Tough week ends in loss for Boys’ High

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

They pulled out all the stops against the Hastings-Napier combined second 11 team yesterday.

The Malcolm Trowell-coached Galaxy World Gisborne Boys' High School first 11 came as close in Game 4 to victory at the Super 8 cricket tournament as they had all week, but their young opponents seized the day — and the win — by 65 runs.

Combined team coach Trent Miller was happy to avoid the wooden spoon as Hastings Boys' High hosted the tourney, and the playoff for eighth was held at Akina (Hastings BHS).

“The game was very competitive,” he said.

“The difference for us was the bowling of our off-spinner Dylan Nel (6-26 off 10 overs) and lower-order batting contributions from Jacob Rameka (32), Liam Roberts (23) and Ben Solomon (22) at 8, 9 and 10.

“At the start of the game, Matt Foster (2-22 off 6.1 overs) and Te-Reimana Gray (2-32 from 10 overs) opened Gisborne's bowling and put us under pressure with their good lines. Gisborne were excellent in the field and Te-Reimana also batted well for 38 at No.3; if we hadn't taken his wicket when we did, the result might have been different.”

Combined captain Angus Ramsey won the toss and chose to bat. New-ball operators Foster and Gray received great support from left-armer Travis O'Rourke (1-20 off four), captain Nathan Trowell (1-21 off five) and big Max Briant (3-32 off seven overs). Only first-drop Brodie Lewis (21) made top-order runs for the combined team, with Gisborne wicketkeeper Sebastian Wilson holding two catches in the innings.

The combined outfit recovered from being 59-6 in 16.1 overs of the 50-over clash, to 166 all out in 39.1. The 43-run stand for the ninth wicket between Roberts and Gisborne boy Solomon was the biggest partnership of the match.

In the run-chase, Luke Fisher, who fought hard for his six runs from 26 balls, Year 9 student and opener David Gray (13) got to 21 as a pair before Gray fell four balls into the fifth over.

Daniel Stewart made Gisborne's second-highest score, 14, at No.9. He, Foster and Briant were the Year 13 students in the Gisborne team. The combined team's Y12 skipper was the only senior student in their side.

Gisborne scored 101 in 27.5 overs. Medium-pacer Solomon (1-6 from 2.5 overs) ended the game by bowling Stewart.

GBHS captain Nathan Trowell and his hard-working crew have demonstrated a great work ethic this season but the break this weekend will be much appreciated.

Nathan Trowell said: “We want to learn from our mistakes and be better the next time as a batting and bowling unit. If two or three batsmen get 50s, that sets the game up, so two or three batsmen have to build an innings.

“At key times this week, we lost crucial wickets, which put us on the back foot. That said, Te-Reimana was solid today and throughout the tournament. He applied himself, put away the bad ball and also scored off the good balls.”