Once more, Christchurch Boys’ High School can lay claim to being the best cricketing school in the country heading into the winter sports season. Following on from the success of their First XI that won their third straight National Gillette Cup title in December, CBHS’s Colts team has defended its NZCT Junior Secondary School Boys title at last week’s national tournament in Palmerston North. Playing a round-robin series of 40 over matches, the CBHS team, comprising Year 10 players, won all five fixtures. The other schools at the tournament were Wellington College, who finished second, King’s College (Auckland), Tauranga Boys’ High School, Palmerston North Boys’ High School and King’s High School (Dunedin). CHBS team manager Rob Smith said the school’s fifth win in this tournament was a genuine team effort, with several players contributing and supporting each other at different times. Smith made mention of two players, captain Louie Chapman and the team’s Most Valuable Player from the tournament Cullen Moody. “Our captain Louie Chapman got a hat-trick [bowling off-spin] and scored 93 on day one against Tauranga Boys’ High School, which was pretty special and it set up our week.” “Our Most Valuable Player was middle order batsman and first change bowler Cullen Moody, who was consistent all week.” Other standout individual performances included Tom Bell making 75 against Tauranga, Jayden Ball making 70 and bowler Tim Boyle taking 5 for 11 against King’s High School, Mitchell Hay making 62 and Chapman taking 4 for 6 against King’s College. Collectively, CBHS’s bowling unit was devastating all week. In their first four games they bowled Tauranga out for 68, King’s High School out for 43, King’s College out for 70 and Palmerston North out for 75 – taking one wicket for every 6.4 runs scored against them. Their fifth match against Wellington College was the toughest, CBHS restricted to 177 for 9, before holding the opposition to 166 for 8, winning by 9 runs. “In a tournament like this, it’s good to start well, so we did target that first game against Tauranga and we won well to set up the week,” said Smith. “The importance of our fourth match against Palmerston North game was that we were aware that there was rain forecast later in the afternoon so to bowl them out for 75 and knock the runs off quickly was pleasing. “We treated the last game against Wellington College as a final; we set ourselves to win that to win the championship. We were already ahead of them on net run rate, but we didn’t want to get into a situation where we lost the game but still won the tournament.” Two of the school’s former old boys, Corey Anderson and Tom Latham, were in the BLACKCAPS squad that reached the final of the Cricket World Squad on Sunday. “All our players are aware that those two players have come through Boys’ High, they ask questions about what were they like at school and how they performed at these tournaments. It gives them a bit of motivation that if they work hard they can achieve what Corey and Tom have done.” The Christchurch Boys’ High School team that won the NZCT tournament was: Brelyn Little Cullen Moody George Cooke Gus Mowat Jackson Pauling Jayden Ball Liam Foulkes Louie Chapman (Captain) Mitch Hay Tim Boyle Tom Bell Will Smith Coaches: Phil Watson and Richard Taylor Manager: Rob Smith Dean Stafford grew up in sleepy Wairoa. He lived across the road from a rugby field where he spent hours by himself kicking, hitting or throwing a ball or just running around. Stafford says Wairoa was a peaceful existence: “Wairoa is a really small place and there isn’t a lot to do. I used to spend most of my time at the park playing sport and it’s helped me. I love sport. I love the outdoors.” Stafford is a Year 13 border at Napier Boys’ High School. He is an outstanding all-round sportsman. At the schools’ athletics day he won the Senior 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and was 4th in the 3000m. It’s the first time in the schools history (Napier opened in 1872) that those events have been won by the same boy. Stafford was the National under-16 800m champion two years ago. He has a best time of 1.55s over the distance, but has more recently focussed on the 200m and the 400m. In the 200m his best time is 22.60s which ranks him inside the top ten for seniors in the country. In the 400m he was second at the North Island championships on Saturday and his personal best time of 49.70s ranks him fifth in the under-20 age group. “It’s been a good season. I have been working really hard with my Coach Bruce Smith. I could win the National 400m title if I avoid injures,” Stafford says. Stafford’s had minor injury complaints throughout the athletics season. His struggle with injuries could be attributed to his busy sporting schedule. In addition to athletics he is an accomplished baseball player. He has represented New Zealand at under-18 level. Stafford explains a rugby tour was the reason he got into baseball. “We went to America with a Colts team at Napier Boys.’ While in San Francisco we went to a Giants major league game and I got hooked. I really like the sport. I joined a club and still follow the Giants.” Despite little competition locally, Stafford has been good enough to earn selection for the under-18 New Zealand team. Stafford often plays in Auckland and last year posted the third highest batting average at the National Championships. Strafford says baseball is a growing sport in New Zealand: “It’s starting to take off. There are more scouts looking at the game. The MLB on ESPN means people can watch high-standard games.” Stafford hopes to play rugby to a high standard. He trailed for the First XV as a first-five and fullback and stands a strong chance of selection. Stafford says Napier had a “really disappointing season” in 2014 and he hopes to contribute to a revival. “Rugby is really important at this school and 2014 wasn’t good enough. We have some good players and we are building nicely.” Stafford knows how to find success. He has won two national orienteering titles with the Napier Boys’ team. He says he “isn’t sure” what sport he wants to pursue after school, but says he will always find time for the little park when he is back in Wairoa. |
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August 2015
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