ROUND THREE
Tournament Points After Round Three: Wellington College 6, Christchurch Boys High School 6, Hamilton Boys’ High School 2, Westlake Boys’ High School 2, New Plymouth Boys’ High School 2, Otago Boys’ High School 0
New Plymouth Boys’ High School 218 all out off 46.3 overs (J Parker 73, B Olliver 47, D Hamilton 6-45) beat Westlake Boys’ High School 160 all out off 43.1 overs (T Gower 61, L Carr 4-24), Bert Sutcliffe Oval
After struggling on the first two days of the tournament New Plymouth Boys' were looking to get their first win on the board while Westlake Boys' were hope to keep in touch with the unbeaten teams at the top of the table. New Plymouth won the toss and chose to bat and quickly found themselves two wickets down before recording double figures. That brought Jack Parker and Ban Olliver together who combined for an excellent recovery partnership worth 117. Parker top scored in the match with 73 and was well supported by Olliver who fell just short of his half century, caught behind for 47. The chief destroyer for Westlake Boys and with the best figures to date in this tournament was Dylan Hamilton who claimed 6 wickets for just 45 runs from his 10 overs. Once the Parker and Olliver partnership was broken, wickets tumbled, and New Plymouth was dismissed in the 47th over with 218 on the board. After early wickets, Travis Gower batting at number five did his best to steady the innings but with little support his 61 runs were in vain. Westlake eventually fell 58 runs short, Liam Carr knocking over the Westlake middle order, with great figures of 4-24 off his 10 overs. New Plymouth celebrate while Westlake wondered what could have been.
Wellington College 339-9 (P Bonar 109, M Lawerence 52, S Millar 3-39) beat Otago Boys’ High School 328-8 (F Hurley 102, J Cumming 88, W Stevenson 4-80), Lincoln Green
Wellington College were looking to retain their unbeaten standing in round three. Up against a tenacious Otago Boys' team who were yet to win but full of fight. Wellington won the toss and chose to bat looking to pile on the run on the Lincoln Green. That just what they did on the back of an excellent anchoring innings of 109 from opener Peter Bonar. There was support throughout the middle order and some great finishing, especially from Mika Lawerence who delivered a 36 ball 52. In reply Otago Boys could have been disheartened by the side of the chase but kept the required run rate insight before accelerating through the innings. Opener Jacob Cumming scored an excellent 88. Cumming shared an excellent 98-run partnership with the fired-up Finn Hurley. Joining Cumming with Otago Boys on 119 for three, Hurley went on the attack hitting six 4’s and seven 6’s. All that equated to a 63-ball 102 keeping Otago in the hunt for a record run chase. Unfortunately for Otago they just ran out of balls and were left 11 runs short of what would have been a memorable chase. With the victory, Wellington remain unbeaten and look ahead to playing fellow unbeaten team Christchurch Boys' in Round Four in what could decide this years Gillette Cup and will also be a game with the Heathcote Williams Shield again on the line. Otago Boys' move onto Day 4 still looking for their first win but a confidence boosting performance should give them a real life for the remainder of the tournament.
Hamilton Boys’ High School 268-4 (J Parker 96, P Spencer 49) lost to Christchurch Boys’ High School 271-5 off 48.3 overs (R Foulkes 127*, A Sidey 44, J Parker 2-47), Lincoln No. 3
A nail biting contest saw Hamilton Boys' looking to stay in touch in the tournament after their excellent Round Two victory. For Christchurch Boys' this was their first opportunity to defend the Heathcote Williams Shield that they won from New Plymouth Boys' on Day One. Hamilton won the toss and chose to bat first. Hamilton’s top six all made contributions, but the anchor once again was Jacob Parker. Parker backed up his 160 from Day Two will another excellent innings, falling just short of back to back hundreds being caught for 96 with nine balls remaining in the innings. Hamilton would be happy with their total but may lament a slow start to their innings. There were moments in Christchurch Boys' reply where it looked like the required run-rate was starting to get challenging, but short bursts of aggression would bring it back under control. There was one constant throughout the innings and that was Robbie Foulkes. Foulkes picked up two wickets during Hamilton’s innings and remained in the game occupying the crease from the outset of the innings to see his team home and score an excellent unbeaten 127. Christchurch Boys' retained the Heathcote Williams Shield and set up and intriguing matchup against fellow unbeaten team Wellington College on Day Four. This match will also see the Heathcote Williams Shield again go up for grabs.
