 Troy Johnson is one of New Zealand’s preeminent age group batsman. He has amassed a record number of runs for the Hutt International Boys’ School (HIBS) First XI and is a regular selection in rep sides.
In the first two days of the National Secondary Schools tournament he failed to score a single run. In the remaining three games he scored 22, 10 and 36. Despite the modest return Johnson hit the most important runs of the entire tournament for HIBS. In a super over against defending champions Christchurch Boys’ High School, Johnson struck the winning four. “I guess I owed the team some runs. Ben Sears was unbelievable in the super over, knocking over their two batsman in two balls. That made it easy for me,” Johnson admits. HIBS dramatic victory was vital in piping Westlake BHS for the title. Despite losing to the Auckland champions, HIBS boasted a superior run rate, but it could have all unrivalled in the dying stages of the Christchurch match. “Christchurch was chasing 188 and we had them 164/9. Their last partnership was stubborn and managed to tie the scores. As a captain I tried not to panic, but I was concerned. Caleb Hewson was a hero bowling their last batsman,” Johnson says. “We celebrated not really know what was going to happen next. They told us there would be a super over. One over is a tough way to decide a match, but you have to have a winner and as far as entertainment goes it’s really exciting.” The score of 188 proved to be a lucky one for HIBS. The following day they scored the same total in a 17-run win against Hamilton BHS. “The pitches were tough to bat on because there had been a tournament played the previous week. By the final day, they were the equivalent of a Day 8 test wicket. They took a lot of turn and kept low and slow,” Johnson complains. Johnson wasn’t frustrated by his bowling contribution. He took 12 wickets at 10.83, the second highest wicket taker in the tournament behind Sears (13). His best figures were 4/21 against Hamilton. “It was nice to get a few wickets and made a contribution to the team after missing out with the bat. A lot of my wickets were created by pressure at the other end. We bowled really well as a unit which has been the key to our success all year,” Johnson explains. Rachin Ravindra was named player of the tournament. He made 208 runs at 41.60 and took six wickets at 21.8 – only conceding 3.11 runs an over. His highest score was 76 against Hamilton BHS and he made 64 in the final match against Palmerston North BHS which sealed HIBS the title. “We call Rachin superstar because he is the hardest working player in the team. He gets up at 4:30am and is at the nets with his Dad. His work ethic and ability are phenomenal,” Johnson acclaims. HIBS became only the third Wellington school and first in 14 years to win the National cricket title. Johnson departs HIBS with mixed emotions. “I couldn’t think of a better way to go out than winning a National title. It’s been years in the making. A lot of good people have put in a lot of hard work. I will miss HIBS.,it’s been a big part of my life, but I guess it’s time to move on,” Johnson concludes.  HIBS Champion 1st XI - Photo Credit - Stuff.co.nz Hutt International Boys’ School (HIBS) have become the first Wellington school in 14 years and only the second all-time to win the National Secondary Schools’ cricket championship.
