Cricket Results 21 March

Traditional Fixture v Tauranga Boys College 14 and 15 March

Day 1

On the first day of the two-day exchange, the Westlake 1^st XI played a 45 over game against Tauranga Boys College at Waipuna Park in Tauranga. Westlake won the toss and chose to bat first. They found themselves in trouble early on, losing Quinn Sunde in the 2nd over. However, Jock McKenzie knuckled down and scored a hard-fought 60 off 118 balls, demonstrating great patience and consistency. Westlake laboured to 161/7 after their 45 overs, assisted by a quick fire 23 from Sam Collinson. Westlake seemed to have the game all but wrapped up when the opposition found themselves 86-6 in the 26th over, largely due to some great bowling from Luke Ranson and Ryan Quinn. However, a 51 run 7th wicket partnership took the hosts to 137-7 after 39 overs. The game was well in the balance at this point, but the boys just pulled through to seal a 6 run win. Ryan Quinn finished with figures of 3 for 11 and Luke Ranson 3 for 20.

Day 2

On day two the students returned to Tauranga Boys College for a 25 over match, the first cricket game at their school for one and a half years due to their turf being re-laid. Ryan Quinn won the toss and chose to bat first for the second day in a row. It proved to be the right decision as the openers put on a partnership of 55 in 8.4 overs. Jock continued his fine form, scoring 31 off 28 balls. However, Tauranga fought back, restricting Westlake to 95-4 in the 15th over. At the end, Westlake came back with Campbell Knowles and Sam Collinson batting superbly, scoring 30 runs each and guiding Westlake to a total of 169-6. 170 was always going to be a tough ask and Tauranga never got going, losing regular wickets throughout, ending up on a total of 138-9 after their allotted 25 overs. All of the bowlers contributed, with Ryan Quinn, Matthew Thornton and Jock McKenzie all getting 2 wickets each.

1^st XI v Rosmini T20

In high spirits after a successful exchange, Westlake travelled to face local rivals Rosmini College in a T20. Winning the toss and batting first, Westlake scored a commanding 201/8 after their 20 overs. The short boundaries certainly helped the cause, not to take away from the performances by our batsmen. Jock McKenzie scored 40 off 31 balls, Ryan Schierhout let loose with a 14 ball 39 and Campbell Knowles scored an outstanding 58 off just 22 balls. Dispatching the Rosmini bowlers to all parts of the ground, Campbell’s knock included a whopping 7 sixes and 2 fours and he was instrumental in getting Westlake past the 200 mark.

Despite a wicket as early as the 5th ball of the innings, Rosmini took control of the game thanks to some class batting from their 2 and 3. They amassed a partnership of 83 and at 89-1 in the 10th over, Rosmini looked favourites for the win. However, two quick wickets from Ryan Schierhout and Jordan Thornton meant the game was firmly in the balance. When Jordan snapped 2 wickets in 2 balls, the scales tipped in Westlake’s favour and the remaining 85 runs seemed a tough ask for Rosmini with only 7 overs left. Exceptional death bowling once again by Luke Ranson prevented Rosmini from scoring the remaining runs and Westlake won by 21 runs. Credit must be given to Luke Ranson who ended up on 3-28 after his 4 overs and to Jordan Thornton for his 3-20 off 3 overs. 

1^st XI v Rosmini One-Day Match

Westlake returned to Rosmini for the second time in 3 days, this time for a one day match. Rosmini won the toss and chose to bowl on a slow track. Westlake got off to a relatively conservative start, reaching 123-4 in the 38th over. Jock McKenzie really dug deep and anchored the innings, scoring 55 off a hard-fought 137 balls. Reuben Fitzgerald was able to score a quick-fire 36 off 26 balls, hitting 3 sixes in the process, allowing Westlake to score a very competitive 196/9 off their allotted 50 overs.

Westlake got off to a very good start with the ball, limiting Rosmini to 28-2 in the 12th over. However, Rosmini was able to claw their way back into the contest and at 109-4 in the 35th over, the game was very much in the balance. No one could have predicted what would follow. Rosmini capitulated to 120 all out, losing their last 6 wickets for a mere 11 runs. The collapse was spear-headed by Jock McKenzie who took an incredible 4 wickets for 9 runs in only just under 6 overs. He was well supported by Ryan Schierhout, who finished off with a very impressive 2-16 in his 10 overs. The 76 run win means that Westlake will be taking on Rosmini (yet again!) in the semi-final which will be played at Westlake on Saturday March 25^th. Let’s hope the boys can take this momentum into this very crucial stage in the context of their season.

