Horouta were 191-9 after 40 overs, thanks to a combined effort from Shubham Ralhan (61 not out, from No.6), openers Teghbir Singh (27) and Harmanpreet Singh (20), and first drop Aekamjot Singh (23).
It was the biggest team total Horouta had posted since their bone-crushing 246 against OBR in the season opener on October 29.
HSOB left-arm orthodox spinner Daniel Torrie took 4-33 from eight overs, three of which were maidens.
He had good support from medium-pacer Steve Lamb (2-32 from seven overs) and miserly leg-spinner Dave Castle (1-18 from eight).
The game was set for an absorbing run-chase. The task of overhauling the Horouta total required a positive but not all-guns-blazing approach.
Enter match-winning first drop Scott Tallott. He thumped a six and nine fours on his way to 77 not out off 96 balls.
Big left-hander Carl Shaw, fifth man in, struck a six and seven fours in a fine captain’s knock of 61 before he fell leg-before-wicket to deceptive bowler and former HSOB player Jagroop Singh (1-33 from seven overs).
Ralhan backed up with the new ball and 2-11 in four overs, but the fourth-wicket partnership of 143 between Tallott and Shaw was decisive.
A right-hand/left-hand pairing of two such different players — once they are set — can take over a game, which is what Tallott and Shaw did.
They produced some memorable strokeplay.
“Scott was our MVP (most valuable player,” HSOB captain Shaw said.
“He batted with a lot of guts to dig us out of a hole at 9-3 and led the run-chase.
“Dan (Torrie) bowled well. With his consistency, he’s an integral part of our team and, also, we held our catches. That made a big difference.”
Horouta skipper Situ said: “It was a good game. I was happy with 191 on the board against HSOB.
“We had a chance and started off strong with three quick wickets but Carl and Scott punished any bad bowling on a good wicket. Things might have been different if we hadn’t put Carl down first ball.”
OBR now have two.
The Nick Greeks-led outfit’s second win of the season was a strong showing.
Put in to bat by Boys’ High captain Nathan Trowel, OBR rattled up 209-6 by virtue of three good individual scores: first drop Josh Adams’s 57, opener Sean Henry’s 48 and No.4 Ben McCann’s 39.
It was the sort of blue-collar effort that typifies OBR — selfless players working hard, with bat, ball or in the field. Their first three partnerships were pairings of consequence: 55, 52 and 59.
Boys’ High spearhead Cohen Loffler is in superb bowling form. His 3-34 from eight overs at the weekend was another fine showing. He has the ability to swing and seam the ball both ways.
Boys’ High were bowled out for 111 in 27 overs. No batsman passed 20.
Opener Travis O’Rourke made 18 and Trowell’s partnership of 27 with O’Rourke for the second wicket was the team’s best. Trowell made nine runs.
Ageless medium-pacer Matt Cook took 5-15 from five overs for OBR, and first-change bowler Dane Thompson took 2-20 from five. It was good-line-and-length bowling, backed up by enthusiastic fielding.
Trowell said: “George Gillies (1-49 from eight overs) bowled really well and created catching opportunities, but OBR batted well. They put the bad ball away and rotated strike. It wasn’t our day.”
