Cricketers make final of Northern Districts Gillette Cup qualifiers

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The tournament consisted of two pools, with the top two teams playing off in the final to represent the Northern Districts region at this year's Gillette Cup.

Teams that qualified for this years’ tournament were St John's College Hamilton, Tauranga Boys' College (TBC), Hamilton Boys’ High School (HBHS), Whangarei Boys' High School, Kamo High School, Aquinas College, St Peter's Cambridge, and our very own St Paul's Collegiate School 1st XI. This year saw the Gillette Cup qualifier move down to Smallbone Park in Rotorua.

Gillette Cup pool play - St Paul's Lodge Real Estate 1st XI vs St Peter's Cambridge match report.

After winning the toss and batting first, Ollie O'Meeghan (73) and Kuwyn Price (79) got us off to a great start. We lost a few quick wickets in the middle, but with the help of David Hancock (18) and Sam Lints (38), were able to get our innings back on track to score 275/9 off our 45 overs. In reply, St Peter's struggled early on with the power and strength of Shivam Achary and Campbell Robb. In the middle, our spin twins Declan O'Sullivan 3/38 and George Ott taking 2/13, turned the match in our favour. St Paul's never allowed St Peter's to build any partnerships, dismissing St Peter’s for 120 in 31 overs. A great start to the tournament. St Paul's Lodge Real Estate 1st XI 2019 - Won by 155 runs.

Gillette Cup pool play - St Paul's Lodge Real Estate 1st XI vs Aquinas College match report.

Aquinas College won the toss and elected to bowl. We were put under pressure from the beginning. Three batsmen were able to counter this pressure with Kuwyn Price top scoring with 84. Jack Sturm (34), and Cooper Robinson (25) were also able to contribute to our total of 193/10. Aquinas College started off their innings strong, putting our bowlers under pressure. Aquinas College was 120/3 before we were able to pull things back. We were able to take 7 wickets for only 24 runs. We ended up winning the match by 49 runs. It was a great fight back to stay in the game. St Paul's Lodge Real Estate 1st XI 2019 - Won by 49 runs.

Gillette Cup pool play - St Paul's Lodge Real Estate 1st XI vs Kamo High School match report.

Kamo High 1st XI won the toss and elected to bowl. We started well with the bat with David Hancock (22) and Ollie O'Meeghan (35). Conditions made it tough to score at a quick rate. Sam Lints (73) was able to lift the run rate, hitting eight fours, and one six. Jack Sturm (26) was able to contribute in the middle, helping the score move forward. However, we lost quick wickets, losing Cooper Robinson, Kuwyn Price, Declan O'Sullivan without troubling the scorers. We finished our innings with 213 in the bank. In reply, Kamo High School never got anything going losing wickets at regular intervals. Again our spin twins, George Ott (3/34) and Declan O'Sullivan (3/22), picked up the majority of our wickets knocking Kamo High School over for 116. Winning the match by 97 runs.

Day three of the Northern Districts Gillette Cup finals saw the two unbeaten sides of Pool A, Hamilton Boys' and Tauranga Boys', play a tense contest to see who would progress to the final, with the Hamiltonians coming out on top.

St Paul's now await Hamilton Boys' in the final after they also progressed through their pool undefeated.

Unfortunately, the final day had been washed-out. The final will now be held on a date as agreed by all, which is likely to be at the start of next season.

Top performers throughout the tournament were:

With the bat, Oliver O'Meeghan scored 114, at an average of 38, with a strike rate of 76.

With the ball, George Ott took 8 wickets, at an average of 10.75, with a strike rate of 21.75.