For a GBHS team with real potential, 171 was a gettable score.
Gisborne last tasted Super 8 victory on March 23 last year, against Rotorua, by 70 runs.
Against Palmerston North on Monday, Gisborne's batsmen were wheel-clamped. At the top of the order, Fearnley faced 17 balls for one run, his opening partner Malsha Mahabalage 15 balls for nought, and first-drop Alex Shanks 29 balls for five. No.4 Jarrod Ormiston made a 22-ball duck and fellow left-hander Markus Gray, a nine-ball duck before No.6 batsman and vice-captain David Gray showed resolve. He made 19 not out off 49 balls.
Page, at No.7, took a single off the first ball he received from Brodie Bennett (2-15 from five overs) but Bennett bowled him two balls later. Five GBHS batsmen got nought; three, one run; the top order, six in total.
Only David Gray reached double-figures. He hit the only four, off Bennett, three balls into the 18th over, and shared in stands of 11 with both fellow vice-captain Ormiston and No.9 Akira Makiri (1).
Bennett was well supported by fellow medium-pacers Alex Pringle (3-4, seven overs, four maidens) and Matt Campbell (2-10, 4.4 overs).
Fearnley was the bowler of the day. Boys’ High have a competitive bowling and fielding unit. Against Palmerston North, they found that the best can dig in when they have to.
For PNBHS it was opener Kieran Gill, with a painstaking 47 off 82 balls, and No.9 Fraser James, with 21 not out from 51 balls, who did that. Six members of the home team’s line-up made single figures.
PALMERSTON NORTH BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL 170 in 48.1 overs (Kieran Gill 47, Fraser James 21 not out; Nathaniel Fearnley 4-17, Riker Rolls 2-23, Bekko Page 2-39) beat GISBORNE BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL 49 in 32.4 overs (David Gray 19no; Alex Pringle 3-4, Matthew Campbell 2-10, Brodie Bennett 2-15) by 121 runs.
David Gray and Bekko Page are starting to set things right.
Second-drop Gray made 56 and No.7 Page, 48 not out in a strong showing for Gisborne Boys’ High School on Day 2 of the Super 8 cricket tournament.
The David McDonald-coached Boys’ High crew batted first on Tuesday and posted 163-7 at Ongley Park.
Opening bowler Sam Rutter took 3-14 from 10 overs with four maidens. Jonah Funnell at second change took 2-40 from 10 with two maidens.
In Hamilton’s innings, No.3 Tom Martin made 62 off 76 balls, and No.5 Ishi Singh made 36 not out in a total of 168-6.
Left-arm seamer Johnathan Gray took 2-42 from eight overs. Medium-pacers David Gray, Akira Makiri and left-arm orthodox spinner Riker Rolls took one wicket each.
HAMILTON BHS 168-6 in 31 overs (Tom Martin 62, Ishi Singh 36no; David Gray 2-42) beat GISBORNE BHS 163-7 (David Gray 43, Bekko Page 42no) by four wickets.
Gisborne Boys’ High lost to Hastings Boys’ High in a twenty20 game at Ongley Park yesterday.
GBHS won the toss, elected to bat and were dismissed for 54 in the 17th over. Opener Malsha Mahabalage top-scored with 14 off 25 balls while Kavidu Thejan was six not out.
Hastings reached the required runs in 11 overs for the loss of three wickets.
Johnathan Gray (1-3 off 3 overs), Bekko Page (1-15 off 3) and Nathaniel Fearnley (1-9 off 2) were the wicket-takers.
It was not the biggest loss of the round. Rotorua Boys’ High made just 20 in 16.3 overs against Napier — with extras (7) the highest scorer. Napier needed just four overs to complete a 10-wicket win.
GBHS face Rotorua today in a playoff for seventh and eighth.
