Tough week for Gisborne Boys' High at Super 8 cricket tournament

The DJ Barry Cup competition continues in Poverty Bay Premier club cricket this weekend.

American author James Lane Allen was a deep thinker.

And his musing that “adversity does not build character, it reveals it” is one that Gisborne Boys' High School First XI cricket team captain Riker Rolls and his teammates can carry forward after a tough week away.

They lost their three 50-over games and one 35-over clash at the Super 8 secondary school tournament in New Plymouth.

Vice-captain Nathaniel Fearnley’s 3-37 from eight overs against Napier BHS in round one and his 36 batting at seven against Hastings in round two were individual highlights.

Keanu Makiri top-scored twice for Gisborne –18 from No 2 v Hamilton in round three, a nine-wicket loss; and 16 at No 5 in their nine-wicket loss to Rotorua BHS in the play-off for fifth and sixth on Thursday.

GBHS lost to Napier by 235 runs and Hastings defeated them by 219 runs – a match in which Gisborne reached 126 in 33.4 overs – their only three-figure total of a testing tournament for a team who are rebuilding after losing several senior players from last year. David Gray scored 25 and Malsha Mahalabage 23, including five boundaries, in the Hastings game.

In the Napier clash, Marcus Gray took 2-25 in six overs of medium pace and older brother David got 2-45 bowling second change.

Fearnley took 2-57 off 10 versus Hastings.

The David McDonald-coached First XI returned home on Thursday and had Friday to rest up before their DJ Barry Cup Premier round two clash with Moshim’s Spice Horouta Te Waka on Harry Barker Reserve No 1 from noon Saturday.

Opener Gautam Sareen clubbed an unbeaten 117 off 122 balls in The Waka’s first-innings win over Coastal Concrete Old Boys' Rugby a fortnight ago, and Boys' High will also be wary of Harmanpreet Gill, who snared 4-20 last time out.

David Gray made a solid 33 in their eight-wicket round one loss to Bollywood High School Old Boys.

HSOB opener Carl Shaw compiled a tidy 42 not out in round one and an unbeaten 55 v Horouta in a 15-run victory to his Blues in the last T15 Walker Shield outing on January 23. On that day, OBR cruised to glory in 8.5 overs.

In the absence of Matthew Cook, well-performed off-spinner Daniel Stewart will lead OBR v HSOB on No 2 on Saturday.

“We’re going up against a strong team, so we need to work hard,” Stewart said on Thursday. “We back each other up and believe in our skills, have solid bowlers who can take over the game, batsmen who can dominate opposition attacks ... but to beat a team like HSOB we’ll need to do both to really put them under pressure.”

HSOB captain Dave Castle had not yet finalised his side on Thursday, but will, with Shaw and wicketkeeper Taye McGuinness, be on board on Saturday.

“Round two will bring new challenges in that OBR are improving and we’ll need to be better again,” Castle said. “We are looking forward to Keegan Jooste going well again with the new ball after his maiden five-for [5-20 off 12.3 overs against Boys' High]. Keegs can change a game with the ball in hand.

“We hope, too, that our recent acquisition Alex Shanks [the GBHS 1st XI and Poverty Bay Under-19 team captain last year] also gets a chance to shine this weekend.”

Hope Cup senior B round two draw, 2pm: HBR 3, Gisborne Boys' High School Second XI v Breakers Horouta Te Waka; HBR 4, Chicking HSOB Presidents v Civil Project Solutions Ngatapa Green Caps.