HIBS won the title at Lincoln in Christchurch on a superior run-rate from Westlake BHS who beat HIBS on Wednesday. It was a low scoring tourney with only one century made, Mitchell Murray made two by himself last year. HIBS all-round bowling attack and ability to restrict their opposition was vital. The tournament was played over 50 overs. Here are all the results and stats. Day One Hamilton BHS: 232/9 (Jamie Moore 73, Matti Clarke 58; Fraser Sheat 4/22) Christchurch BHS:235/6 (Matthew Hay 81, Stephen Sistern-Tate 3/47) Christchurch wins by 6 wickets Palmerston North BHS: 200/8 (Whetu Na Nagara 42, Keegan Russell 2/29) Westlake BHS: 138 (Ryan Doubell, Jack Lord 4/30) Palmerston North wins by 62 runs. Hutt International BHS: 187-8(Akshar Patel 41; Declan Su’a 3-36) Otago BHS: 103 (Taine Bayly 42; Ben Sears 5-23) HIBS win by 84 runs. Day Two Hutt International BHS: 188/9 (Akshar Patel 35, Rachin Ravindra 32; Fraser Sheat 3/36) Christchurch BHS: 188 (Will Jordon 46, Sandford Heard 42, Tyler Simpson 3/30) Tied, but HIBS win on a super over. Palmerston North BHS: 189 (Charles Parker 55; Stephen Sistern-Tate 2/38) Hamilton BHS:190/6 (Cullen Aislabie 75; Isaac Harris 3/32) Hamilton BHS wins by four wickets Otago BHS: 218/7 (Hunter Kindley 64, Taine Bayly 49; Ryan Doubell 2/21) Westlake BHS: 219/6 (Ben Beecroft 82*, Hunter Kindley 2/35) Westlake wins by four wickets Day Three Hamilton BHS: 221/8 (Jamie Moore 59, Cameron McAuslan 2/37) Otago BHS: 96 (Gus Wood 21, Stephen Sistern-Tate 3/1) Hamilton wins by 125 runs. Palmerston North BHS: 205/8 (Whetu Na Nagara 58, Jack Hyde 4/27) Christchurch 206/4 (Will Jordon 102*, Brad Fulton 1/26) Christchurch wins by 6 wickets Hutt International BHS: 172 (Brad Johns 41, Ben Beecroft 3/25) Westlake BHS: 174/8 (William O’Donnell 46, Troy Johnson 4/42) Westlake BHS wins by 2 wickets. Day Four Hutt International BHS: 188 (Rachin Ravindra 76; Riyan Perera 2/14) Hamilton BHS: 171 (Riyan Perera 62, Troy Johnson 4/21, Ben Sears 3/38) HIBS wins by 17 runs. Christchurch BHS: 161 (Jack Lewis 39; Angus McKenzie 4/24) Westlake BHS: 162/3 (Wesley Sleep 63, William O’ Donnell 52) Westlake wins by 7 wickets. Otago BHS: 273/5 (Jack Pryde 87*, Max Chu 85, Braden Rowe 1/32) Palmerston North BHS: 105 (Tom O’Connor 22, Cameron McAuslan 2/3) Otago wins by 168 runs. Day Five Christchurch BHS: 262/8 (Callum Hill 80, Jack Lewis 74; Ben Lockrose 2/41) Otago BHS: 117 (Cameron McAuslan 30, Scott Burnett 4/21) Christchurch wins by 145 runs Hutt International BHS: 261 (Rachin Ravindra 64, Jesse Tashkoff 51; Zoheb Akhter 4/47) Palmerston North BHS: 147 (Braden Rowe 36*, Akansh Kanuparthi 3/23) HIBS wins by 114 runs Westlake BHS: 219/9 (Wesley Sleep 60, William O’Donnell, 42; Brayden Gaylor 3/43) Hamilton BHS: 198 (Jamie Moore 50, Angus McKenzie 5/38) Westlake wins by 21 runs Leading Run Makers
Leading Bowlers
Final Rankings 1. Hutt International BS 2. Westlake BHS 3. Christchurch BHS 4. Hamilton BHS 5. Palmerston North BHS 6. Otago BHS  Tawa College 1st XI - Photo Credit Jo Murray Tawa College (Wellington) have defended their National Secondary School Girls Cricket title today in Palmerston North.
Tawa won their fifth consecutive match of the Twenty20 tournament today, beating Epsom Girls’ Grammar School. In a match reduced to 12 overs, Epsom set Tawa 68 to win and they prevailed by 10 wickets. All-rounder Meli Kerr was the Player of the Tournament, scoring 178 runs. St Hilda’s Collegiate (Otago) finished second, with four wins from five. St Hilda’s defeated Whangarei Girls’ High School (Northern) today. Tawa had beaten St Hilda’s by 52 runs when they met on day one on Tuesday, with Tawa scoring 144-1 and then restricting St Hilda’s to 92-4. Final points: Tawa 10, St Hilda’s 8, Havelock North HS 6, Epsom GGS 4, Villa Maria College 2, Whangarei Girls’ HS 0 Hamish Wareham (Wareham Sports Media) is a proud Hutt International Boys' School cricket fan. He watched just the second tie in National First XI cricket history unfold yesterday. Here is his account of what happened.
