Saturday 9 November 2024
Mount Albert Grammar School – 239/5 in 50 overs
King’s – 240/1 in 45.1 overs
King’s chose to bowl as the pitch seemed inadequately prepared but was made to rue the decision as Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) made batting look easy. The pace duo of Tim Hamilton and Finn Priddy (both Year 13, Marsden) made early inroads, with both MAGS openers ousted by the 8th over at 22/1. Malcolm Barrow’s (Year 11, School) left-arm off-spin was brought into the attack in the 9th over and he kept both the new batters in check. Priddy conceded 14 runs in the 10th over with Arya Suddala, the MAGS #4, finding the boundary on three occasions as they shifted gears to be 41/2 after ten overs. This was the beginning of a possibly match-winning century partnership between Suddala and Luis Kerrigan, the MAGS batting lynch-pin – a class act! With Barrow, Aekkam Sarao (Year 11, Parnell) and Tom Nelson (Year 12, Marsden) bowling for most of the 2nd powerplay, the hosts were kept in check and had to work hard for their runs. King’s skipper Morgan Tapper (Year 13, St John’s) responded to the threat by rotating this young trio of bowlers magnificently. Nelson conceded just one boundary in his two miserly spells. After a long absence from the team and an even longer absence from the bowling attack, Samar Singh (Year 13, Averill) was also used in the middle session and did not disappoint. With the hosts seemingly untroubled as the match was heading towards the 2nd drinks break, Hamilton was reintroduced in the 33rd over, a last throw of the dice to break this 95-run partnership that was threatening to wrest complete control of this match and put it out of reach. Hamilton conceded a boundary to Suddala off the 2nd ball, increasing the concern in the King’s camp. The pace-spearhead’s 4th ball was a perfect delivery and had to be played as it could have pinged top of off, but it swung away marginally after pitching and the thin edge was superbly claimed by keeper Jack Hernon (Year 13, Selwyn) to give King’s some respite when drinks was taken. Wise and motivating words from the coaches Dipak Patel and James Reyburn were imparted during drinks. The boys knew that they had to maintain discipline and thoughtfulness over the next 16 overs, or MAGS would go beyond 250 runs as the threat of Kerrigan was growing. He has been a consistent run-scorer in this competition, having come into this match with one century and four half-centuries to his name. He was on a quiet but controlled 40 (84) and looked in fine form to secure his 2nd century of the season. With the experienced all-rounder Jaskaran Sandhu for company, Kerrigan was getting ready to up the ante. The duo added another 24 runs in six overs, and the match moved into the final powerplay. Kerrigan shifted into top gear and cleared the ropes three times – sending shockwaves through the bowling attack. Hamilton re-entered the attack in the 43rd over, with Priddy coming in from the opposite end. This pair were handled easily by AGS and Westlake in the death overs, and with Kerrigan into the 80s, things were looking ominous. At 211/3 at the end of the 46th over, with Kerrigan on 91, the King’s pace duo faced a considerable challenge and a lot of responsibility rested on them. Barrow and Nelson had a few overs left, so Hamilton and Priddy had to step up or face the embarrassment of being removed from the attack. Hamilton’s 47th was decent, giving away four singles, but in his final ball, he got rid of the MAGS hero who was not content with singles and tried to cut away a good ball, caught safely by Barrow. A few spilled chances frustrated both Hamilton and Priddy, but they’ve become used to this and stuck to their task of damage limitation magnificently to restrict the home team to 239/5. Both teams would have been happy at the halfway stage as MAGS had a well-balanced and reputed attack, and King’s, seeing how the track was playing, felt they could manage an RRR of just under five per over.
Tapper was promoted to open the batting with Francis Kirkland (Year 13, Selwyn) instead of Nelson, the usual opener. Tapper was off the mark with a good boundary off the 4th ball. Kirkland punished the other opener for 18 coruscating runs in the 2nd over, which prompted an immediate change in the bowling attack with the pacy Jaskaran Sandhu being introduced in the powerplay to partner the experienced and impressive Yann Rowe. These two kept both the openers in check, with Kirkland curbing his natural instincts and looking at rotating the strike. The damage of the 2nd over was evident as the 50 came up at the end of the 10th over, despite Rowe and Sandhu keeping things quiet. Drinks were taken at 79/0 and MAGS were banking on their talented spin attack to make inroads in the second session. The next few overs saw the strike change regularly, with Tapper and Kirkland looking very comfortable against the spinners. Boundaries were being picked up whenever on offer and the partnership prospered to beyond a century in the 21st over. The previously out-of-form Tapper was now growing in confidence and was dismissed off the final ball of the 29th over for a gratifying innings in his penultimate match, his 36th in the maroon strip, ending a game-defining 143-run partnership. This was his best innings in the competition this year and provided his team with the foundation to push for a rare victory on MAGS soil. Nelson joined Kirkland at the start of the 30th and saw the south-paw crunch another ball over the boundary for the maximum. Ditto the 31st over. At second drinks, the score was 180/1, with Kirkland reaching another brilliant century to add to the one against AGS, three weeks earlier. The only hope for MAGS was a flurry of wickets and King’s have been in such situations many times this year. Will this happen again? Kirkland and Nelson did not think so. They rotated the strike continuously and found the boundary that was always on offer, bringing King’s a highly satisfying victory and a long overdue one at fortress MAGS – the previous one being in March 2021.
It was a batting masterclass with above-average bowling, but I must mention the fielding. Most of the fielding was of a high standard on a fast and bumpy outfield. Apart from a few shelled chances, the ground fielding led by Varnan Pasupati (Year 12, Greenbank), who was awarded his baggy before the start of play, Tom Boucher (Year 12, Greenbank) and Sam Bamford (Year 11, Major) kept MAGS to a sub-250 score.
On a personal note, as I (Mahendra Naidoo) sign off as Manager after 13 years, with one match remaining, this win over MAGS allows me to leave with a merry heart and something I will happily reflect on in future years.
King’s win by 9 wickets
Batting:
| M Tapper | 58 | K Kirkland | 119* |
| T Nelson | 48* |
DNB: S Singh, V Pasupati, T Boucher, J Hernon, S Bamford, M Barrow, A Sarao, T Hamilton, F Priddy
Bowling:
| T Hamilton | 10-2-38-3 | F Priddy | 9-1-58-2 |
| M Barrow | 8-0-28-0 | A Sarao | 10-1-42-0 |
| T Nelson | 6-1-15-0 | M Tapper | 1-0-9-0 |
| S Singh | 6-0-33-0 |