Over the past three weeks Lincoln University played host to over 200 young cricketers during four national tournaments. Players stayed at the student accommodation and spent all day competing on the three ground’s on the Lincoln campus including one of New Zealand’s best cricket fields, the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
Prior to each tournament, all six major associations held regional competitions to find representatives for the national finals.
The first of the four tournaments was the National Primary School Cup, with boys from years 6-8 competing to be national champions. The tournament came down to the final round, with Auckland’s King’s School, Christchurch’s Heaton Normal Intermediate and Wellington’s Raroa Normal Intermediate all level on points.
Heaton Normal celebrate their win. Image: www.photosport.nz
Raroa beat King’s which meant Heaton needed not only a win but a big win. Heaton held their nerve and won their final match during the 11th over, crowning them national champions. Huntly’s Curtis Heaphy was named MVP for the tournament after hitting 186 runs.
It was the National Primary School Shield immediately after the Cup competition. The Shield competition brought together the top girl’s school teams from years 6-8. From the outset Heaton Normal Intermediate looked likely to make it two national championships out of two. Auckland’s Viscount Primary put up a good fight, but eventually fell second to Heaton, which meant for the first time in history the same school holds the Cup and Shield.
Heaton Normal celebrate another win. Image: www.photosport.nz
Heaton’s Georgia Edge is certainly someone to watch out for, after she picked up 7 wickets and 160 runs and was named the tournament MVP.
Next up was the NZCT Secondary Schools Girls Finals, where Otago’s St Hilda’s Collegiate were victorious. The Otago school line-up featured several representative players, even including a pair of Otago Sparks. Bella James has already got a lot of experience at Sparks level, which helped her become the tournament MVP.
St Hilda's pose with the trophy. Image: www.photosport.nz
Not only did James captain St Hilda’s to victory, but she also hit a tournament high 191 runs. Kate Heffernan was close behind her captain in the MVP standings, after she was second in the tournament’s top wicket taking and run scoring charts.
The final tournament was the prestigious Secondary School Boys’ First XI Cup, where Christchurch Boys’ were looking to make it four national titles in five years. It looked like it would be a Christchurch vs Auckland rivalry, with Christchurch Boys and St Kent’s impressing during the opening round. The second round brought together the two schools and the Lincoln crowd was certainly not disappointed. The locals batted first and set St Kent’s 244 to win.
In reply, Finn Allen hit an amazing century, but Allen was St Kent’s final wicket to fall, which left the Auckland side just two runs short. Other than a round that was rained off, both sides won all their remaining matches meaning Christchurch Boys pipped St Kent’s to become national champions. Christchurch Boy’s Fraser Sheat was awarded the Geoffrey Palmer Cup for the tournament MVP, topping the wicket taking charts with 11 wickets.
