RUNS IN STORE: Nick Greeks could be a key player for OBR if he gets established at the crease in the Walker Shield T20 final tomorrow. File picture by Paul Rickard
It's finals weekend in the Walker Shield T20 competition as Gisborne Boys' High School and OBR battle it out for the title.
Coastal Concrete OBR and Galaxy World GBHS both had two first-up wins last weekend to secure their finals berth, meaning they will not play their scheduled pool-play game, while Horouta and Bollywood Stars HSOB will play off for third and fourth in a curtain-raiser.
GBHS will be hoping that opening batsman Graham Sharp's form continues this weekend after he hit 232 runs across their two games without losing his wicket.
Having established himself as a key wicket to get at the top of the GBHS order, OBR will be hoping to strike early and restrict their opponents run-scoring opportunities.
With the games scheduled to be played on the Harry Barker Reserve representative ground, it is unlikely we will see scores as high as last weekend when games were played on the significantly shorter boundaries of Nelson Park.
Despite finishing 2020 winning the Doleman Cup, OBR will come into the game as underdogs. With a tight match against Horouta last weekend and Sharp's recent form, their bowling attack will have to be on the top of their game if they want to restrict the GBHS scoring.
HSOB showed last weekend that good line and length is the key to victory against the schoolboy side, but they were unable to take the wicket of Sharp and were punished at the death.
GBHS said farewell to leg-spinner Liam Barbier last weekend, which will see Daniel Stewart as their only spin-bowling option. A four-wicket haul across their two games last weekend shows he has the talent to take the reins mid-innings, but the team will miss Barbier's dynamic loft that often enticed batsmen out of their crease to be stumped.
The game will likely come down to one or two individual performances, and both teams have the personnel with the talent to turn any game on its head.
GBHS coach Mal Trowell said the boys were “champing at the bit” to get one back on OBR after losing to them in the Doleman Cup final last month.
He said the team would remain mostly unchanged from last week, giving the players who had got them to the final the opportunity to finish the competition off.
They have been focusing on pressuring the fielders, with good running between the wickets on the longer boundaries, he said.
“Hustling on the first run and making sure to come back for the second, if it's there, is going to be key.”
OBR will look to their big hitters to make their mark, with the likes of Nick Greeks and Craig Christophers, who have a proven track record maintaining a strong run-rate if they can get established at the crease.
Their strong bowling attack will be challenged by the GBHS side, but if they are able to keep their resolve and continue putting the ball in the right places, they will likely find success on the grass wicket — which should do more for the bowlers than the artificial turf of Nelson Park.
Regular OBR captain Ian Loffler said while he would be playing, they would be captained this weekend by Craig Christophers.
Loffler said they picked their team from last weekend and will be looking to enjoy the occasion.
“Obviously we want to win, but we'll be aiming to have fun and play for each other.”
OBR would look to their experienced players to take control of the game at crucial moments, but they would need to be supported if the team was to take home their second trophy of the season, he said.
“We'll be looking to everyone to contribute. It will take a team effort (to beat GBHS).”
HSOB were without over half of their premier-grade players last weekend and struggled to score runs in their middle order. One of their call-ins had never played before, and that lack of experience showed as they struggled to create the batting partnership they needed to post a competitive score.
Stand-in captain Jak Rowe said last week they were using the competition to trial new combinations ahead of the DJ Barry Cup, but the threat of a wooden spoon and avoiding a 0-3 record will be at the back of their minds.
HSOB captain Carl Shaw will return this week and said they would be taking the mindset of having fun and trying some “new things”.
(We're) a bit short — can be hard to find miners (sic) this time of year.”
With several of their premier-class players' reintroduction to HSOB, they will be a favourite against Horouta who have struggled to find the winning formula this year.
Horouta has been trying to rebuild their team culture, but haven't strung together a complete performance, yet. At times they have pushed their opponents to the brink, but have only managed one win so far this season.
The team has what it takes to win any game on their day and a morale boost from an agonisingly-close game against OBR last weekend mean Horouta cannot be discounted, despite their recent record.
Horouta Captain David Situ said he expected a good contest after the form the team was in last weekend, and with the reintroduction of key players like himself, Ryan Nepe and Keegan Martin.
“We'll play hard regardless of what place it is (for). We're playing to win.”
He said he expected batsmen to take a little bit longer to establish on the more variable bounce of the grass wicket, which would impact the scoring potential of both teams.
“Our batting will be a big one, but a good all-round performance will be what we need to win.”