Final Round
The National Primary School Cup wrapped up today, and there was a dramatic end to competition. Three teams came into the final round with a chance of victory. Here’s what happened.
Tahuna Normal Intermediate 111-8 (J Murray 26, K Ellis 3-19, J Livingstone 2-13) beat St Peter’s School 93 all out off 16.3 overs (H Boyle 21, J Murray 4-13, L Cowan 2-16)
Tahuna Normal Intermediate had nothing to lose coming into their final match and they made sure to finish the tournament in winning fashion. Tahuna were sent in to bat and Jacob Murray continued his good form with a 26. The second top scorer for the innings was extras with 25. Although St Peter’s struggled with their line, Kirwyn Ellis picked up three wickets, which made him the tournament’s top wicket taker with nine. St Peter’s began their chase well, with an opening partnership of 35. Jacob Murray then brought himself on to bowl, which turned out to be a match winning decision. Murray took four crucial wickets, ending with figures of 4-13 and St Peter’s falling 18 runs short.
King’s School 46 all out off 15.4 overs (N Martin 3-3, H Craige 3-5, K Weerasundara 3-10) lost to Raroa Normal Intermediate School 47-1 off 7.3 overs (A Thompson 28*)
The tournament director was calling this match “the final”. King’s School had come into this match knowing a victory would nearly automatically give them the cup. The Bert Sutcliffe Oval had seen many runs in the past couple of days and understandably King’s decided to bat first. However, the Raroa bowling attack were on fire. Hiroshi Craige, Nick Martin and Kevin Weerasundara all took three wickets, which left King’s with a total of just 46 to defend. Early wickets were a must for the Auckland School, and just wasn’t their day. Alex Thompson hit an unbeaten 22 ball 28, which took away any doubt of who was going to be in the run for the title. Thompson hit the winning just in just the eighth over. The result meant that the tournament would be decided in the final game.
Huntly School 90-8 (C Heaphy 28, C Heyns 3-27, N Shearer 2-16) lost to Heaton Normal Intermediate 95-2 off 11 overs (H Forrest 52*, N Shearer 26*)
Heaton knew, to have any chance of winning the competition they must win, and win in quick fashion. Heaton won the toss, and decided the best strategy was to ball and then keep track of how the other matches were going, in order to decide how quickly they would need their chase to be. Curtis Heaphy, who ended up winning the MVP of the tournament, scored 28, but the Huntly captain was the only member of his team to reach double figures. Caleb Heyns was quite expensive, but took three wickets at the same time. Heaton captain, Harry Forrest, would have been pleased with how economical the rest of his bowlers were, with Heyns being the only player to concede more than four runs an over. Heaton had heard that Raroa had won. Coach Tim Evers knew that his team would need to be very positive in order to chase the target quickly. Forrest lead from the top of the order, ending unbeaten on 52* off just 26 balls. His partnership with Nic Shearer (26 off 33) turned out to be a tournament winning partnership.
Round four
Heaton Normal Intermediate 108 all out off 19.1 overs (R O’Loughlin 31, H Forrest 21, T Irvine 4-7, N Tapper 2-18) lost to King’s School 109-4 off 15.4 overs (L Chandulal 39, S Macdonald 20*, N Shearer 2-16)
The two top teams came together in a crucial clash during the fourth round of the National Primary School Cup. Heaton Normal won the toss and decided to bat first. The openers, who have been in great form coming into the game, gave Heaton a decent start. The innings was looking good at 3-91 with seven overs to go. Toby Irvine then produced a sensational spell, nabbing four wickets for just seven runs. Nick Tapper gave Irvine good support with 2-18. Heaton were bowled out in the last over for 108. A positive start to the chase was exactly what King’s wanted, and the opening pair of Max Chaplin and Louie Chandulal gave then just that. Chandulal was eventually out for 39, but by the time of his dismissal, Heaton were out of reach.
Tahuna Normal Intermediate 118-6 (J Murray 41, J Hart 20*, A Boomer 20) lost to Raroa Normal Intermediate 120-3 off 15.2 overs (L Chowdury 42*, J Gilchrist 14*)
Raroa came into the game as favourites and after winning the toss, decided to bowl first. Tahuna had a great platform, with Jacob Murray hitting a run a ball 41. The innings was also finished off well by Joshua Hart and Alex Boomer, who both hit 20. Kevin Weerasundara used eight different bowlers in the innings, and should have been pleased with his side being able to restrict Tahuna to a target under 120. Luke Chowdury continued his good form in the tournament and took the game away from Tahuna with an unbeaten 42*. Matt Nel and Jayden Gilchrist provided good support for the number three, with Raroa eventually hitting the winning runs with four overs to spare.
