys have been working on being accurate as bowlers, being patient with the bat and attacking the ball in the field,” Naden said.

“We've steadily built on these things and are proud that they formed part of a successful game-plan against TWCC.”