Round Five - Friday, February 28

A remarkable final day has seen Tauranga Boys' overhaul week-long leaders Hamilton Boys' to claim the Northern Districts Junior Secondary Schools tournament in Gisborne.

With Hamilton undefeated and one win ahead of both Tauranga Boys' and St Peter's on the table, all three sides were in with a chance of winning the competition, with St. Peter's and Hamilton Boys' going head-to-head on the final day.

A win would be enough for Hamilton Boys' while Tauranga Boys' and St Peter's would need wins and a Hamilton Boys' loss, meaning the three teams would be tied on points and the competition decided on net run-rate.

Tauranga Boys' kept their end of the bargain, Keaney starring with the ball as they removed Whangarei Boys' for 49 in the 17th over.

They scored the required runs in just 23 balls for the loss of two wickets, giving their net run-rate a significant boost.

The crunch game of the day saw St Peter's bowled out for 129 in the final over; Reeves, Myles and Rowell taking two wickets each.

Hamilton Boys' would have been hopeful of getting the runs required for victory, but regular wickets meant they struggled to gain any momentum and, a huge result in the context of the competition was achieved when a superb St Peter's bowling effort, led by Harvey's 4-22, bowled Hamilton Boys' out for 104 in 32.2 overs.

With three teams level on points, the competition did come down to net run-rate and, Tauranga Boys' came out on top, with Hamilton Boys' second and St Peter's third.

In the final match of the day, Gisborne Boys' were 160/9 in the 34th over in pursuit of St Paul's mammoth 290/5 at the time of writing.

St Paul's big score was built off a superb 118 from opener Robinson, who anchored the innings to finish not out, and found good support from Makeham, who made 65.

Wilson, who returned superb figures for Gisborne Boys' of 4-44, continued his good match with the bat as he hit 80 off 94 balls.

Makeham matched Wilson's feat, taking a superb 5-15 to go with his half-century for St Paul's.

At the time of writing, Gisborne Boys' required 131 runs off 39 balls, with one wicket in-hand.

Results

St Peter's School Cambridge 129 (39.2 overs; B Myles 2-13, A Reeves 2-21, B Rowell 2-25) defeated Hamilton Boys' High School 104 (32.2 overs; R Harvey 4-22, W Jacobsen 2-17) by 25 runs (Full scorecard)

Whangarei Boys' High School 49 (16.5 overs; L Keaney 5-28, J Espitalier 3-6) lost to Tauranga Boys' College 50/2 (3.5 overs; U Kumar 26 not out) by eight wickets (Full scorecard)

St Paul's Collegiate School 290/5 (40 overs; M Robinson 118 not out, M Makeham 65; SW Wilson 4-44); Gisborne Boys' High School 160/9 (33.3 overs; SW Wilson 80; M Makeham 5-15)  (Full scorecard) - Match still in progress at the time of writing.

Round Four - Thursday, February 27

Hamilton Boys' moved into a clear lead on the points table in the Northern Districts Junior Secondary School Boys' Finals, but Tauranga Boys' and St Peter's could enforce a final-day scramble if results go their way.

Hamilton Boys' have won all four matches, while St Peter's and Tauranga Boys' have won three. With Hamilton Boys' playing St Peter's tomorrow, a Hamilton Boy's win will secure a tournament victory. A ST Peter's win, however, coupled with a Tauranga Boys' win, will see the three teams finish level on points, with the tournament being decided by net-run-rate.

The game of the day was one where bat dominated ball, as the previously unbeaten St. Peter's came up against Tauranga Boys', with the latter being removed for a sub-par 89 - Benji Bell returning scarcely believable figures of 7-10 in a phenomenal bowling performance.

St Peter's would have been confident of knocking the runs required off to remain unbeaten, but Friskney gave Tauranga Boys' the perfect start, claiming three quick wickets as St Peter's fell to 14/3.

St Peter's somewhat recovered to reach 42/3, but another three-wicket burst would have left them nervous at 58/6.

St Peter's were 16 shy of their target with four wickets in the bank, but yet another flurry of wickets, this time the four required for victory, secured a sensational defence for Tauranga Boys' as they won by four runs and kept their tournament hopes alive.

Despite some early wobbles in their chase, it was a much more regulation victory for Hamilton Boys' as they defeated St Paul's by six wickets.

St Paul's struggled to build partnerships in the first innings as Reeves (3-20) and Gulla (3-21) helped themselves to their share of wickets; St Paul's digging in though to see out their 40 overs as they lost their final wicket off the last ball of the innings with 104 to their name.

