Jak Rowe turned the tide towards HSOB in the 11th over. He had Fisher caught by wicketkeeper Udall, then bowled Te Reimana Gray for a golden duck.
Losing wickets in bunches was a theme of the GBHS innings.
That included three in the 23rd over bowled by Thorn Parkes — Nathan Trowell run out for 18, Seb Wilson caught for a second-ball duck and Max Briant caught and bowled by Parkes also for a two-ball 0.
HSOB suddenly looked in control. They were talkative, alert and committed in the field.
However, Turner showed resistance in his knock of 33 off 42 balls at No.5, wicketkeeper-coach Mal Trowell stuck around with a 30-ball 10 and Daniel Stewart made 14 off 15 balls at No.10 before becoming one of Adam Whibley's three scalps (3-20 off 5.5).
HSOB came out to bat with confidence but lost Udall (run out by Turner) for 5 in the third over.
Captain Carl Shaw (23 off 30) combined with Parkes (25 off 27) to take them through to 49 when Shaw was trapped lbw by Liam Barbier, who also had Parkes stumped by Mal Trowell in the 13th over.
Losing wickets at regular intervals never allowed HSOB to settle into a rhythm and go on to find runs after taking the time to establish themselves at the crease. Six of their batsmen were unable to reach double figures on what turned out to be a tricky batting surface, despite first impressions.
The game plan of HSOB taking their time at the crease set up a potentially thrilling finish but Turner had other ideas as he claimed four middle- and lower-order wickets.
No.9 batsman Ryan Majstrovic made a valiant 18 not out off 28 balls but ran out of partners.
Mal Trowell said his team were ecstatic and he described their group chat on Saturday night as “glowing”.
He paid tribute to their all-round bowling performance, with five of the six claiming wickets and all of them bowling economically.
Trowell said the pitch had variable bounce that often fooled the batsmen and himself. “Some balls were down at shoelace height while other deliveries bounced up off the seam.”
GBHS's plan to bring on spin bowler Barbier early paid dividends with the key wickets of Shaw and Parkes.
“I personally didn't think it (157) was enough,” said coach Trowell. “When you're playing against HSOB, who have the likes of Thorn Parkes, you need to be looking at 200 (runs).
Particularly satisfying was that they won without their stronger adult players.
Such a performance boosted confidence and belief in themselves.
“We wanted to come in and compete in the grade, and we've certainly done that.”
HSOB captain Shaw said they restricted GBHS well but batted “extremely poorly”.
“GHBS had sections of good tight bowling but we made it extremely hard for ourselves and made a batting pitch look like a bowler's wicket.”
It was a disappointing way to end the competition but the team were looking to bounce back next year, he said.
“Good luck to Boys High in the final. They're a great addition to the competition and it's great watching them grow with every good performance.”
OBR dismissed Horouta for 112 in the 35th over, then cruised to victory in the 23rd over for the loss of just three wickets.
Horouta won the toss and decided to bat.
Captain David Situ said they believed the pressure of not having to chase a total would benefit the team.
Ryan Nepe, at No.6, topscored with an unbeaten 48 from 80 balls.
Unfortunately for Horouta, no one else was able to back him up as they struggled against a strong attack.
OBR bowled tightly, giving away only three wides and four byes as they restricted seven of Horouta's batsmen to single-digit scores.
Jimmy Holden (three wickets for 31 runs off 8 overs) and Matt Cook (2-18 off 8) did the damage.
“They were putting it on the perfect line and length every time,” said Situ, one of Cook's victims.
“They definitely set the tone of the game early.”
OBR skipper Ian Loffler (2-16 off 6) and Craig Christophers (2-17 off 5.2) backed up their frontline pair.
Five of the Horouta batsman were bowled.
Loffler said they looked to apply early pressure on the Horouta batting line-up.
“By the time they (Holden and Cook) had finished their spell of eight overs, we had them five down.
Situ said Horouta didn't bowl well enough and OBR punished the bad balls to run away with the win.
Christophers opened the batting in OBR's chase and topscored with 50 runs off 49 balls, including eight boundaries.
He combined with Paul Stewart for a 53-run opening partnership before David Situ caught Stewart for 22 off the bowling of Tushar Balat.
Cody Stewart smacked three fours in a six-ball cameo of 12 runs before being bowled by Etienne Botes.
When Christophers was caught off Parminder Kulaar in the 19th over, OBR were only 13 runs away from victory, which Carl Carmody and Loffler accomplished just after drinks.
Loffler said it was a team effort to be proud of, particularly Christophers' contribution after only coming into the team yesterday (on Friday), said Loffler.
Christophers captains and opens the batting for OBR's second 11 team in the Hope Cup competition.
“I'm just chuffed we turned up on the day and boys are really excited for next week,” said Loffler.
