Hamilton Boys' High School were Northern Districts' representatives in this year's Gillette Cup.

The Gillette Cup is a secondary school competition for year nine to thirteen boys. The Gillette Cup began in 1990 and is among the longest-running competitions in secondary school sport. The competition provides the opportunity for players to compete against some of the best school teams in the country with many first-class cricketers and BLACKCAPS having made their name in this tournament.

Hamilton Boys' started the Cup well, winning their first two matches to sit top of the points table after day two. Unfortunately those were the last of their victories and they finished fourth out of six teams. Below are summaries of each match played by Hamilton Boys'.

ROUND ONE

Christchurch Boys' High School 233-8 (A Redfern 100, M Hay 44, K Clarke 4-28) lost to Hamilton Boys' High School 234-6 in 48 overs (J Russ 88, W Muldownie 45, A Sidey 2-44), Lincoln No. 3
Hamilton Boys' High have kick started their campaign with a 4-wicket win over Christchurch Boys' High School. After winning the toss and inserting Christchurch Boys' Hamilton immediately had them in trouble with early wickets leaving Christchurch in a perilous position of 38 for three. Two impressive partnerships involving Archie Redfern who scored a century, set Hamilton 233 runs to chase. In reply, Hamilton absorbed pressure throughout the inning from Christchurch Boys' but partnerships were the difference between the two teams in the end. Captain Jake Russ lead the way with an excellent 88 while contributions throughout their batting line-up secured the victory with two overs to spare. Hamilton Boys' certainly made a statement with their performance in round one defeating the defending championships.

ROUND TWO

King's High School 159 all out off 47 overs (D O'Brien 2-21) lost to Hamilton Boy's High School 162-2 off 18 overs (W Muldowney 66, J Russ 61*), Bert Sutcliffe Oval
Hamilton Boys' High School continued their strong form in round two easily accounting for King's High School today, beating them by 8-wickets. King's made a first innings score of 159 in 47 overs. Hamilton Boys did well to restrict and place pressure on the King's batsmen, Declan O'Brien was the pick of the Hamilton bowlers taking 2-21, wickets were shared across all six bowlers used. Hamilton Boys chased the total down with ease only losing 2 wickets. William Muldowney (66) and skipper Jake Russ (61*) making his second significant contribution of the tournament lead Hamilton to a convincing victory knocking off the target in just 18 overs.

ROUND THREE

Wellington College 230-9 (T Campbell 88, D O'Brien 3-39) beat Hamilton Boys' High School 122 all out off 33.2 overs (T Valentine 3-27), Bert Sutcliffe Oval
Wellington College have beaten Hamilton Boys' High School by 108 runs to remain the only unbeaten team in the Gillette Cup. Wellington College were sent into bat first, and a solid middle order performance propelled them to a quality first innings score of 230. The pick of the batsmen were Tim Campbell (88), Tom Valentine (33) and Devan Vishvaka (26). Hamilton's best bowler was Declan O'Brien who took 3 wickets for 39 runs. Hamilton's run chase never really got going thanks to some brilliant bowling from Wellington College, Valentine (3-27), Harry Hunter (2-8) and Tim Robinson backed up his performance with the bat taking 2 wickets for 17 runs. Hamilton Boys were bowled out for 122 runs. Wellington are now in the box seat for the title, but have two challenging matches to finished the week against King's College and defending champions Christchurch Boy's High School.

ROUND FOUR

Palmerston North Boys' High School 220-9 (S Russell 48, M Harris 38, J Dinan 3-40) beat Hamilton Boys' High School 183 all out off 47.1 overs (J Parker 85, T Kirk 3-37), Lincoln Green
Palmerston North Boys' High School entered this match still looking for their first victory and with a clinical performance they bet one of the more favored sides Hamilton Boys' High School by 37 runs. Palmerston North batted first and put a competitive 220 runs on the board in their first innings. Sam Russell top scored making 48 runs and was well supported by Max Harris making 38 runs and contributions throughout the Palmerston order. Despite an excellent innings from Hamilton Boys' High School's Jacob Parker (85), he eventually ran out of partners and Hamilton suffered their 2nd loss of the tournament to no longer be in the running for the title. The pick of the bowlers for Palmerston North was Thomas Kirk who took 3 wickets for 37 runs. Palmerston North now has the chance to double their wins for the week with a final round match against fellow strugglers Kings' High School.

ROUND FIVE

King's College 275-5 (N Robinson 81, T Simmonds 66, T Parkes 49*) beat Hamilton Boys' High School 267-8 (J Parker 110), Lincoln Green

King's College have beaten Hamilton Boys' High School in a high scoring match by 8 runs. In a nail biting contest, King's chose to bat first and made a more than competitive first innings total scoring 275 runs. Openers Nathan Robinson (81) and Thomas Simmonds (66) helped give their bowlers a healthy total to defend. In reply, Hamilton Boy's got off to a flying start, opener Jacob Parker made a brilliant century scoring 110 runs. A flurry of late wickets fell for Hamilton and eventually they fell 8 runs short. These two teams finished the week in 3rd and 4th places with just 0.01 difference in run rate in favor of King's College securing 3rd.