When a couple of wickets to Robinson and one to Yetsenga had Hamilton Boys' 27/3, St Paul's were well in the game, but steadying knocks from Henry (27 not out) and Reddy (24 not out) saw Hamilton Boys' home.

The other match was much higher-scoring affair, with Whangarei Boys' all out for 161 in the final over; Krige top-scoring with 28, while Shank took 3-17 and Bull 3-30.

Gisborne Boys' chase got off to a fantastic start, Wilson and Foster laying on 115 inside 20 overs before the latter was caught for 43.

His opening partner departed the next over just after reaching his half-century, and despite several more strikes from the Whangarei Boys' bowlers, Gisborne Boys' reached their target inside 27 overs, scoring at a run-rate of 6.04 as they won by five wickets.

Results

Whangarei Boys' 161 (39.4 overs; A Shank 3-17, MB Bull 3-30) lost to Gisborne Boys' XX (XX overs; XX) by XX wickets (Full scorecard)

Tauranga Boys' 89 (27.1 overs; B Bell 7-10) defeated St Peter's 85 (30.2 overs; A Friskney 4-41) by four runs (Full scorecard)

St Paul's 104 (40 overs; A Reeves 3-20, R Gulla 3-21) lost to Hamilton Boys' 105/4 (24 overs; AM Henry 27 not out; M Robinson 2-38) by six wickets (Full scorecard)

Round Three - Wednesday, February 26

Hamilton Boys' and St. Peter's continue to set the pace in the Northern Districts Junior Secondary School Boys' Finals after each won their third game on the bounce, while Tauranga Boys' snaps at their heels one win further back.

After a strong start to their innings in which they reached 77/1 in the 15th over, Hamilton Boy's progress was checked by some good Gisborne Boys' bowling as they fell to 104/5, and then 142/6 in the 30th; Shank starring for GIsborne Boys' with 3-30.

While no batsmen would kick-on to a big score for Hamilton Boys', contributions from the lower-order helped boost their score to 202, losing their last wicket off the final ball of the innings.

Gisborne Boys' would also get their innings off to a solid start when they reached 41/1 after 11 overs, but a burst of wickets from the Hamilton Boys' bowlers left them facing an uphill task and, they couldn't recover from this position, eventually being dismissed for 100, with Hamilton Boys' Gray taking 4-20.

Tauranga Boys' 66-run victory over St. Paul's was built on the start their opening pair provided, as they added 112 before Clode was dismissed for 50.

After St. Paul's fought back with three wickets for three runs, Tauranga Boys' had one further partnership of note, but Voigt-Price took three late wickets to somewhat stifle further late runs as Tauranga Boys' finished on 191/7; opener Keaney finishing 76 not out.

Following Tauranga Boys' innings, the St. Paul's openers got the innings off to a good start, adding 64 before a flurry of wickets left their chase in trouble.

They would lose all their wickets in the space of 61 runs, Friskney taking 3-18 in a 66-run victory.

St. Peter's kept their unbeaten week going after an unbeaten century from Thomas helped the side to a 99-run victory over Whangarei Boys'.

Thomas scored 107 not out, including 10 boundaries, as he combined for a 65-run first-wicket partnership with Benji Bell, and then added 118 with Xavier Bell, as St. Peter's set an imposing 234/3 off their 40 overs.

Benji Bell would also star with the ball, taking an impressive 4-19 as St. Peter's removed Whangarei Boys' for 135; Bearsell top-scoring with an eye-catching 41 off 31 balls.

Results

Hamilton Boys' High School 202 (40 overs; N Clewlow 37; A Shank 3-30) defeated Gisborne Boys' High School 100 (28 overs; T Gray 4-20) by 102 runs (Full scorecard)

Tauranga Boys' College 191/7 (40 overs; L Keaney 76 not out, S Clode 50; W Voigt-Price 3-49) defeated St Paul's Collegiate School 125 (32.5 overs; A Friskney 3-18, B Syme 2-10) by 66 runs (Full scorecard)

St. Peter's School Cambridge 234/3 (40 overs; J Thomas 107 not out, X Bell 42) defeated Whangarei Boys' High School 135 (34.4 overs; B Bearsell 41; B Bell 4-19, R Harvey 2-18) by 99 runs (Full scorecard)

Round Two - Tuesday, February 25

Hamilton Boys' and St. Peter's remain unbeaten after both sides won their round two matches in the Northern Districts Junior Secondary School Boys' Finals.

Hamilton Boy's currently sit top with a superior net run-rate to St. Peter's.

