Young guns stand out

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

CRICKET

The Eastland Broncos just bucked.

Twenty-year-old Robbie Tallott and 15-year-old Blake Marshall were superb in the Broncos’ seven-wicket victory over the Bollywood Stars in Walker Shield T15 Blast cricket yesterday.

It was the second-placed Broncos’ fourth win in the competition, and they overhauled the third-placed Stars’ total in only eight overs.

Young tearaway Marshall took 3-13 in three overs with Graham Hudson (1-6 off three) being the next-best quick despite a right-shoulder muscle strain, as the Stars reached 90-9.

It was then that former Northern Districts and Otago under-19 all-rounder Tallott, opening the batting, brought the sword. His 54 not out — off only 29 balls — included two sixes and seven fours.

The game finished on an anti-climactic note with a wide by leg-spinner Drew Scott (wides and no-balls being worth two runs in the Walker Shield) for the Craig Christophers-led Broncos to finish on 92-3.

Stars striker Dane Thompson (2-21 off three) bowled line and length at good pace but there was no stopping Tallott in his last T15 Blast knock for the season before returning to Otago University: his two sixes were hit straight from both the Aberdeen Road and Gladstone Road ends on Harry Barker Reserve No.1.

His first 11 coach at Gisborne Intermediate School was Stars captain Glen Udall.

“Robbie was in a different league with the bat tonight,” Udall said.

“It was an imperious innings in which he effortlessly dispatched class bowlers.”

Christophers said it had been a team focus not to bowl many wides, and they caught everything in the field. The standout was Blake Marshall’s catch off the square-leg boundary.

“He had to make 20 metres coming in to get to it,” Christophers said.

“He’s a great young cricketer — behind Robbie, our man of the match.”

It was business as usual. The No.1 team in the Walker Shield T15 Blast — the Smash Palace Bail-Breakers — beat spirited underdogs the Auto Tyre Eagles by four wickets to record their sixth win of the season.

The points table has the Bail-Breakers on 24, Broncos on 16, Stars on 12 and Eagles on four.

Last night, both the Stars and the Breakers chose to bat having won the toss. Jak Rowe’s Bail-Breakers made 92-6.

With the last ball of the 12th over, Eagles opening bowler Travis Mitchell (1-19) claimed the prize wicket of Nick Hendrie for 34 with the score at 91-6. Left-arm slinger Thomas Keogh took 2-10 and left-arm spinner Matt Crampton took 2-22.

In reply, the Eagles reached 75-7 in 15 overs, Joe Reynolds (17 off 25 balls) top-scoring for them before falling to Jimmy Holden (3-12 off three overs). Holden’s fellow quicks, Josiah Turner (2-10) and Jacob Colbert (1-15), were also to the fore.