A lack of runs in the top of the order cost Hutt International Boys’ School (HIBS) from making a bigger score than they should have. Opener Ben Sears spooned one to Jack Hyde off the bowling of Fergus Fairbairn and then Troy Johnson had his off stump smashed out of the ground off the bowling of Harrison Cox. A fighting stand for the third wicket between Rachin Ravindra and Jesse Tashkoff got HIBS through to 66-2. Tashkoff was caught behind by Callum Hill of the bowling of Fraser Sheat for9 off 34 balls and not long after that he was joined back in the pavilion by Ravindra who was run out on 32 off 72 balls by Christchurch captain Matthew Hay to make it 74-4. A 65-run stand for the 5th wicket between Akshar Patel and wicket keeper batsman Bradley Johns got HIBS to 141-4 before Akshar was run out by Jack Lewis on 35 off 62 balls. Bradley was caught on a low catch by Fergus Fairbairn on 31 off 48 balls which triggered a mini-collapse. HIBS found themselves at 157-8 when Tyler Simpson was run out after Joe Foote hit the ball back down the pitch only for it to rebound off Hay’s hand and knock the bails off the at the non-strikers end with Simpson out of his crease. Joe Foote (17 off 35 balls) and Caleb Hewson (12 off 11 Balls) put on 21 for the last wicket to get HIBS to a defendable total off 188-9 in their 50 overs. Fraser was the best of the Christchurch bowlers taking 3-36 in his 10 overs. HIBS knew they needed wickets fast to have any chance and the start was ideal. Callum Hill hit one straight to Caleb Hewson at point off the bowling of Tyler Simpson for just 3 off 6 balls. Sanford Heard and Will Jordan combined to share 67 for the second wicket, before Jordon was caught behind by Bradley just short of a well-deserved half century. He made 46 off 51 balls. HIBS rallied. Heard was trapped in front by Sears on 42 off 87 balls before the floodgates opened. CBHS quickly found themselves at 164-9 after 41.5 overs. Fraser became a hero with the bat as he and Fairbairn put on 24 runs to get level the scores before Caleb Hewson bowled Fairbairn for 3 off 27 balls to send it into the Super Over. The eliminator over only lasted four balls in both innings as Ben Sears knocked over Will Jordan and Ben Donkers in succession to leave HIBS only needing one run. Captain Troy Johnson cleared over mid-wicket on the second ball of Fraser’s over to give HIBS an outright lead at the top of the table after day two of the First XI Cup.  Tawa College Girls 1st XI Cricket Defending champions Tawa College and five other schoolgirl cricket First XIs from around New Zealand descend on Palmerston North this week for the 2015 NZCT Secondary School Girls Finals.
The tournament runs from Tuesday to Thursday, with the six schools vying for the title having come through preliminary knock-out matches in their respective regions. The six schools represented are Tawa College (Wellington), St Hilda's Collegiate (Otago), Havelock North High School (Central), Whangarei Girls' High School (Northern), Villa Maria College (Canterbury) and Epsom Girls’ Grammar School (Auckland). The format is a round-robin series of Twenty20 matches, with two games each on Tuesday and Wednesday and one on Thursday. Last year’s tournament was hampered by weather, with just three of the scheduled five matches available. Of the three schools returning this year, winners Tawa College won all three matches, second placed St Hilda’s won two and fourth placed Whangarei won once. Tawa College’s coach, Robbie Kerr, said their team is looking forward to meeting the challenge of entering the tournament as defending champions, adding that there are a number of players returning from 2014. “We have 10 players returning from last year, we have two year 9s, one year 10, two year 11s, four year 12s and three year 13s – so a good balance.” They have qualified for this year’s tournament having won the Wellington NZCT tournament, beating Sacred Heart in the final. Robbie said the opposition will all be hard to beat. “Everyone is dangerous in Twenty20 cricket. St Hilda’s and Havelock North High School have very proud records at this tournament over a number of years.” Tawa College has a number of key players in their squad, including coach Robbie’s two daughters who are also in the Wellington senior