Thought I’d give you an update on how last week’s Gillette Cup tournament went.
These were all 50 over games played in dry sunny conditions.
The pitches would be considered highly average and some of the out fields made life for a fielder ‘interesting’.
As you will see we lost 3 of 4 games but it was a huge learning curve for the lads and for those who are going to press on with cricket, both at school and in the club
scene, it should prove very valuable (preservation of wicket against top notch consistant bowling being the biggest learner).
1st up we played St Pauls Collegiate.
Fielding first we had them struggling at 17 for 2 before a strong stand by their middle order (1 of whom went on to be player of the tourney) saw them get through to 139 for 4 in the 35th over.
Some very tidy bowling saw us restrict the expected final onslaught and they finished on 195 in the 48th over.
Dylan Wadsworth had credible 3 for 41 with 3 other bowlers (Ramohitaj, Davenport and Bryenton taking 2 for 25’s)
Batting was our undoing and having got to 29 without loss after 8 overs St Pauls were concerned, they needn’t have worried, as from there we capitulated to some fine bowling and fielding and we were all out for a mere 57.
Some very dejected boys left in the van that evening.
Day 2 saw us take on Whangerei Boys High.
They batted first and got through to a healthy 71 before losing a wicket and then a quick 3 fell in the 26 – 28th over period with the score in the early 100’s.
A regroup saw them get to 200 before 4 wickets in the last two overs saw us restrict them to a 218 total.
Dylan Wadsworth again featured with an awesome 5 for 41
Bill Burnett took 3 for 45.
So could we handle the inconsistencies of these grass wickets today ?.
Unfortunately not, losing a steady stream of wickets in the first 15 overs saw us get through to 58 for 4.
We had a glimmer of hope with Patrick Davenport playing some strong strokes (albeit with a broken finger sustained
attempting a sharp chance in the field) however when he fell with our top score of 23, things unravelled again and we were bowled, all out for 109 !
A strong chance gone begging and again boys left rueing the missed opportunity.
Wednesday saw us face off against Gisborne Boys High.
Win this and we take on Tauranga Boys in the playoff for 5th / 6th !.
Unfortunately we lost the toss and they elected to bat. In a display of field placement, bowling and fielding that we had not seen before the
team held GBHS to just 133, Bill Burnett taking a credible 3 for 33. Confidence was high but short lived with quick and constant wickets falling.
We were all out for 82, with Patrick Davenport again highest scoring with 23.
We went on to win on Thursday against Strathallan in a very nail biting game.
Our boys again crumbled batting and were all out for 113.
Again the top score was just 23 this time coming from Bill Burnett
The other school cruised to 70 for 2 and then lost a couple more but pushed thru to 101 for 4.
So with just 14 runs to win our heads were down and they were crowing about the expected win.
A wicket at 101 and then 4 wickets on 102 saw us very very animated in the field and when we took the last on 106 you can imagine the scene.
Dylan Ramohitaj finished with bowling figures of a staggering 6 for just 10 runs off just 6.3 overs. Stunning !!
A good trip over the Kaimai's compared to what I was anticipating !
Many thanks to the committee and school for the support shown to the team.
The accommodation was superb, and logistics ran smoothly. The team gelled well and got to bed by 9.30 and settled by 10 ish)
There are a number of younger players in the mix who will undoubtedly do Bethlehem College Cricket proud over the next few years. We will watch with interest.
