Nothing beats a close game in fading light for excitement.
And while nothing has surpassed the pitch-black T20 final between OBR and HSOB in 2017, the Gisborne Boys’ High School First XI Walker Shield T15 clash with Bollywood High School Old Boys on Thursday evening came close.
The joy of a GBHS side who lost to HSOB by 240 runs in their 40-over Doleman Cup opener last weekend, only to bounce back to beat them by eight wickets, lit up the gloom on Harry Barker Reserve.
Chasing HSOB’s 118-6, the students reached 119-2 with two balls to spare.
HSOB captain Dave Castle clubbed three sixes and two fours in a 12-ball knock of 30 at first drop.
Second drop Taye McGuinness struck a six and two fours in his 25 off 17 balls.
Opener Charles Morrison, a Ngātapa Senior B Grade player on Saturday afternoons, gave HSOB a bright start with a run-a-ball 27 before he was stumped by Jarrod Ormiston off a magnificent delivery from captain and left-arm orthodox spinner Riker Rolls (2-30 off three overs).
The Boys’ High pace bowlers were too short at the start of their respective spells but settled and later finished on better lines and lengths.
Bekko Page took 3-13 off three overs, including a maiden, as foil to left-armer Johnathon Gray, and there were two memorable catches taken by the students.
One was at short mid-wicket by Malsha Mahabalage, low to his right hand to account for opener Pushpinder Kumar (9).
The other came from a cracking thump by Castle off Rolls to long on. François Louw slid to his right, the ball hit him in the face but popped up to Alex Shanks, who, after tearing around the boundary, threw out his right hand to grab it.
In the second innings, off-spinner Castle turned the ball sharply for 1-12 off three overs.
He bowled Nathaniel Fearnley (11) with the score at 35, but Fearnley’s opening partner Bekko Page went on to make an excellent 38 from 21 balls. Page fell to a brilliant catch at cover by veteran Glen Udall in swirling wind and fading light.
First-drop Zyden Worsnop (22 in 30 balls) and No 4 Alex Shanks (33no from 25) put on 62 for the third wicket.
Shanks hit the winning runs from the fourth ball of the 15th over.
“I’m very proud of my boys for their amazing effort on the field,” Rolls said. “The catches they held kept us in the game in the first innings and then our top order came through for us in the run chase ... we won a nail-biter.”
Breakers Horouta Te Waka followed up a ruthless five-wicket-win over Coastal Concrete OBR in the Doleman Cup with an eight-wicket T15 victory over the same opponents.
Bowling first, the Jagroop Singh-captained Horouta restricted OBR to 122-5.
OBR captain Matt Cook’s outfit made a grand start, their left-hand/right-hand opening pair of Karan Solanki (38) and Tom Garrett (51) putting on 91 in 9.1 overs.
They were looking at 140-150, but Horouta’s fifth and sixth options - in-swing bowler Jatinder Kumar (2-15 off three overs, including two maiden overs) and Harmanpreet Singh Gill (2-26 off three) - did a remarkable job of pulling the game back.
Kumar bowled second-drop Mana Taumanu (1) three dot balls before going through his defence and then bowled Amit Vyas (1) six dot balls before having the veteran caught by Wellingtonian ‘keeper James Birrell on debut.
Birrell (32 not out at No 3) is tidy with the bat while opener Harmanpreet smashed nine sixes and four boundaries in a destructive unbeaten innings of 77 in 22 balls.
The irony of such an onslaught coming from Horouta after wily off-spinner Daniel Stewart (2-23 in three overs) knocked lethal Teghbir Cheema over on the first ball of the second innings was not lost.
Birrell hit a pull shot for four off the first ball of the ninth over to seal what Singh described as a marvellous win.
