Total domination in HSOB’s sights

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Only one thing tops a triple crown — and that’s four from four.

Chicking High School Old Boys’ Presidents under captain Jeff Chambers will — if they beat Rawhiti Legal Old Boys’ Rugby in the 30-over Senior B Grade final for the Hope Cup tomorrow — make it a blue and white sweep of all four Poverty Bay senior club cricket championships.

Last weekend, the Dave Castle-led Bollywood HSOB put the DJ Barry Cup two-day competition silverware next to the 40-over Doleman Cup (December 16, 2023) and T15 Walker Shield (March 9) in their Premier Grade trophy cabinet.

Castle’s side beat OBR in three winners-take-all-matches this season.

The only thing now standing between HSOB and total club dominance is burly wicketkeeper/batsman Thom Berry and a supporting cast that last weekend included father George and sons Jonah and Harvey Reynolds, and Karan Solanki.

All five B Grade regulars stepped up for OBR’s Prems last Sunday.

On March 9, OBR captain Berry laid the platform for victory by 46 runs against Breakers Horouta Te Waka in the 1 v 4 semi-final with a knock of 113.

Presidents secured their spot in the B Grade showpiece with a five-wicket triumph over 2022-2023 champions the Civil Project Solutions Ngatapa Green Caps in the 2 v 3 clash.

Last Saturday, rain forced the postponement of the 30-over B Grade final and so with March 23 being the reserve day, at 2pm tomorrow on Harry Barker Reserve ground No.2, all accounts will be settled.

Chambers and his outfit are looking forward to the challenge posed by a powerful OBR unit whose pacemen include left-armer George Reynolds, son Jonah and Amit Vyas. The bowling attack also features leg-spinners Mana Taumanu and Harvey Reynolds.

George Reynolds and Vyas are old heads with the ball, as are Mike Francis and Yegan Lanka of HSOB Presidents.

HSOB’s Marshall Norris is a proven match-winner with ball and bat, his teammates Hiren Bhatti and Buddhika Kumarage are able to move the ball around while left-arm orthodox spinner Sean Moran, leggie Nathan Quimpo and Matt Jefferd can bowl either off-spin and medium-pace as required.

Berry has been the grade’s dominant batsman. He, Jacobs and Taumanu have shown their batting steel for OBR often in the last few seasons while Rongomai Smith is a crushing hitter of any ball in the slot.

For HSOB, the likes of Jefferd, ‘keeper Ollie Needham, skipper Chambers, Crosby and Lanka are gritty, gutsy cricketers.

Berry said that the highlights of the season personally included the fact OBR never defaulted a match, however tough the search for players got, and Harvey Reynolds’’ captaincy against the Gisborne Boys’ High School second 11 on February 17.

This has been a strange summer in many ways.

Boys’ High seconds — winless for two years — lost eight in a row on the field, beat Te Waka by default and then defeated OBR, Campion College first 11 and defending champions Ngatapa to finish the season.

Isaac Thomas bowled a maiden to Berry (93 not-out) in the final over of Ngatapa’s Round 11 four-run victory.

The improbable, if not the impossible, has a home in the quest for the Hope Cup.

Bollywood HSOB: Jeff Chambers (c), Ollie Needham (wkp), Hiren Bhatti, Tom Crosby, Mike Francis, Davin Govender, Matt Jefferd, Justin Kohere, Buddhika Kumarage, Yegan Lanka, Sean Moran, Marshall Norris, Nathan Quimpo.

Rawhiti Legal OBR: Thom Berry (c, wkp), Tom Garrett, Jannie Jacobs, George Reynolds, Harvey Reynolds, Jonah Reynolds, Rongomai Smith, Karan Solanki, Mana Taumanu, Amit Vyas, Tama Wirepa, Harry White.