women’s squad. “Amelia Kerr has just turned 15 and was selected for the New Zealand A side following a very successful last season for the Wellington Blaze where she was the leading wicket taker in the competition.” Amelia was named Most Valuable Player at this tournament last year as a Year 9 student. “Jess Kerr is the captain and is a member of the Blaze cricket squad. During the winter she was named Player of the Tournament at the Junior Indoor Cricket U18 World Cup. “Makaylah Mason Jones, Roshani Thurasingham and Phoenix Williams have all been named in the Wellington U 21 Women’s cricket team along with Jess and Amelia. “Kate Fenton is a Year 9 student with a huge future and has been named in the Wellington Secondary Girls team.” Robbie added that a number of the girls were part of the Tawa Intermediate team that won the New Zealand Shield for Intermediate Teams throughout New Zealand. “It was this tournament that got many girls interested in cricket. They have continued with the sport and are now looking to repeat their win from last year.” The draw is: Round One (Tuesday morning) St Hilda’s Collegiate vs Havelock North High School Tawa College vs Whangarei Girls’ High School Villa Maria College vs Epsom Girls’ Grammar School Round Two (Tuesday afternoon) Havelock North High School vs Epsom Girls’ Grammar School Whangarei Girls’ High School vs Villa Maria College St Hilda’s Collegiate vs Tawa College Round Three (Wednesday morning) Havelock North High School vs Whangarei Girls’ High School St Hilda’s Collegiate vs Epsom Girls’ Grammar School Tawa College vs Villa Maria College Round Four (Wednesday afternoon) Tawa College vs Havelock North High School Villa Maria College vs St Hilda’s Collegiate Epsom Girls’ Grammar School vs Whangarei Girls’ High School Round Five (Thursday morning) Villa Maria College vs Havelock North High School Epsom Girls’ Grammar School vs Tawa College Whangarei Girls’ High School vs St Hilda’s Collegiate  Simon Hickey (Kings College) Photo Credit - www.blackcaps.co.nz Next week at Lincoln in Christchurch the National First Xi cricket championships will take place. Here is a rundown of the event’s records.
Winners 1990: Palmerston North Boys’ High School 1991: St. Kentigern College 1992: Otago Boys’ High School 1993: Otago Boys’ High School 1994: Whangarei Boys’ High School 1995: Wanganui Collegiate School 1996: St. Patrick’s College (Silverstream) 1997: Wanganui Collegiate School 1998: Palmerston North Boys’ High School 1999: King’s College/Christchurch Boys’ High School 2000: Auckland Grammar School 2001: Wellington College 2002: Hamilton Boys’ High School 2003: Hamilton Boys’ High School 2004: Palmerston North Boys’ High School/King’s College 2005: Christchurch Boys’ High School/Tauranga Boys’ College 2006: Christchurch Boys’ High School/King’s College 2007: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2008: Hamilton Boys’ High School 2009: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2010: King’s College 2011: King’s College 2012: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2013: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2014: Christchurch Boys’ High School Close Victories 2007: Wanganui Collegiate tied with Kavanagh College but won because lost less wickets 1991: Matamata College defeated St Kentigern College by one run 1996: St Patrick’s College (Silverstream) defeated Wanganui CS by one run 2000: Auckland Grammar School defeated King’s High School by two runs 2003: Hamilton BHS defeated Otago BHS by two runs 2004: Palmerston North BHS defeated Christchurch BHS by two runs 1990: Palmerston North BHS defeated Auckland Grammar School by one wicket 1994: Whangarei Boys’ High School defeated New Plymouth BHS by one wicket 2000: Palmerston North BHS defeated King’s High School by one wicket 2003: Otago BHS defeated Wanganui Collegiate by one wicket Large Victories 2004: Palmerston North BHS beat St Paul’s Collegiate by 10 wickets. 2006: King’s College beat Tauranga BC by 9 wickets. 2008: Westlake BHS beat Wanganui Collegiate by 9 wickets. 2008: Wellington College beat Hamilton Boys’ High School by 9 wickets. 