HSOB can bat, bowl and field, yet they are still nowhere near their best, ahead of their clash with the David McDonald-coached Gisborne Boys’ High School first 11 on Harry Barker Reserve No.1.
Individuals in the Boys’ High first 11 have shown inklings of form with the bat, in Bekko Page’s 21 from No.6 against OBR and Akira Makiri’s 19, at No.5 against Horouta. The only top-order player to strike gold so far has been Alex Shanks, who opened with Page’s co-captain Jarrod Ormiston last time out and made 52.
HSOB have a quality all-round bowling attack, which is why for the school team to stand a chance of upsetting HSOB before they can grind into gear, they will — with the bat — need to get more out of the left-handed Ormiston.
He, Shanks, David Gray, Nathaniel Fearnley and Page must be at the forefront of the Boys’ High run-scoring efforts. They have the ability to play shots. Net-form has to translate into runs. They are this young side’s most capable with the bat.
GBHS bowled much better in Round 2 than they did on opening day — their spinners were impressive — yet they have to respect the pillars of bowling: line and length. OBR took 87 runs off them in 11.3 overs. A boundary was taken off each of the first three overs and consecutive boundaries were hit in the first-change bowler’s first over.
Dave Castle and Graham Sharp make a good HSOB opening pair, yet one which Boys’ High, should they bowl to thoughtful plans backed up by good fielding, can part.
This first 11 does enough with the ball but Page mentioned the Boys’ High catching last week against OBR, and what muffed catches cost his side.
“I think we’re coming along — we’ve a very promising squad — and we could be real Doleman Cup contenders if two or more of us fire with the bat,” he said.
“We need to spend more time in the middle to post a defendable score.”
To get the season’s first win soothes tensions and relieves pressure . . . somewhat.
But the fact that Breakers Horouta Te Waka skipper David Situ played a pivotal role in that victory is a good thing for cricket. He, like teammate Billy Morse, and Mel Knight, Greg Taylor and Johnny Nukunuku of old, love the club and the special spirit in which they have always played the game.
The big hitting of Nukunuku was Horouta’s cricketing trademark in the early 2000s.
Situ is an altogether different type, though his unbeaten 76 at second drop last weekend included three sixes and five fours.
It was the perfect innings for the circumstances of the match and likely the best hand that Situ, once an accumulator only, has ever played.
His opposite tomorrow, OBR’s Nick Greeks, likely speaks for all Premier Grade captains in his evaluation of Situ and his worth to Te Waka: “David always gives 100 percent. I think he’s the main reason Horouta have had and have continued to have a first-grade side.”
Situ will need to go again, with more runs from Harmanpreet Singh (47 against GBHS) at the top of the order and Harpreet Chema (25 not out against Boys’High) at No.6.
OBR beat Boys’ High by 10 wickets a fortnight ago but only first-drop Nathan Trowell, with an elegant 24, looked likely to make a score last Saturday.
Former Northern Districts under-19 paceman Hayden Keast is out this weekend with work commitments but Dane Thompson, Richie Needham, Matt Cook and Jimmy Holden, who took 3-21 in 4.5 overs are all out to test the Horouta batsmen on Harry Barker No.3.
From 12 midday, Stewart Patrick will umpire OBR versus Horouta, while Poverty Bay chief of umpires Jason Trowill will umpire HSOB versus GBHS.
In the 30-over Senior B Grade matches on the artificial pitches of Nelson Park, the Gisborne Boys’ High School second 11 will play Rawhiti Legal Old Boys Rugby on the No.1 ground, Breakers Horouta Te Waka will play Mark Naden’s Campion College on No.3, and Chicking High School Old Boys Presidents will play Hope Cup holders Civil Project Solutions Ngatapa Green Caps on No.4.
The Horouta-Campion clash will double as a contest for the Naden-Taylor Trophy held by Te Waka.