St Peter’s 147-7 (J Wakelin 43, S Mitchell 41, C Jacobsen 34, H Strang 2-17, F McVerry 2-22) beat Huntly School 132-7 (C Heaphy 74*, F McVerry 22, S O’Leary 21, K Ellis 3-24)
At the main ground here in Lincoln, the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, both sides were looking to put themselves in medal contention for the tournament. St Peter’s lost a number of early wickets, with some good early bowling from Henry Strang. However, the innings was strengthened by James Wakelin (43 off 30) and Connor Jacobson (34 off 33). Still, the run rate wasn’t too strong until Sam Mitchell came to the crease. Mitchell hit some crucial runs in the earlier rounds and he played some big shots. In his 17 ball 41, he hit seven fours and one six. In reply, Huntly started well, with a solid opening partnership. The chase was looking good when the third partnership between Curtis Heaphy and Fred McVerry were together, with the pair putting on a 70 run partnership. Once McVerry departed, Heaphy needed to find a partner to get some quick runs. However, Kirwyn Ellis took three important wickets, which stunted the possibility of a victory for Huntly. Credit should not be taken away from Heaphy, who batted exceptionally well.
Round three
Tahuna Normal Intermediate 50 all out (M Hocquard 4-3, S O’Leary 3-14) lost to Huntly School 53-2 off 7.2 overs (S O’Leary 30)
The first game of the tournament brought together Huntly School and Tahuna Normal Intermediate. Huntly made an early statement, bowling out Tahuna Normal for 50 off 16 overs. Shaun O’Leary took three wickets, but Matthew Hocquard was the pick of the bowlers with superb figures of 3-4. Come time for their pursuit, seven overs were all Huntly needed to get to the target. After bowling well, Shaun O’Leary made a quick fire 30 before getting caught. Huntly hit the winning runs with eight wickets in hand.
King’s School 127-6 (H Sinclair 34, S Macdonald 23, K Ellis 2-19) lost to St Peter’s School (129-3 off 16.3 overs (H Boyle 59*, C Jacobson 22, L Chandulal 2-27)
Auckland’s King’s School batted first against Northern District’s St Peter’s School, and set a respectable 127 for 6. St Peter’s did well to restrict King’s, largely thanks to an inspired fielding effort in the early overs keeping the run-rate down. Harry Sinclair was the standout with the bat, producing a knock of 34 from 27 balls. The pick of the bowlers was Kirwyn Ellis, who finished with figures of 2-19. From the beginning of the chase, St Peter’s were positive. Jasper Maling and Connor Jacobson pitched in with important contributions, but it was Harry Boyle who made sure St Peter’s started the tournament with a win, controlling the innings with a match-winning and unbeaten 51 off 46 balls.
Heaton Normal Intermediate 170-4 (H Forrest 94, H Thornley 33) beat Raroa Normal Intermediate 134-9 (L Chowdury 36, C Heyns 4-35, N Shearer 2-12)
Bert Sutcliffe Oval hosted the final game of round one, with local side Heaton Intermediate coming up against Roroa Normal Intermediate. A 73 run opening partnership set the standard for the innings. Hayden Thornley got 33 and was the first wicket to fall. His opening partner Harry Forrest produced the performance of the round smashing 14 fours and two sixes in his 94 from just 53 balls. A hundred looked on the cards before Forrest was run out, courtesy of some good fielding from the Raroa side. Needing more than eight runs an over, it was always going to be a tough ask for the Wellington school. Luke Chowdury gave the Raroa team some hope with 36 from 30 balls, but the Heaton bowlers, successfully restricted the chase. Chris Heyns led with the ball for Heaton, taking 4-35.
Round two
King’s School 171-7 (M Chaplin 57, M Macdonald 43, L Clydesdale 3-35) beat Tahuna Intermediate 81 all out from 16.3 overs (P Chandulal 2-10, T McGuinness 2-16, T Irvine 2-18)
A loss in the first round of games meant that both teams were looking to improve, and King’s School looked like they certainly had. They set a huge 171-7, with Max Chaplin hitting 57 off 47 balls. Sebastian Macdonald also pitched in with a quick fire 43. Louis Clydesdale was the pick of the bowlers picking up three wickets. Tahuna’s chase never got any momentum. Chandulal, McGuinness and Irvine all picked up three wickets. The final wicket fell in the 17th over.
