The Columba College First XI Cricket team competed in the Gillete Venus Bates Cup Cricket Challenge across the weekend, vying for a top finish to gain entry into the National Championships in Christchurch later this year. The teams were lucky enough to play games on the pristine grounds of the Otago University Oval, and some great cricket was on display!

On Sunday 24th & Monday 25th March, the Gillette Venus Bates Cup was held at the University Oval - an international cricket ground in Dunedin. The Otago secondary schools competing in the Cup Challenge were Columba College, St. Hilda’s Collegiate, Wakatipu High School, Otago Girls High School, and Waitaki Girls High School, with teams playing four T20 games over two days. The winning team would qualify for the national championship held in Lincoln, Christchurch, in December. So there was certainly a lot to play for!

Columba’s first game was against Wakatipu High School, and having lost the toss, the team was put into bat scoring 128 runs for 8 wickets. An impressive batting display by Isla scoring 69 runs not out, unfortunately was not enough for the Columba team to win the game, with Wakatipu High scoring 129 for 1. An impressive response by the Wakatipu crew!

Game two placed the Columba team up against a very strong St. Hilda’s team. The Columba top-order batters Isla and Eliana, put on a tidy and hard-fought partnership of 68 runs, and helped to set a target of 130 runs with the loss of only 3 wickets. St. Hilda’s came out strong from the break in play however, and batted amazingly, scoring a total of 131 runs for the loss of only 1 wicket to take the match off Columba.

The positive Columba spirit continued however, and day two saw the team play against Otago Girls High School. In this game the girls showed great resilience when facing a big loss.

In the last game for Columba, we finally won the toss and had a convincing win over Waitaki Girls who scored 78 all out. The Columba batters of Lexie and Emmi chased down that total with ease.

Well done Columba 1st XI cricket for your display of positivity and team spirit. The Columba First XI is a young team with some members only having played cricket for the first time this season, so a great display of the team unity and commitment. Overall the team has a lot of potential, and we look forward to following the progress of this great group of players over the seasons ahead!