Hamilton Boys' secured their win earlier in the day; Myles (3-10), Gray (2-6) and Reeves (2-6) all claiming multiple wickets at very economical rates as they dismissed Whangarei Boys' for 108.

Hamilton Boys' reached their target in rapid time, scoring the 109 runs required in 12.1 overs for the loss of three wickets.

76 from Bell was the standout innings as his St. Peter's side were bowled out for 180 against St. Paul's.

Voigt-Price took three wickets for the second match in a row (3-27) as St. Paul's dismissed St. Peter's in 39 overs.

St. Paul's were in early trouble, going from 2/2, to 13/3 and 30/4, Harris taking two wickets, before Robinson (27) and Spring (27) combined for a 52-run partnership to revive St. Paul's innings.

But the end began when Hutchings dismissed the pair and, while there were cameos throughout the lower-order, St. Paul's were eventually dismissed for 144, giving a 36-run victory to St. Peter's; Bell (3-26) and Hutchings (3-20) taking three wickets each.

Tauranga Boys' got their first win of the competition with a 223-run victory over Gisborne Boys'.

Opener Clode anchored the innings for Tauranga Boys' with 78 not out, before some late hitting from Heath, who made 58 off 62 balls, helped Tauranga Boys' reach an outstanding 262/5 off their 40 overs.

Gisborne Boys' chase was in early trouble when Friskney removed the top three with 10 on the board, and they never recovered from the early losses, as they were bowled out for 39; Friskney finishing with 3-5 and Keaney 2-11.

Results

Tauranga Boys' College 262/5 (40 overs; S Clode 78, S Heath 58; SW Wilson 2-63) defeated Gisborne Boys' High School 39 (15.2 overs; A Friskney 3-5, L Keaney 2-11) by 223 runs (Full scorecard)

Whangarei Boys' High School 108 (35.3 overs; R Krige 46; B Myles 3-10, T Gray 2-6, A Reeves 2-6) lost to Hamilton Boys' High School 109/3 (12.1 overs; E Parker 31; R Krige 2-33) by seven wickets (Full scorecard)

St. Peter's School Cambridge 180 (39 overs; X Bell 76; W Voigt-Price 3-27, K Lake 2-14) defeated St. Paul's Collegiate School 144 (37 overs; M Robinson 27, B Spring 27; B Bell 3-26, G Harris 2-26) by 36 runs (Full scorecard)

Round One - Monday, February 24

There were wins for St. Paul's Collegiate, Hamilton Boys' High and St. Peter's Cambridge on a weather-affected opening day of competition at the Northern Districts Junior Secondary School Boys' Finals at Harry Barker Reserve in Gisborne.

With the matches shortened to 20 overs per side, there were big wins for St. Paul's and St. Peter's, as quality first innings bowling efforts secured victory for both sides.

Voigt-Price (3-22) and B Settle (2-2) of St. Paul's helped their side remove Whangarei Boys' for 85, before an unbeaten 29 from Robinson guided St. Paul's home with eight overs to spare.

St. Peter's followed a similar formula, with 3-9 from Bell restricting Gisborne Boys' to 106/8, before they reached the target for the loss of four wickets inside 18 overs; Bell top-scoring with 43.

The other game saw an incredibly tight encounter between Hamilton Boys' and Tauranga Boys', with the former emerging victorious by three runs.

A crucial 42 in the middle-order from Russ was guiding Hamilton Boys' to a good score, before 2-9 from Keaney stalled the momentum at the end as Hamilton finished on 115/6.

Two good partnerships up top meant Tauranga Boys' were looking good at 86/2 after 14, but a good fightback from Hamilton Boys', led by Reeves' 2-14, meant the Hamiltonians restricted Tauranga Boys' to 112/6 to secure victory.

Results

Whangarei Boys' High School 85 (18 overs; W Voigt-Price 3-22, B Settle 2-2) lost to St. Paul's Collegiate School 86/3 (12 overs; M Robinson 29 not out; R Krige 2-28) by seven wickets (Full scorecard)

Hamilton Boys' High School 115/6 (20 overs; M Russ 42; L Keaney 2-9) defeated Tauranga Boys's College 112/6 (20 overs; L Murray 37; A Reeves 2-14) by three runs (Full scorecard)

Gisborne Boys' High School 106/8 (20 overs; B Bell 3-9, A Louden 2-23) lost to St. Peter's School Cambridge 108/4 (17.4 overs; X Bell 43; N Torrance-Gibb 2-23) by six wickets (Full scorecard)