The Whangarei Boys' High School first XI returned from Hamilton as winners of the Northern Districts Secondary School Championship.
The tournament, involving the top eight schools in the Northern Districts region, doubled as the Gillette Cup qualifying tournament.
Whangarei Boys' High has, therefore, qualified for the 2013 Gillette Cup finals, which will be played in Christchurch in December. They will be joined by five other teams who represent each of the major associations.
In a tough draw, the Whangarei side had to beat three highly-ranked opponents to qualify. The quarter-final was played against Hamilton Boys' High, who immediately regretted their decision to bat first. Nick Stobart gave an outstanding display of out-swing bowling to take four wickets for seven runs from nine overs. Tight bowling from Max Trimble, David Armitt, Matt Lobb and Fletcher Coutts, who took a wicket each, ensured that Hamilton never recovered, as they were bowled out for 101. A solid partnership between Coutts, newly promoted to open the batting, and Kurtley Watson got the team in sight of the target and when they both fell, Lobb and Stobart completed a triumphant win by six wickets.
The semifinal opponent was St Paul's Collegiate of Hamilton, who had knocked out the 2012 champions, St Peter's of Cambridge, the previous day. The match followed almost the same script as the quarter-final, as St Paul's were dismissed for 103. They lost three early wickets, all caught by captain Max Davis behind the wickets off Stobart's bowling. Sam Clotworthy chimed in with two wickets and Trimble, Armitt, Lobb and Watson kept the pressure on, again claiming a wicket each.