2^nd XI v Rosmini 2^nd XI

The 2^nd XI sent Rosmini in to bat on the no1 oval. Rosmini lost wickets at regular intervals to be 104 all out. Nick Burt (3-19) and Sam Reidy (3-23) inflicted the most damage, with Ryan Zent having an excellent day behind the stumps, with two catches and a stumping. Westlake were ruthless in reply, as batsmen Josh Hamilton (23) and Jarrad Harford (44 not out) picked off the runs to win the match in the 24^th over, to give Westlake a win by 8 wickets.

3^rd XI v Auckland Grammar School 2^nd XI

WBHS won the toss and elected to bat. Westlake struggled to 101 all out in the 32^nd over. Andrew Wickens top-scored with 26 and hit his first ever 6! Auckland Grammar School 2^nd XI chased the total down without the loss of a wicket to give Westlake a disappointing 10 wicket loss.

 Traditional Fixture Colts 1 v Tauranga Boys College

Day 1

Colts 1 batted first in their first game against Tauranga Boys College. BJ Jacobs led the way with an attacking 46 and he was well supported by Travis Gower and Jesse Hohaia who both scored 22. The score of 158 hardly seemed enough but an outstanding bowling and fielding effort saw Colts 1 dismiss Tauranga Boys for 102, winning by 56 runs. Max Harbottle wove a web around the Tauranga Boys batsmen, securing 3/18 and he was well supported by Travis Gower who took 2/22. The highlight of the game was an outstanding catch by Regan Diver fielding close to the bat.

Day 2

Game 2 was a T20 with Tauranga Boys College batting first and reaching 105/6 at the end of their 20 overs. Once again Travis Gower was successful with 2/20. Captain Tom Pleciak led the chase with a fine 48 and was well supported by BJ Jacobs with 28. The game was won by 6 wickets. All in all, a very good two days of cricket for the Colts with everyone contributing well.

Colts 1 v Auckland Grammar School Colts Blue

On the back of their two good midweek wins in Tauranga, Colts 1 entered the round 6 game against Auckland Grammar School full of confidence. Tom Pleciak and Ollie Chambers once again got the team off to a great start putting on 70 for the first wicket. That was to be the only substantial partnership of the innings, which finished at a disappointing 143/7. Tom’s great run of form continued before he was run out for 49. Defending such a small total was always going to be difficult and so it proved, with Auckland Grammar batting very well and winning the game with only 3 wickets down and plenty of overs left.

Colts 2 v St Kentigern College Colts 2

In a game which ebbed and flowed from 12.30 to 6.30pm, Colts 2 had a thrilling 3 run win over St Kentigern’ s Colts 2. Batting first, Colts 2 were soon in trouble at 3 for 12. A partnership of 44 saw them slowly edge out of the mire, only to slide back into it at 5/58 when opener Taahier Wentzel was dismissed for 37. A number of steady partnerships saw the score climb towards the 100 mark. With some hard work by the tail end, Westlake finished on 153/9, thanks to a 34* by Eddy Chambers, including a four off the last ball of the 45^th over. The opening bowlers bowled a good line and length and contained the St Kentigern openers. A fine spell of bowling from Captain Rory Price, of 5/14 off 9 overs, including three wicket maidens, reduced St Kentigern to 107/8 in the 37^th over. A late surge by the St Kentigern tail saw them edge towards victory and at 150/9 at the end of the 43^rd over, they were favourites. When Sa’eed Moerat, playing his first game for Westlake took his third catch, giving Jason Kay 3 for 27, the relief for players, parents and coach was tangible.

Colts 3 had a bye

Colts 4 v Long Bay Colts

Long Bay won the toss and elected to bat, making 169 runs in their 40 overs. Colts 4 produced some good bowling, with Nathan Holloway taking 4/20 off 8 overs, Harry Carter, 2/18 off 8 overs, and Sherav Ramphal, 2/21 off 6 overs.  Opening batsmen Harry Carter (49) and Dilshan Perera (20) got the team off to a solid start before Para Balaraman smashed his way to 38 runs, putting Colts 4 in a very strong position. However, Colts 4 then suffered a spectacular collapse, losing 6 wickets in quick succession and leaving Long Bay on the brink of victory. With Colts 4 needing 30 runs with only 1 wicket in hand, David Harrison and Seb Marsh batted incredibly well, inching closer to and eventually equalling the 169 target. Seb then hit a brilliant 4 runs to lead Colts 4 to a one wicket victory. Overall the game demonstrated a fantastic team effort and a tremendous fight back.

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