Cricket: Middle order rally puts WBHS back in match

Whangarei Boys High bowler John Childs. Photo / Ron Burgin.

A fantastic partnership between Matthew Lobb and John Child helped Whangarei Boys' High School into a strong position on the opening day of their Oxford Trust two day match against City Cricket Club.

With City's Joe Yovich showing all his experience with the new ball on Saturday, the Boys High top order battled hard to take the shine off the ball but they were unable to hang around for long.

The side were in big trouble at 80-5 before the timely middle order revival, with Lobb and Child putting on 179 for the sixth wicket.

Both players were destined to perish just short of well deserved centuries with Year 11 student scoring 96 before being caught in the deep while Child went one better with 97.

Boys High Cricket Master Russell Smith said the first eleven has a tradition to award their baggy cap to a player who has scored 50 runs or taken five wickets in a match and last year Matthew reached his 40s four times but never progressed through to 50 and so missed out on his cap.

"So his first goal was definitely the baggy cap on Saturday and we were hoping he might push on the whole way but he was caught on the boundary trying to score a four that would have taken him to 100 but at least he was able to join John in that big partnership and he now has something else to aim at," Smith said.

Child was the last player out as Boys High reached a respectable 297 with Yovich ending up with the best bowling figures of 4-35, bowling all of his 24 overs in a single spell.

In reply, City were unbeaten on 30 with their import Zack Khawaja (26) and Sam Cloutman (4) to resume batting next Saturday with the battle most likely to centre on gaining first innings points.

Two centuries were scored as Onerahi-Central piled on the runs at the Kamo Recreation Ground. Henry Cooper and Brad Kneebone both reached triple figures to make Kamo rue their decision to put them in after winning the toss.

The visitors declared on 330/2 and then put Kamo in for a short spell with the bat late on in the day.

Openers Ben Hyde and Rhys Brittain-Clark managed to keep their wickets intact as well as the prospect of Kamo chasing down the big total next week.

In contrast to the two other matches, the third match of the round between Kaipara Flats and Maungakaramea, held at Kaipara, saw 19 wickets fall.

Kaipara Flats lost the toss and were put into bat on a hard track that had plenty of juice in it.

Maungakaramea's Cody Andrews took six wickets as Kaipara were routed for just 114.

That total began to look good as the Kaipara bowlers began to make their mark but Maungakaramea struggled through to 120/9 to take first innings points and the advantage through to next weekend.

Kaipara will lose more players to Northland representative duties next week as the province takes on Bay of Plenty at Cobham Oval, so Maungakaramea will be aiming to push home their advantage and take maximum points when the game resumes.