St Peter’s School 100 all out off 19 overs (A Mitchell 41, H Forrest 2-3, M McMillan 2-14) lost to Heaton Intermediate 105-4 off 13.4 overs (H Forrest 29, T Smith 22*, C Tindall 3-30)
There was a sense of confidence after both teams won their first-round matches. St Peter’s innings began brightly, getting to 31 without losing a wicket. Then within the next three overs six wickets were lost. Things weren’t looking positive for St Peter’s until Sam Mitchell came to the crease. He hit eight fours and a six in his 28 ball 41. Mitch McMillan and Harry Forrest were both very economic with the ball, and also picked up two wickets each. If St Peter’s were going to have any chance, early wickets were going to be needed. After a big partnership in the first game, Thornley and Forrest put their team in a good position again, with Forrest top scoring with 29. Tom Smith finished the game off, hitting 22 off 14 balls, with the winning runs coming in the 14th over.
Raroa Intermediate School 130 all out (A Thompson 60, F McVerry 2-15, J Chrystall 2-20, M Hocquard 2-27) beat Huntly School 116-7 off 20 overs (C Heaphy 52, N Martin 2-11)
The last game in the second round of the National Primary School Cup gave us two great individual performances. Alex Thompson hit 60 for Raroa, while Huntly’s Curtis Heaphy hit 52. Both openers laid solid platforms for their teams. Raroa lost their last wicket on the final ball of the innings. Thompson didn’t have too much support, but enough to set a tough total of 131 to win. Heaphy put his side in a position to chase down the target, but the required rate kept increasing a little too much. Nick Martin was the best of the bowlers with 2-11 off his four overs. The bowlers kept things tight, which meant that Huntly would need a lot of their final few overs. Both teams will head into tomorrow with one win each.
Round one
Tahuna Normal Intermediate 50 all out (M Hocquard 4-3, S O’Leary 3-14) lost to Huntly School 53-2 off 7.2 overs (S O’Leary 30)
The first game of the tournament brought together Huntly School and Tahuna Normal Intermediate. Huntly made an early statement, bowling out Tahuna Normal for 50 off 16 overs. Shaun O’Leary took three wickets, but Matthew Hocquard was the pick of the bowlers with superb figures of 3-4. Come time for their pursuit, seven overs were all Huntly needed to get to the target. After bowling well, Shaun O’Leary made a quick fire 30 before getting caught. Huntly hit the winning runs with eight wickets in hand.
King’s School 127-6 (H Sinclair 34, S Macdonald 23, K Ellis 2-19) lost to St Peter’s School (129-3 off 16.3 overs (H Boyle 59*, C Jacobson 22, L Chandulal 2-27)
Auckland’s King’s School batted first against Northern District’s St Peter’s School, and set a respectable 127 for 6. St Peter’s did well to restrict King’s, largely thanks to an inspired fielding effort in the early overs keeping the run-rate down. Harry Sinclair was the standout with the bat, producing a knock of 34 from 27 balls. The pick of the bowlers was Kirwyn Ellis, who finished with figures of 2-19. From the beginning of the chase, St Peter’s were positive. Jasper Maling and Connor Jacobson pitched in with important contributions, but it was Harry Boyle who made sure St Peter’s started the tournament with a win, controlling the innings with a match-winning and unbeaten 51 off 46 balls.
Heaton Normal Intermediate 170-4 (H Forrest 94, H Thornley 33) beat Raroa Normal Intermediate 134-9 (L Chowdury 36, C Heyns 4-35, N Shearer 2-12)
Bert Sutcliffe Oval hosted the final game of round one, with local side Heaton Intermediate coming up against Roroa Normal Intermediate. A 73 run opening partnership set the standard for the innings. Hayden Thornley got 33 and was the first wicket to fall. His opening partner Harry Forrest produced the performance of the round smashing 14 fours and two sixes in his 94 from just 53 balls. A hundred looked on the cards before Forrest was run out, courtesy of some good fielding from the Raroa side. Needing more than eight runs an over, it was always going to be a tough ask for the Wellington school. Luke Chowdury gave the Raroa team some hope with 36 from 30 balls, but the Heaton bowlers, successfully restricted the chase. Chris Heyns led with the ball for Heaton, taking 4-35.
