First up wins for Tauranga Boys, Palmerston North Boys, Westlake and Wellington College

Day one of the Gillette Cup has thrown up a mixed bag of comprehensive results and nail-biting finishes in Palmerston North as the eight finalists vie for the top honour in New Zealand secondary school cricket.

In the closest of the day’s four matches, Tauranga Boys College notched up a hard fought seven run win over St Bedes College, with the match going down to the wire.

Batting first Tauranga made 191 for 7 with Nick Evemy top scoring with 50. In reply St Bedes made a real contest of the match but fell just short when they were all out for 184 in the 49th over. Matt Henry top scored for St Bedes in their first ever Gillette Cup finals appearance with 44, while Sean Sievwright was the toast of Tauranga with his 4/38.

Palmerston North Boys High had a 54 run win over Otago Boys High School. Batting first the locals were all out for 223 in the 48th over with Abhi Ganugapati top scoring with 53. The allrounder then starred with the ball, taking 4 for 37 as Otago were bowled out for 169 in the 39th over.

The other two matches were both one sided with Westlake Boys High School and Wellington College both claiming nine wicket wins.

Westlake who took on Wanganui Collegiate looked to have a good battle on their hands with Collegiate at one point on 63/2.

However a huge collapse then struck the Wanganui boys who ended up all out for 124 in the 50th over.
Westlake captain Josh Tasman-Jones was the pick of his side’s bowlers with 3/18 while New Zealand Under 19 and Under 17 rep and Collegiate captain Ben Smith top scored for his side with 33.

Westlake had no troubles knocking off the runs, reaching the target in the 36th over for the loss of just one wicket, with Laurie Agnew hitting a six to claim the victory, finishing 44 not out alongside Tasman-Jones who top scored with 47 not out.

The most comprehensive win of the day saw Wellington College dismiss Hamilton Boys High School for just 61 in the 33rd over of their match, needing just 15 overs and one wicket to chase down the total before lunch had even been served.

Tom Gibson with 3/14, Patrick Whelan with 2/7 and Harry Wright with 2/2 were the pick of the Wellington bowlers, while Wright, son of former New Zealand batsman John, also jointly top scored with 23 not out to cap off a good day for College.

Tomorrow Wanganui Collegiate takes on Tauranga Boys’ College, Westlake Boys High School is up against St Bedes, Otago Boys High School will play Wellington College, while Hamilton Boys High School will clash with Palmerston North Boys High School.

For more information contact:
Katie Baylis
021 1861525

Day 1 Scores

Group A
Wanganui Collegiate:124 (Thomas Bruce 31, Ben Smith 33; Andrew Cowell 2/27, Josh Tasman-Jones 3/18, James Coughlan 2/12) lost to Westlake Boys High School: 128/1 (Laurie Agnew 44 no, Josh Tasman-Jones 47 no, Coel Mahoney 21; Declan McKeefry 1/19) by 9 wickets.

Tauranga Boys College: 191-7 (Mitch McCann 24, Bharat Popli 41, Nick Evemy 50, Kurt McCarthy 30 no; George Earl 2/30) beat St Bede’s College:184 (Matt Henry 44, Hamish Teale 29; Sean Sievwright 4/38, Kurt McCarthy 2/25, Brett Hampton 2/27) by 7 runs.

Group B
Hamilton BHS: 61 (Owen Ivins 20; Tom Gibson 3/14, Patrick Whelan 2/7, Harry Wright 2/2) lost to Wellington College: 62-1 (Vinnie Ward 23, Harry Wright 23 no) by 9 wickets.

Palmerston North BHS: 223 (Ahbi Ganugapati 53, Roald Badenhorst 32, Bevan Small 38, Adam Milne 25 no; Blair Soper 3/33, Daniel Duke 3/45, Tom Rutherford 2/43) beat Otago BHS 169 (George Spittle 76 no, Daniel Duke 27; Ahbi Ganugapati 4/37, Adam Milne 2/34, Chris King 2/31) by 54 runs.