Hauraki Plains College First XI’s run of succcess in their Waikato/Thames Valley Secondary School’s competition came to an abrupt halt on Saturday.
In the match played on their home ground, the more focused Hamilton Boys High School Development XI cruised to an easy victory with overs and wickets to spare.
Hauraki top order batsmen struggled against steady bowling from the visitors during the first ten overs. Fortunately, Richie Gemmell and Trent Ball helped restore some semblance of normality to the run gathering process. The team’s most improved player, Andy Rogers, with support from two inexperienced but determined young players – his brother Michael and also Fergus Ball – then added sufficient runs to allow a respectable total to be posted.
Any thought that the target set could be defended evaporated as the visitors enjoyed their good fortune and reached the runs target with ease. One bright spot for the Hauraki team came when Richie Gemmell pulled of another wonderful slip catch. After his good batting earlier in the day, this enabled “Pies” to secure the Hauraki team’s Man of the Match award for the second time in three weeks. Details of play: Hamilton Boys High School Development XI,152 for 2 wickets defeated Hauraki Plains College 151 Richie Gemmell 40, Andy Rogers 31, Trent Ball 20.
– Mike Cotter
Hauraki Plains College First XI were defeated by Hamilton Boys High School by two wickets on December 3. File Photo