2007: Christchurch BHS beat Wanganui Collegiate by 230 runs. 2009: Christchurch BHS beat St. Patrick’s College, Silverstream by 200 runs 2008: Hamilton BHS beat Otago BHS by 190 runs. Match Records Highest team total – 355/6 Hamilton Boys’ High School v Kavanagh College – 2007 Highest chasing total to win – 237/6 King’s College v St Paul’s Collegiate 235/9 – 2004 Highest chasing total to lose – 298/8 Kavanagh College v Westlake BHS 307/7 – 2007. Highest match aggregate – 605 Westlake BHS v Kavanagh College – 2007 Individual Batting Performances 2015: Mitchell Murray (King’s College) 171 2011: Simon Hickey (King’s College) 136 2015: Mitchell Murray (King’s College) 134 2015: Joel Harden (Nelson College) 134 2013: Anthony Burnett (Christchurch BHS) 132 2011: Simon Hickey (King’s College) 129* 2014: Troy Johnson (HIBS) 125 2013: Chander Ravi (Scots College) 124 2007: Harry Boam (Wellington College) 123 1997: Jamie Rae (Wanganui Collegiate) 122* 1997: James Marshall (King’s College) 121 2004: Peter-John Cairns (King’s College) 121 2006: Kane Williamson (Tauranga Boys’ College) 120* Note: There have been 34 centuries made in the National tournament. Individual Bowling Performances 2000: Mark Pearson (Auckland Grammar) 7/32 1997: Angus MacDonald (King’s College) 6/15 2004: Duan White (Palmerston North Boys’ High School) 6/24 1993: Brett Davis (Palmerston North Boys’ High School) 6/27 2006: Tim Southee (King’s College) 6/31 Hat-trick 1995: Charles Fraser (Wanganui Collegiate) v Southland Boys’ High School Wicket keeping Dismissals 1995: Scott Aspinall (Wanganui Collegiate) 4c/2st 2005: Andrew Horrell (Christchurch Boys’ High School) 5c Record Partnerships 1. 184 – Tom Griffin (118) & Liam Cotton (93), Otago BHS v Hutt Valley HS, 2012 2. 147 – Dane Cleaver (97) & George Worker (111), Palmerston North BHS v Hamilton BHS, 2007 3. 150 – Matthew Short (80) & Jarred Cunningham (62), Palmerston North BHS v Christchurch BHS, 2004 4. 165 – Cameron Neal (107) & Joshua Dwight (57), Tauranga BC v HIBS, 2011 5. 202 – Simon Hickey (136) & Michael Haddleton (101), Kings College v Otago BHS, 2011 6. 139 – Corey Anderson (86) and Tyler Bleyendaal (73), Christchurch Boys’ High School v Wanganui Collegiate 2004 7.114 – Michael Collins (105) & Scott Hunter (29), Otago BHS v Christ’s College 2011 8. 90* – Chad Law (94*) & James Cleland (25*), Palmerston North BHS v St Patrick’s Silverstream, 2006 9. 54 – Joe Austin-Smellie (53*) & Sam Lawson (17), Wellington College v Tauranga Boys’ College 2007 10. 61 – Joseph Carter (27*) & Josh Dwight (24), Tauranga BC v Hamilton BHS, 2008 Geoffrey Palmer Cup (Player of the Tournament) 1990: Robert Lawson – Otago Boys’ High School 1991: Matthew Stevens – St Kentigern College 1992: Chris Finch – Otago Boys’ High School 1993: Grant Billcliff – Otago Boys’ High School 1994: Matthew Bell – Whangarei Boys’ High School 1995: Scott Aspinall – Wanganui Collegiate 1996: Ben Giesen – Wanganui Collegiate 1997: Jamie Rae – Wanganui Collegiate 1998: Jamie How – Palmerston North Boys’ High School 1999: No award made 2000: Brendon McCullum – King’s High School 2001: James Hill – Wellington College 2002: Bradley Watling – Hamilton Boys’ High School 2003: Anthony Bullick – King’s College 2004: Peter-John Cairns – King’s College 2005: Phillip Banks – Christchurch Boys’ High School 2006: Corey Anderson -Christchurch Boys’ High School/Tim Southee – King’s College 2007: Kane Williamson -Tauranga Boys’ College 2008: Adam Milne – Palmerston North Boys’ High School 2009: Matthew Rowe – Christchurch Boys’ High School 2010: Simon Hickey – King’s College 2011: Simon Hickey – King’s College 2012: Jarrod Pike – Hutt Valley High School 2013: Aditya Dhadwal – Mt Albert Grammar School 2014: Mitchell Murray – King’s College International Reps BLACKCAPS - Matthew Bell, Neil Broom, Jamie How, Robert Kennedy, Brendon McCullum, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Jacob Oram, Andrew Penn, Mathew Sinclair, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Doug Bracewell, Roneel Hira, Rob Nicol, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, Adam Milne, Todd Astle, Corey Anderson Note: Ian Billcliff, through birthright, represented Canada at the ICC World Cup in 2003 and 2007, while Regan West represented Ireland in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2009  The Napier Boys’ High School Cricket festival is an annual tradition that has been running for a quarter of a century.
Twelve colts teams are invited to compete in 50 over matches celebrating the spirit of cricket. Black Caps, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Kane Williamson and Jesse Ryder have all competed in the tourney. Until five years ago there was no trophy at stake, but a Ranfurly Shield type trophy was introduced in 2011. A commemorative cricket bat with a ball attached is contested for among the schools. Hastings Boys’ High School won the inaugural bat match against Wanganui Collegiate and had retained the bat 17 times leading into the 2015 event featuring: Napier Boys’ High School, St John’s College (Hastings), Havelock North High School, Lindisfarne College, New Plymouth Boys’ High School, Tauranga Boys’ College, Palmerston North Boys’ High School, Francis Douglas Memorial College, Wanganui Collegiate, Wanganui High School and St. Patrick’s College, Silverstream. Joey Field is the captain of the Hastings Colts. His older brothers Sam and James have been members of previously successful Hastings teams. Joey was anxious about the 2015 defence. Not only did he have a family tradition to maintain, but the standard of Napier pitches left a lot to be desired. “Napier and Hastings have an intense rivalry so I think they put on his bad pitches because of that. They were like clay wickets, rolled dirt. If you survived 50 over’s you pretty much won the match”, Joey complains. On day one Hastings faced New Plymouth Boys’ High School and limped to 107 all out. Aidan Robson batted with patience to contribute 37 off 93 balls while Joey took the opposite approaching, belting 20 of 23 balls. In reply New Plymouth was rolled for 82. Year 9 Amritpal Singh sneered 4-12 and Joey bowled tightly finishing with figures of 1-28 from 10 over’s. (Below Joey celebrates a century in February) Batting on day two proved somewhat easier. Hastings restricted St. Pats Silverstream to 155 all out and chased down the target with seven wickets to spare in the 42nd over. Joey took 3/38 and batted in a calculated fashion to score 33 off 91 balls. Chasing would remain a successful formula for the remainder of the tournament. In the penultimate match Hastings defeated Wanganui Collegiate by three wickets reaching the target with ten over’s remaining. Wanganui Collegiate crawled to 133/8 off 50 over’s with Joey and Sachan Dadrah taking 2/21. Despite the best efforts of Wanganui’s Charlie Greatbatch (31 and 3/23) a 40 by Dadrah and superior urgency proved telling. On the last day Hastings had the benefit of home ground advantage, Joey explains why. “We billet Palmerston North in Hastings so as a gesture of good will they agree to play us on our home turf. It was great to play on our pitch, it actually has grass,” he laughs. The grass didn’t prevent another low scoring game. Palmerston North was dismissed for 117 with Year 9 off spinner Sam Martin bamboozling the visitors. He took 4-8 from ten over’s and bowled four maidens. Hastings cruised to the win losing five wickets. Jack Parker made 20 and Joey 19. Hastings have now defended the bat for 21 consecutive matches. “It’s a great feeling to win again. Our coaches have played a big part in our success. Daniel Harper is in Thailand now, but he helped our early development. Trent Miller from the First XI was a great help too,” Joey says. In the winter Joey plays football and was set for his First XI debut, but was tackled awkwardly in a PE lesson and broke his collarbone. He missed four months returning for Nationals. The striker scored a hat-trick against Francis Douglas, but Hastings finished a lowly 27th. Remarkably Joey has played six cricket matches this week, won them all and delivered 65 over’s. He is also a member of the First XI and prior to this week had only bowled two over’s in 2015. A regular in the Hawke’s Bay reps he says his favourite cricketer is Kane Williamson and sport runs deep in his family. Two years ago he was a member of the Hawke’s Bay indoor football team that won the National title while his father Stephen was in charge of organising volunteers at this year’s World Cup. |
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