King’s College sit alone at the top of the National Secondary School Gillette Cup Points Table after beating Otago Boys’ High school on day four of the finals at the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre in Lincoln.
The defending champions now need to beat Christchurch Boys’ High School on the final day tomorrow to secure their third consecutive title.
The other two victors of the day were Palmerston North BHS, who bet Christchurch Boys’ High School and St Peter’s School who picked up their first win of the tournament by defeating Hutt Valley High School.
The victory put Palmerston North BHS into a share for second. They must now win their final match tomorrow and rely on Christchurch Boys’ High School to beat King’s College. Should that happen, all three teams will be tied on points and net run-rate will decide the 2012 Gillette Cup champions.
KING’S COLLEGE vs OTAGO BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL
King’s College are now in control of their own fate, after becoming the only team to remain undefeated with an 11 run win over Otago Boys’ High School.
Batting first, King’s posted an imposing 294 for six from their 50 overs, with openers Cameron Gibbons and Ben Turner putting on a tournament high 137 for the opening wicket.
Turner was the first to go on 72, but Gibbons continued his relentless attack to bring up his side’s first century of the tournament. The milestone was brought up off 110 balls and featured eight fours and three sixes.
Some late boundaries pushed King’s College close to the 300 mark, setting the highest total in this year’s finals so far.
In reply Otago were always behind the required run-rate and relied on opener Liam Cotton (80) for much of the innings.
It looked like it would be wrapped up quickly when he fell in the 41st over, but an explosive 66 not out from Josh Finnie gave the southerners a glimmer of hope. Finnie whacked five sixes and six fours off just 32 balls.
His efforts though were in vain, as he wasn’t able to make up the ground in time and Otago Boys finished 283 for seven. Scott Johnston was expensive for King’s, but picked up four wickets in the process.
KING’S COLLEGE 294 for six 50 overs (C Gibbons 104, B Turner 72) BEAT OTAGO BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL 283-7 50 overs (L Cotton 80, J Finnie 66*)
Result: KING’S COLLEGE won by 11 runs
CHRISTCHURCH BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL vs PALMERSTON NORTH BHS
Palmerston North BHS came back from their defeat yesterday to beat local side Christchurch Boys’ High school by 25 runs.
A team effort with the bat saw Palmerston North post 214 for nine in the first innings. Christchurch Boys’ batting line-up failed to fire in reply and were dismissed for 189 in the 48th over.
Tim Braid fought hard in the pursuit, but found little help on his way to 67. Daniel Stanley was the other main contributor with 36, but it wouldn’t be enough.
Hayden Hill was the chief wicket-taker for Palmerston North and finished with figures of four for 39 from 8.3 overs.
Earlier six batsmen had made scores of 20 or more to lift Palmerston North past 200.
Aran Noema-Barnett continued his consistent form in the tournament with the team’s top score of 47. Bits and pieces continued to add to the total and some late boundaries took them to a decent total in 214.
Jeremy Benton was the best of the local bowlers and had three wickets for 51 runs.
Both sides are still behind King’s College on the points table, but remain contenders for the Cup tomorrow.
PALMERSTON NORTH BHS 214-9 50 overs (A Noema-Barnett 47; J Benton 3-51) BEAT CHRISTCHURCH BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL 189 all out 47.4 overs (T Braid 67; H Hill 4-39)
Result: PALMERSTON NORTH BHS won by 25 runs
ST PETER’S SCHOOL vs HUTT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
St Peter’s brought up their first win of the tournament with a convincing 66 run victory over the favoured Hutt Valley High School.
It came largely on the back of a brilliant 118 from Tim Seifert. The captains’ knock led his side to a total of 242 for eight. Hut Valley in pursuit was dismissed for 176 after 43.4 overs.
As in the other games, Jarrod Pike was key for Hutt Valley and once again delivered at the start of the innings. The opener produced 75 on this occasion, but lost partners all too regularly.
A boundary laden 34 from Steven Carter made it respectable for Hutt Valley, but they never really threatened the target.
Jonathan Whitley came up with four key wickets for St Peter’s School, with his ten overs going for 35.
Previously, Seifert had stroked the ball all around the ground to bring up his ton. A few minor cameos contributed around him, but he was evidently the real danger man.
His 100 came off 125 balls and was significant in St Peter’s victory.
ST PETER’S SCHOOL 242-8 50 overs (T Seifert 118; N Desai 4-35) BEAT HUTT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL 176 all out 43.4 overs all out (J Pike 75; J Whitley 4-54)
Result: ST PETER’S COLLEGE won by 66 runs
