Weir gives OBR more options

CHALLENGE AHEAD: Gisborne Boys’ High School skipper Robbie Tallott took 6-20 with his fast-medium bowling against Campion last week. Tallott said his side were looking forward to the challenge of playing competition leaders OBR in Doleman Cup cricket at Harry Barker Reserve tomorrow.Picture by Liam Clayton

HARD-hitting OBR opener Timoti Weir returns to the side for the game against Gisborne Boys’ High School in Doleman Cup cricket at Harry Barker Reserve tomorrow.

“Not only does Timoti give us another batting option, his bowling has been difficult in the nets,” Landmark Homes Bain Construction OBR wicketkeeper Ian Loffler said.

OBR lead the competition with eight points from two games and are favourites to make it three wins in a row, although Loffler said they would not underestimate Boys’ High.

“We took a lot of confidence from beating Pirates and High School Old Boys, but Boys’ High look to have a young side with plenty of promise,” he said.

“Robbie Tallott (6-20) and Jak Rowe bowled well against Campion last week. Both have played for the Bay rep team and the pitches have been difficult to bat on with the rain this season, so good technique will be needed.”

Boys’ High skipper Tallott said tomorrow’s match would be a real test.

“OBR have good bowlers in the likes of Jimmy Holden and Matt Cook. It will be good to see how we match up against them.

“They have some class batsman . . . Nick Greeks, Craig Christophers, Ian Loffler. We need to bowl really well and back up with the bat to win this game.”

Boys’ High have received a boost with the return of Poverty Bay medium-pace bowler Jarrod Davenport, who missed the first two games.

¦ CAMPION co-captain Caleb Greaves said his side had put last week’s loss to Boys’ High behind them and were looking forward to playing Horouta tomorrow.

“Last weekend was forgotten pretty quickly after the end of the match, which is good, because there’s no point dwelling on a result like that,” said Greaves, who will miss the game as he is refereeing at the Poverty Bay rugby sevens.

Campion will also be without their main strike weapon, Patrick Mathers.

“Patrick has family commitments and is a huge loss,” Greaves said.

“He started the season well with his new-ball bowling and has taken eight wickets in two games. Patrick may not be the fastest pace bowler in the competition but he is consistent and swings the ball an enormous amount, which makes him a tricky customer for top-order batsmen.”

Sam Patterson and Marshall Norris will lead the Campion attack.

“Sam showed against HSOB that he is a more-than-capable medium-pacer at this level. He’s an athletic fielder with a great pair of hands, and is just as good in the slips as he is running around on the boundary.”

Middle-order batsman Greaves’s off-spin bowling through the middle overs will be missed but Greaves said Matt Naden was the “perfect player” to replace him.

“He’ll give some tidy seam bowling through the middle overs.”

Horouta opener Greg Taylor, a doubtful starter along with Warren Milligan because of niggling injuries, said the team were looking forward to getting back on the field after a bye last week.

“We’re getting good numbers to training and we have Dogar Puria and Phoebe Taylor (back from Poverty Bay women’s team duty) pushing their claims for starting spots.

"We want to continue our bowling and fielding form from the first week and we are hoping to see Keegan Martin batting this week.”

Taylor said his side would look to get James Torrie out early to put pressure on Campion’s middle order.

¦ Tamarind High School Old Boys skipper Ajay Kumar has a busy weekend: a game against Gisborne Boys’ High School (2) tomorrow, the Indian festival of lights (Diwali) tomorrow night and a match for Poverty Bay against Hawke’s Bay for the Kirk Cup in Napier on Sunday.

“The focus is firstly on Boys’ High, especially after two losses,” said Kumar, who has signed another newcomer, Gagan Dhigra, who this week replaces the unavailable Rubi Singh.

“Otherwise it’s a similar team to last week.”

HSOB should open their win account against Boys’ High (2) but player-coach Paul Jefferson was pleased with his side last week despite their loss to reigning champions Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates.