First XI Cricket: Kirkland Debut Century in Vain as AGS Ace Tough Chase in the Final Over

Saturday 19 October 2024

King’s – 256/8 after 50 overs
Auckland Grammar – 260/6 after 49.1 overs

AGS won the toss and chose to bowl. King’s would have done the same but still felt that it was a good toss to lose. Batting first would provide a decent opportunity to test their strongest batting line-up this season – based on the return of Samar Singh (Year 13, Averill) after a lengthy absence from the competition and the long-awaited debut of south-paw Francis Kirkland (Year 13, Selwyn), who was champing at the bit, having had to sit on the sidelines for seven matches, being ‘new to school’. At first drinks, King’s were cruising at 0/76, with Kirkland getting to a brilliant half-century in the 17th over and his partner, the experienced opener Thomas Nelson (Year 12, Marsden), unbeaten on 18 (48). The whole of King’s would have been pinching themselves when, at second drinks, both batters were still unbeaten at 0/163, Kirkland 90 (102) and Nelson 63 (102). This was unchartered territory. A glut of runs and overs in the bag, let alone a slew of batting to come – 300 was beckoning! Nelson was picking up his strike rate while looking resolute in defence. He holed out in search of quick runs in the 38th over, having reached his highest score of 81 (111) in this competition in his 13th match, having made his debut in 2023. This was his best innings for King’s, much better than his big century against a weak Shore School (Quad) bowling attack early this year. AGS’s four-pronged pace attack and duo of attacking spinners was a true test of his ability and he stood tall. Kirkland reached a memorable debut century in the next over and the celebration in the dugout was befitting this milestone. At 1/195 in the 38th over, the carnage of the 39th over was comedic, to say the least. It certainly was bizarre and ended any hope of breaching the 300-run barrier. Three run-outs and the King’s innings ground to a momentary halt at 4/196 – Singh, Jack Hernon (Year 13, Selwyn) and Kirkland all departed in similar fashion. Hernon and Malcolm Barrow (Year 11, School) were promoted up the order to take advantage of the superb platform laid by the openers, but the plan backfired, with Barrow being the fifth wicket to fall in the space of 13 balls as the King’s innings of 0/193 became 5/196. A strong batting lineup meant that Morgan Tapper (Year 13, St John’s), Varnan Pasupati (Year 12, Greenbank), Aekkam Sarao (Year 11, Averill) and Tom Boucher (Year 12, Greenbank) could still combine to post a challenging target. Pasupati was the 4th runout casualty, and with Tapper departing two overs earlier, the 250-run target proved tricky. After Sarao’s dismissal in the 46th over (7/225), Tim Hamilton (Year 13, Marsden) joined Boucher and both batted sensibly to take King’s to 256 runs in 50 overs.

AGS posted 269 runs batting first against St Kentigern College earlier this season, but could they chase a massive target? At 1/12 in the 7th over, courtesy of a tight opening spell from Hamilton and Finn Priddy (Year 13, Marsden), King’s were in control and it seemed like AGS was losing their way as the RRR of 5.1 became 5.7 at this point. AGS skipper Tom Jones joined the compact left-hander Pawan Kharel and slowly rebuilt the innings without panic. The mini-turning point came in the 10th over, which gave a glimpse of what was to come as these two talented and experienced batters milked eight runs of a Barrow over by running four twos, all off the bat of the skipper. They tested the field and knew they could run their way out of trouble, which they did by running twos and threes at will. The King’s fielders were left floundering, errors crept in and AGS took advantage. They went to drinks at 1/57 and had an RRR of 6.06. At the halfway stage, they were still together at 1/106 (RRR 6.04), and Kharel shifted gears. Jones was run out in the 29th over for 52 glorious runs and King’s were buoyed by this dismissal. The AGS middle order backed themselves to support Kharel and felt that victory would be theirs as long as he was in the middle. At the 40th over, AGS had reached 3/194, needing 61 for victory. Both teams sensed victory, and this match went down to the wire. AGS needed just six runs per over to give themselves a strong chance for the sprint finish. They targeted the 49th over and pilfered 14 runs, leaving minimal risk for the cruise home and a well-deserved victory with five balls to spare. Kharel finished unbeaten on 114 (134), a great exhibition of calm, measured, sensible batting.

Debut: F Kirkland

King’s lose by four wickets.

Batting: 

Bowling: