The Secondary School Boys' First XI Cup began in 1990 and is among the longest-running competitions in secondary school sport. Many first-class and international cricketers have made their name in this tournament. The 2016 National Finals are being plays at Lincoln University from 5-9 December. College Sport Media is profiling the six teams involved. Coaches: Chris Kuggeleijn, Tim Aughton Squad: Jamie Moore, Ben Morris-Brown, Riyan Perera, Bodie Hodges, Cullen Aisalbie, Max Gaskett, Brayden Gaylor, Liam Calnon, Kristan Clarke, Dilan Nanayakkara, Jake Russ, William Muldowney, Hamish Mellow, Angus Lynch. Northern Districts Reps: Moore, Morris-Brown, Aisalbie, Gaylor, Calnon Previous Wins: 2002, 2003, 2008. (12 appearances) Competition: Hamilton Premier Men's Competition, Northern Districts Champions, Super 8 Champions Most Runs: Jamie Moore Most Wickets: Brayden Gaylor Motto: Together We Are Strong. First Class Reps: Scott Styris, BJ Watling, Anton Devcich, Anurg Verma, Keir Bettley, Mitchell Santer, Scott Kuggeleijn, Owens Ivins, Josef Walker, Matthew Thomas. Prospects: Hamilton Boys' High School have seven returning players from last year, six of whom are Year 13. Hamilton is a well-drilled unit in the field and have an effective slow-bowling attack that can strangle the opposition. Brayden Gaylor is an impressive spin bowler, who can bat a bit to. The side is well led by Jamie Moore who is an aggressive player while Aisalbie, Gaylor, Calnon are among the best players in the region. Once again Hamilton will be fiercely competitive. “It’s the most exciting match I have played. The momentum changed often. It was the first time I have been involved in a Super Over. To win like we did was unbelievable,” Rachin Ravindra recalls of Hutt International Boys’ School’s match against Christchurch Boys’ High School at the National Secondary Schools cricket championships last year. HIBS conquered the three-time defending champions and went on to claim a maiden National crown. Ravindra is under no illusions this year’s National tourney will be just as competitive. “It was a great thrill to win last year, but when you look at the sides who have qualified in 2016 it’s going to be even tougher. They all have plenty of experience and talent,” Ravindra reveals. Saint Kentigern College, Hamilton Boys’ High School, Nelson College, Otago Boys’ High School and HIBS have all reached the top six. The final place will be taken by a yet to be determined Canterbury school. HIBS reached the finals in April after defeating Wellington College in the capital decider. Ravindra was man of the match. He scored 112 off 111 balls and took 2 for 38 with the ball. Ravindra is optimistic HIBS will give a strong showing. “We have a lot of belief and confidence in each other. We have about half of last year’s team back and have played some great cricket so far,” he says. Players to watch for in the HIBS roster include Tyler Simpson, a Wellington U19 fast bowler, Matthew McComb who bowls tidy left-arm spin, big hitting rookie Jesse Taskoff, Caleb Hewson whose wicket forced the famous Super Over and Adam Webster another youngster with a bright future. Replacing 2015 skipper Troy Johnson has been tough. “He is irreplaceable really. His talent and leadership was huge. I guess everybody has chipped in a bit to try and compensate for his loss,” Ravindra admits. Ravindra himself has played 87 matches for HIBS. He has scored 2,464 runs at 34.7 making him the third highest run scorer in the history of the school. He is the leading wicket taker with 165 scalps at 10.6. The best next best is 124 wickets! Ravindra has been a regular Wellington age group representative and was selected for the New Zealand U19s. He still has another year at HIBS. “I am one of the more experienced players in the side now. I have enjoyed the challenge of stepping up,'” he says. What are his most memorable performances? In Year 10 I made 84 not out in the Wellington Gillette Cup Final at the Basin Reserve. We were in a bit of trouble when I came to the wicket and to make runs and help the team win was pretty satisfying. With the ball I got 7 for 10 against Wellington College in Year 9. The pitch helped a lot and I got four batsman out stumped, but it was still a good spell.” Ravindra is hoping for more memorable moments at the Nationals which are at Lincoln in December. Cameron McAuslan can’t wait for the National First XI cricket finals. They are still two terms away, but on a visit to Otago Boys’ High School last week College Sport Media discovered McAuslan’s enthusiasm is palpable. Otago Boys’ made the finals last year and finished a disappointing fifth. McAuslan, an opening batsman, made “starts but didn’t kick on.” This year Otago has 11 returns and McAuslan is confident of a better performance. “I think we learned a lot last year. We learned how to react to pressure better and play with more confidence. Sometimes as batsmen we got caught up in technique rather than scoring runs,” he says. Scoring runs wasn’t a problem for McAuslan last summer. He made his highest score of 156 in the Otago final against Waitaki Boys’ High School. Before that knock he had amassed 115 in senior league cricket for Taieri. “Tonga Park is my favourite ground to bat on. The pitch is usually batter friendly and once I got through Waitaki’s best bowler Nathan Smith batting wasn’t too difficult,” McAuslan recalls. McAuslan is one of five Otago players who play senior cricket. He has done so for two years and believes this is of great benefit. “Playing against men on tough pitches is great preparation for school competition. You learn greater discipline and the value of batting time. Sometimes I miss playing with my mates, but when the senior guys come back to the First XI it adds a lot,” McAuslan explains. McAuslan has played rep cricket at under-17 and 19 level for Otago as well as representing Hong Kong. How did that come about? “I was born in Hong Kong and moved here when I was eight years old. My Dad went back to Hong Kong to work and I played for the Hong Kong under-19’s. It was a great thrill to go to the Bradman museum and bat on his home ground,” McAuslan says. McAuslan’s sister Jamie has represented Hong Kong in netball. McAuslan’s rates Michael Clarke and Kane Williamson as his favourite cricketers. In the winter he plays Badminton, but he loves talking about summer. What is his favourite innings for the First XI? “I was in Year 10 batting at Number 10 against the Willows XI who had an ex Canterbury and Black Caps bowler. We needed about 40 to win when the last wicket fell. I made 27 and my partner and I worked it around a bit and got the win,” McAuslan recalls. In 2017 McAuslan hopes to study law or finance at Otago University. 31/5/2016 Phillips Blasts Himself Into HistoryIt’s the stuff dreams are made off, hitting six 6s in an over. Recently it happened for a very promising Kiwi teen. Glenn Phillips playing for the Marylebone Cricket Club against the Duke of Norfolk XI at Arundel struck 36 off one over, on his way to a double century. The 19-year-old finished with 201 not out off 123 balls, as the MCC scored 299 for five before declaring. It was the first time anyone had ever hit six 6s in an over at the ground,which sits alongside Arundel Castle in West Sussex in the south of England, and has hosted cricket matches since 1895. Phillips concedes getting into a hitting frenzy like he did was somewhat of a blur. “I don’t remember the name of the bowler, but he used to play first class cricket as an off spinner. He is now retired and playing for the enjoyment of the game. He was an off spinner with a fair few tricks up his sleeve from his years of experience. I hadn’t faced him before other than about four overs earlier. Up until that over I couldn’t hit him to save myself, but when you’re given an over before you retire, something clicks and the ball just starts hitting the middle every time. I don’t recall him saying much other than ‘well played’. There were a few bemused laughs exchanged though.” Phillips says the pitch was “very nice” for batting despite being on the “slow side.” The boundaries ranged in size from 60-70m and his most common area of hitting was between straight mid wicket and square leg. Which six was his favourite and why? “Probably the first one as it was the cleanest and the biggest of the lot. I didn’t have the idea of hitting every ball for six at that point so it was more a case of good timing. After the third one I decided to go for the six sixes and really just muscled the rest over the rope,” he says. Phillips is no one hit wonder. His form leading into the innings was strong. “At first I really struggled to adjust to English conditions. I found I wasn’t watching the ball closely enough. When I started watching the ball, things started to get better. I hit a patch of form leading up the 6 sixes innings. I scored a hundred for my club and three scores over 50,” Phillips explains. Phillips was born in East London, South Africa and moved to New Zealand when he was five years old. His family relocated for personal reasons and it proved to be a wise decision as Phillips become one of the leading age group cricketers in the country at Sacred Heart College, Auckland. He made the First XI in Year 9 and scored his debut century against St. Bede’s College a season later. His top score was 231 off 142 balls and he was the leading run-maker for the First XI for three consecutive seasons, the only person to ever achieve this feat at Sacred Heart. Phillips scored centuries in his last two matches for the College and subsequently earned selection for Auckland and the New Zealand U19′s. Phillips has already made a one-day century for Auckland. This year Phillips is involved with the MCC young cricketers program, a program Martin Crowe and Ross Taylor were also a part of. Phillips explains how the chance arose to take part. “New Zealand cricket have quite a strong relationship with the MCC and each year they send over one New Zealand player to play for the MCC at a 2nd XI level of cricket. This year Bob Bob Carter approached me and offered me the chance to play for the MCC and I of course said yes. It’s an amazing chance to learn and grow in an overseas environment both with cricket and with life.” Phillips identifies his dad ex Black Caps Dipak Patel, Andre Adams and Bryan Young and Auckland coaches Nick White and Mark O’Donnell as his leading mentors. St Hilda’s Collegiate won their first National Secondary Schools' Girls cricket title last week. Here is an account from the Otago Daily Times and some additional stats illustrating this fine achievement.
St Hilda’s Collegiate coach Neil Rosenburg reckons this year’s group is the best team he has coached in his 20 years at the school. And it is hard to argue with him after the team won the national girls secondary school title for the first time yesterday. It won all five matches and that was "pretty good to be fair", Rosenburg said. "Five from five was a great result. The girls have benefited enormously from Otago Cricket’s accelerator programme through the winter. "They have really just taken their game to another level. We’ve been to the finals five years in a row and we are really rapt that it was so comprehensive." Sparks player Bella James captained the side and, not only led superbly, but was the competition’s leading scorer with 191 runs at an average of 38.20. "[Bella] is a legend. She is in the Sparks and has just benefited from being with Katey [Martin], Suzie [Bates] and Morna [Nielsen] so much. "We are really proud of Bella." The Heffernan twins, Kate and Georgia, played starring roles as well. Kate was the second-leading scorer with 155 runs at 38.75 and the joint-leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at an average of six — yes, six. Georgia took six wickets at 8.17. They bowled in tandem at the top for St Hilda’s and proved a formidable duo. "They’ve been great. They bowl three overs each at the top and teams are finding themselves one or two down for not many. But we’ve got nine bowlers and at school girls cricket that is just unheard of." "[The Heffernans] bat three and four and they know each other’s game so intuitively. It is poetry in motion. They take two or three strides and they are down the wicket." St Hilda’s opened the tournament with wins against Palmerston North Girls’ High School and Tauranga Girls’ College on Friday. Olivia Gain scored 72 not out to help her side beat Cashmere High School by 83 runs on Saturday and, later in the day, Georgia Heffernan took five for 11 to help beat Epsom Girls’ Grammar School by 52 runs. Yesterday, St Hilda’s beat Tawa College by eight-wickets to seal the title. Kate Heffernan took four for 15 and James top-scored with 40. Final Standings
St. Hilda's Results (20 Over Matches) St. Hilda's: 102/8 (Isabella James 34, Grace Minnis 3/7) beat Palmerston North GHS: 68/8 (Sally Wenham 20, Eden Carson) by 34 runs St. Hilda's: 178/4 (Isabella James 83, Kate Heffernan 64) beat Tauranga GC: 99/2 (Nensi Patel 44, Georgia Heffernan 1/6) by 79 runs St. Hilda's: 158/2 (Olivia Gain 72) beat Cashmere High School: 75/7 (Isla McKenzie 17, Eden Carson 3/10) by 83 runs St. Hilda's: 123/7 (Georgia Heffernan 34, Gemma Adams 2/15) beat Epsom Girls Grammar: 71(Amie Hucker 40, Georgia Heffernan 5/11) by 52 runs Tawa College: 84/5 (Phoenix Williams 33, Kate Heffernan 4/15) lost to St. Hilda's: 85/2 (Isabella James 40) by 8 wickets. It was April 2010 when as a struggling university graduate in Wellington attempting to make a breakthrough in sports journalism, I received a surprising and life-changing email from Martin Crowe, the New Zealand cricket great. At this time Martin was head of programming for the Rugby Channel. He offered me a job, albeit a small one. I did not believe it; I thought it was hair loss spam! I cover drove the correspondence into the recycle bin without even opening it! Twenty minutes later I received a phone call from Keith Quinn. Keith was a former neighbour, a mentor, a second father. He asked me if I had received an email from Martin Crowe. Keith was horrified to hear I had deleted it! Martin offered to pay me $75 a week (under the table). I was to provide an email that documented brief information about each schools’ broadcast on the newly conceived Land Rover First XV programme. I did not even have the Rugby Channel !However on Keith’s recommendation I got the channel and took the task very seriously. Eventually I saved enough money to pay my way to the National Top Four in Rotorua and I stayed in a backpackers’ across the road from the Millennium Hotel where my Sky colleagues resided. In 2011 Martin offered me the chance to run a Sky website and social media page on College Rugby. Although I had no experience at all in this field, with Martin’s guidance and plenty of trial and error, I have managed to build an audience and make an enjoyable living for myself for at least six months of the year. Martin was a boss for whom I held enormous respect .He was intelligent, honest, passionate, generous, accessible and driven. He did not expect one hundred per cent, he expected one hundred and ten per cent. Martin resented slackers of any kind. His feedback was constant,constructive and fair. This is something that is often absent in the narcissistic business of television. Martin was receptive to new ideas. Towards the end of 2011 I wrote Martin a letter suggesting that I do a road tour of New Zealand to research the history of First XV rugby. I wanted to become a credible authority on the subject. Crowe said yes! I travelled from Whangarei to Gore. I documented feats of greatness in schoolboy rugby. I not only made some great friends, but also liberally spent on taxi chits and hotel mini bars. There is no chance I would get such a scheme past the pen-pushers now! The statistical pop ups you see on all rugby coverage is something that Martin and I dreamed up. They are hardly revolutionary; they are a subtle difference that make the coverage of the game a little more interesting. For two years and in a break with traditional, the National Top Four final, instead of being played at a neutral venue two days after the semi-finals, was played a week later at one school’s home ground. This fabulous idea was conceived by Martin. He believed the final should be a showpiece event played at a venue with relevance to the two competing schools. In 2013 Hamilton Boys’ High School hosted St. Kentigern College. At the same time Auckland was playing Waikato in the ITM Cup at Waikato Stadium. More people attended the schoolboy game than the professional game. Unfortunately the grand final idea was discarded by the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rugby Council. Martin built a great camaraderie with the commentary team. He shouted drinks and food and at the end of the season, presents. I have a signed copy of Sir John Graham’s book in my collection as proof. On one occasion I shouted Martin a ticket to a Roger Water performance of The Wall at Vector Arena. He loved Pink Floyd; he hated the Oxygen Seats. This might explain the pay rise I received not long after the gig. Occasionally Martin could be a hard and unpredictable taskmaster. One day I received an email in large font that simply said FIX IT! I had no idea what he was talking about. I made a phone call to find out and received a torrent of abuse about trivial infractions followed by a sudden dial tone. A week later I was offered an expenses paid trip to the Grammar vs King’s match in Auckland. I often watch the games on TV. In 2012 at the Top Four, Land Rover supplied a most extraordinary sponsor’s vehicle. It was an ostentatious jeep. With a press of a button the jeep parked itself! One night after a few ales, we discovered the GPS system could repeat almost anything we said in multiple languages. In good nature of course I was ridiculed in Italian, French, Spanish and maybe Hebrew. I thought it was hysterically funny so I tried a wisecrack myself. I asked the GPS to say ‘caught Tillerkaratne bowled Ranatunga’ the combination that foiled Martin when on 299. Bad mistake! You could hear a pin drop. Back at the hotel Martin stormed off to bed. The next morning he shouted me breakfast. Martin was very sensitive, but his heart was always in the right place. Martin it was a pleasure to bat on your wicket and share a small partnership with you. Martin you are an inspiration. Martin I raise my bat to you. Rest in Peace Boss. By Adam Julian Auckland Grammar School won the National Junior Secondary Schools cricket tournament last week. The tourney features the leading Year 9 and 10 cricketers in the country and is played over a round-robin format with two points rewarded for each win. There were five matches played and Grammar won four of them which was one better than St. Andrew’s College, Hutt International Boys’ School and Hamilton Boys’ High School. Matches are contested over 40 overs. Oliver White was the leading scorer at the tourney with 290 runs. Shaan Bhatia took 14 wickets Auckland Grammar Results Day One: Auckland GS: 171-8 (Ritapraj Gill, 41) beat St. Andrew’s College: 80 (Sanjeev Kumar Somnath, 4/20) by 91 runs. Day Two: Auckland GS: 51/1 (Oliver White,26*) beat New Plymouth Boys’ High School: 50 (Charles Cleal, 0-2) by nine wickets. Day Three: Auckland GS: 220/4 (Oliver White, 92) beat John McGlashan College: 140/9 (Kaylin Daji, 4/25) by 80 runs. Day Four: Auckland GS: 270/4 (Oliver White, 116, Flynn Dudson, 104) beat Hamilton BHS: 86 (Oliver White 3-15) by 184 runs. Day Five: Auckland GS: 126/8 (Ritapraj Gill, 49) lost to Hutt International BHS: 128/7 (Kaylin Daji, 2-22) by three wickets. Previous Winners 2016: Auckland Grammar School 2015: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2014: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2013: Otago Boys’ High School 2012: Otago Boys’ High School 2011: Christchurch Boys’ High School 2010: Auckland Grammar School 2009: Kings College 2008: Palmerston North Boys’ High School 2007: Hamilton Boys’ High School & Otago Boys’ High School 2006: Tauranga Boys’ College 2005: Christchurch Boys’ High School & Auckland Grammar School 2004: Christchurch Boys’ High School Hamilton Boys’ High School have won the Northern Districts Regional cricket final to reach the Nationals in Christchurch in December. Hamilton have won the National title three times and also represented the region in 2015. Hamilton played St. John’s College in the Northern Districts decider and posted 257-6 off 50 overs. Hamilton had several significant batting contributors. Cullen Aislabie top scored with 64, Max Gaskell made 50 and William Muldowney and Hamish Mellow made 30 each. In reply St. John’s was dismissed for a paltry 110. Riyan Perera took four wickets and Brayden Gaylor sneered three wickets. In beating Waitaki Boys' High School by 238 runs in the regional zone final of the NZ First XI Cup, Otago Boys’ High School qualified for the New Zealand Finals for the fifth time in the last six years. This will be played in December at Lincoln. Waitaki Boys’, captained by NZ Under 19 player Nathan Smith, won the toss and asked Otago Boys’ to bat first. What followed was a masterclass in batting from opening batsman and Otago Under 19 player Cameron McAuslan, who took complete control of the game in scoring 156 runs. Mixing power and timing with precision placement, McAuslan dominated all of the Waitaki bowlers in a record-establishing innings. Nathan Smith did however, not go home empty-handed picking up five wickets along the way. McAuslan was ably supported by Hunter Kindley (44), Max Chu (41) and Jarryd Taig (39). The team’s final total of 345 is believed to be a record for a zone final in Otago and Southland. Needing to score at a rate of almost seven an over was always going to be a very difficult task for Waitaki and so it proved. Wickets fell at regular intervals in the face of accurate bowling from Tim Horton (3/12) and Joe Turner (2/26). The bowlers were supported by excellent fielding and catching. Waitaki Boys’ were dismissed for 107. The day earlier Otago Boys’ beat Southland Boy’s High School for a finals berth, while Waitaki Boys’ beat John McGlashan College. John McGlashan College beat Southland Boys’ in the play-off for third and fourth placing. 6/4/2016 Nathan Smith – First Class In OtagoNathan Smith is only 17, but he has already played First class cricket. The captain of the Waiktai Boys’ High School First XI recently appeared for Otago in the Plunket Shield and preformed extremely well dismissing two Black Caps. Additionally he was New Zealand’s best preformed bowler at the World Under-19 Championships in India. He took seven wickets in five matches at an average of 26. When did you start playing Cricket? I started playing cricket when I was four years old. My older brother who is three years older than me played so I guess I looked up to him as a youngster and wanted to do the things he did. Tell us about your success at Waitaki BHS? Waitaki’s season was a very good one. We won our senior club 50-over competition for the first time since 1967/68. We also made the final of the First XI Cup in our region (Otago/ Southland) for the first time in a long time. This year has been very positive as we haven’t been strong in recent times, but this season we’ve really peaked. We have great juniors coming through so hopefully they can continue the success. My best batting for Waitaki is 168 not out in a junior Interschool against Timaru Boys’. For the First XI I haven’t managed a ton. My best score is 91 not out while my best bowling is 9-21 against Timaru Boys.’ Note: His remarkable haul included a double hat trick – four wickets in four balls . Tell us about your call up for Otago, was it a surprise? I got a phone call from the coach Nathan King a week before the penultimate round of the Plunket Shield. He said he wanted to involve me in the last two games of the season so I was 12th man for the Volts against the Central Stags in Dunedin on March 23rd. King then said I would travel to Whangarei and he would try his best to play me and fortunately the day of the game he gave me the nod just before warm ups. Tell us about your First Class Debut? My first class debut match, and so far only appearance for Otago, was against the Northern Knights at Cobham Oval, Whangarei. I got three runs with the bat which was disappointing, but took 3-80 off 27 overs with the ball. My first wicket was a full length ball that nipped back off the seam to trap Dean Brownlie (Black Cap) in front. My second wicket was Anton Devcich (Black Cap). I came round the wicket and he played across the line and he was hit in front as well. My third wicket was Daryl Mitchell, he inside edged a full ball onto his pad that ballooned up to gully for an easy catch. Why was New Zealand not very successful at the Under-19 World Cup? The conditions weren’t what we were used to. It was very spinner friendly and we struggled a lot to rotate the strike against good spin, this troubled us as we faced a lot of spin over there. We got better at playing spin as the World Cup progressed, but too little too late as they say. Who have been the most important supporters for your cricket? Family for sure, lots of support. Coaches for the technical and tactical support and My Waitaki Boys and North Otago Manager Hamish McMurdo for the help with the mental side of things, as cricket is a heavily impacted by your mind. Note: Alimuddin is the youngest player to ever play first class cricket. He made his debut for Rajasthan aged only 12 years 73 days in 1942. Black Cap Corey Anderson debuted at 16 for Canterbury, while Jeff Wilson was in his teens when he first played for Otago. |
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December 2022
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