Cricket: JPC Old Boys edge out WHHS Old Boys

Geyser City Western Heights High School Old Boys' Richie Downs plays a shot against Geyser City John Paul College Old Boys at Boord Park on Saturday. Photo/Ben Fraser

Despite less than ideal weather conditions the Rotorua/Taupo senior reserve grade cricket competition got under way at the weekend.

The competition's brand new Geyser City teams, John Paul College Old Boys and Western Heights High School Old Boys, went head-to-head for the first time on Saturday, in a healthy rivalry expected to provide entertainment for years to come.

In the first installment it was John Paul College Old Boys who earned bragging rights with a 24-run victory.

JPC won the toss and opted to bat first. In tough batting conditions they managed a hard-fought 169 on the back of 41 from opener Kane Vanner and 27 runs each from Amit Kumar and Satpal Singh.

The pick of the bowlers for WHHS was Chris Nairn, who took three wickets for 12 runs off his eight overs.

In the second innings Singh proved his allround ability, picking up three wickets for just 15 runs from his eight overs.

WHHS's Richie Downs, who came in to bat with his side 25/2, steadied the ship with a solid 53 runs. However, as wickets continued to fall at the other end, WHHS fell short with 24 runs still required.

The win saw JPC lift the 'Wood' Trophy, which will be played for whenever the sides meet.

Meanwhile, Central got off to a winning start, successfully chasing down the 162 runs set by Taupo Old Boys 1.

In batting first, Taupo's top scorers were C Downes with 36 and J Muldrock with 20. The pick of the Central bowlers was Ben Fraser who took five wickets for 22 runs.

The Central chase was led by R Neeves, who fell one run short of a half-century with 49 runs, and J Fendell with 24. For Taupo, J Muldrock and C Corbett took two wickets each.

Taupo Old Boys 2 were also on the losing end in their first match of the season, going down by a whopping 172 runs against a dominant Bay of Plenty Indians side.

The Indians batted first and scored 251/4 declared thanks to an undefeated partnership between Param Kumar (101 not-out) and Yash Patel (56 not-out). R Marage was the best of the Taupo bowlers, taking three wickets for 44 runs.

In the Taupo chase S McGreevy managed 30 runs, but the team was all out for 79 runs. Indian bowlers H Singh and N Kumar did the damage with four wickets apiece.

Lake Taupo second XI picked up a win via default against Eastern Pirates.