Rathkeale College finished bottom of their pool at the Gillette Cup national secondary schools cricket finals played in Palmerston North last week, being beaten in all three of their games.
Batting first in their opening match against Kings College, Rathkeale were all out for just 130. Brock Price made 53 and
Andy Dodd 21
Kings reached their target for the loss of four wickets, Doug Bracewell taking 2-24 for Rathkale.
Rathkeale again batted first in their second pool game against Tauranga Boys and were all out for 184. Bracewell top scored with 60 and Simon Clinton-Baker made 32.
Tauranga overhauled the Rathkeale tally seven wickets down, Bracewell taking 3-27 and Dodd 2-23.
In their third match Rathkeale failed by only 11 runs to beat Otago Boys High, who scored 220-9 in their innings.
Dean van Deventer led the Rathkeale attack with 4-30 while Bracewell took 2-25 and Jamie Willetts 2-28.
Rathkeale were all out for 210 in reply, Matt Dalley making 35, Clinton-Baker 25, Bracewell 30 and Andy Oldfield 24.
Meanwhile, top-order batsman Sam Curtis was spearheading a Wairarapa fightback on the second day of their Hawke Cup senior men's cricket elimination match at Nelson Park, Hastings, yesterday. Curtis was 100 not out and Wairarapa 160-3 in their second innings going into the last two hours of play.
It was a superb knock from Curtis who was quick to send any loose delivery to the boundary and who brought up his "ton" with a crashing four.
Also at the wicket was the in-form David Irvine, who was on 32.
The first-day action was dominated by Hawke's Bay who declared their first innings closed at a healthy 380-6.
Most successful of the Wairarapa bowlers were Carwyn Caffell, who took 2-42, and Matt Young 2-68.
The Wairarapa first innings was a disaster with four wickets being lost before the close of play on the first day and the team being all out for a paltry 83. That meant the onus was on Wairarapa to avoid an outright defeat and with Curtis and Irvine leading the way that seemed a strong possibility.
