A late collapse from Palmerston North BHS has given Hutt Valley High School a 24 run victory in their third round Gillette Cup match.
A second wicket partnership worth 120 between Jarrod Pike and Sushant Balajee led Hutt Valley to 229 all out after 49.3 overs. In reply Palmerston North looked to be cruising at 118 without loss, but a devastating collapse saw them dismissed for 205 in the 48th over.
Captain Tiago Jahufer slammed 61 at the top of the innings, while his partner Aran Noema-Barnett also reached his half-century with 56. The pair took their side to 100 without loss, but began their capitulation when Noema-Barnett fell in the 32nd over. It began a downward spiral for Palmerston North, with the next six wickets falling for just 40 runs.
A late push from Jack Leenards (25) got their side past 200, but it wouldn’t be enough to see them through.
Myles Price Moor was pivotal with the ball for Hutt Valley and finished with figures of four for 46 from eight.
Earlier, Pike had once again starred with the bat for Hutt Valley. Alongside captain Balajee he took his side to 128 for one after 29.4 overs and gave them an opportunity to accumulate an imposing total.
Having both brought up half centuries, neither batsman then went on to anchor the rest of the innings, as a small collapse saw them fall to 173 for five.
Nishant Desai whacked 36 off 24 to set the opposition a competitive 230 to win.
Run outs crippled Hutt Valley, with five players found short of their ground during the innings. The rest of the wickets were shared amongst the bowlers.
HUTT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL 229 all out 49.3 overs (J Pike 61, S Balajee 60) BEAT PALMERSTON NORTH BHS 205 all out 47.5 (T Jahufer 61, A Noema-Barnett 56)
