“The cricket certainly wasn't dull when they were in the middle.”
Mackay (37 off 52 balls) and Tallott (69 in 61 balls with eight fours) were superb.
OBR claimed only one wicket — that of Steve Lamb (3), given out leg before wicket by umpire Stewart Patrick from the bowling of bustling medium-pacer Tushar Ballat (1-17 in four overs).
OBR captain Nick Greeks won the toss on Harry Barker Reserve No.1 and chose to bat. His side were dismissed for 119 in 35.5 overs.
The skipper dug in for 26 off 50 balls before falling lbw to off-spinner Dave Castle (1-13 in eight overs including four maidens).
The next best score was left-hander first-drop Josh Adams' 19 as blue and whites' spearhead Angus Orsler (2-28 off 6), HSOB skipper first-change seamer Carl Shaw (2-14 off 5) and debutant left-arm orthodox spinner Gareth Roberts (2-20 off 4) forced batsmen into errors.
Tallott ended the match by coming down the track to OBR off-spinner Daniel Stewart (0-45-off 6.4) and lofting him over long off for the only six of the match, four balls into the 21st over.
“Scott and Baxter made it a chanceless chase and it was awesome to have Angus back in our bowling attack,” Shaw said.
“His second spell was a wonderful display of control and execution to finish the innings.
“His new-ball partner Marshall Norris (1-14 off 4.5) was solid and Gareth is a terrific addition to the side. Gareth bowled with great skill and took an incredible return catch off Karan Solanski (11 from No.8).
“We take lots of positives out of that game.”
OBR struggled to build partnerships, Greeks said.
“All of the HSOB bowlers bowled well, then Baxter and Scotty batted well.”
On their day, Horouta's hitters can be hard to pull back.
And though their three-wicket in 28.1 overs against Gisborne Boys' High first 11 was nowhere near as destructive as their 275-run shellacking of OBR last season, the same man who ran amok for 204 then — Teghbir Singh — made an 81-ball 100 runs featuring two sixes and 13 fours at the weekend.
Singh, who made 57 the previous Saturday, is in great form.
He and left-hander Aekamjot Singh (an unbeaten 33 from No.7) played the two best hands in pursuit of Gisborne Boys' 178.
First 11 captain Nathan Trowell won the toss on a representative wicket that played true, and his decision appeared to be the correct one.
Travis O'Rourke (35) and Cohen Loffler (57) put on 68 at the top of the order but from there, the students' best individual effort was 18 by No.5 Luke Fisher.
The openers gave Boys' High a great base to work from but 178-6 was a modest total.
Chinaman bowler Dylan Torrie on debut made five not-out and his all-round progress in years to come will be of great interest.
Leftie Aekamjot Singh was the pick of Te Waka's bowlers — 2-24 in five overs.
In the field, Boys' High's giant-killer was off-spinner George Gillies (1-33 off 4), who had Teghbir Singh caught by Trowell — a rocket requiring him to leap up at mid-off with both hands.
But with the score at 159-6, the horse had bolted . . . Te Waka had paddled, if not quite set sail.
Loffler took 3-46 in 7.1 overs with the new ball and while GBHS will miss him at the upcoming Super 8 tournament, the emergence of Bekko Page (1-29 off 6) ensures they will not be without wheels.
It would be a great thing if GBHS leg-spinner Dylan Foster, Gillies and Torrie kept their loop and shied away from forcing changes to their trajectory or natural delivery in their next three teenage years.
“We were really happy with the win,” Horouta captain David Situ said.
“We knew it was going to be a grind in the field. The ball stopped swinging after 10 overs and it was a batsman-friendly pitch.
“I told our boys that we had to put our heads down, restrict them as much as possible and back ourselves to chase their total, which we did.”
Trowell was pleased with his team's batting and — early on — their bowling efforts.
