Wellington College have gone unbeaten through five matches to earn themselves the title of Junior Secondary Boys’ champions for 2024.
Wellington College proved themselves as the form team all week, led by batter Zac Ismail-Sanders and the pace bowling duo of Xavier James and Yusuf Quazi.
Ismail-Sanders finished as fourth highest tournament run scorer with 141 runs, while Quazi (11 wickets) and James (10 wickets) and finished as second and third top wicket-takers respectively.
A pivotal round three match up saw the two unbeaten teams - Wellington College and Hamilton Boys’ High School – come head-to-head, with the winner holding pole position heading into the final two rounds.
The game turned out to be one to remember – the Wellingtonians escaping with a famous one-wicket victory thanks to some gutsy lower-order contributions with the bat.
Hamilton Boys’ High School put together an impressive campaign, their only loss coming to eventual winners Wellington.
The HBHS trio of Aditya Gulla (218 runs), Chris Pradeep (172 runs), and Jai Poonia (153 runs) were simply dominant with the bat, finishing as first, second and third top run-scorers for the tournament.
Gulla was also awarded tournament MVP for his standout efforts with the bat, and a valuable seven wickets to boot.
HBHS spin-bowler Arjun Taneja also enjoyed a memorable tournament – claiming a tournament-leading 13 wickets including two five-wicket hauls.
Auckland Grammar School and Christchurch Boys’ High School met in a final round thriller, AGS coming up trumps and finishing in third place.
AGS proved their talent throughout the tournament, picking up big victories over Whanganui, Waitaki and CBHS.
Christchurch Boys’ also showed their wares, claiming two big victories, and pushing Auckland Grammar right to the wire.
Whanganui Collegiate School finished in fifth place and could be considered unlucky to fall short in two agonisingly close matches against AGS and CBHS.
Waitaki Boys’ High School performed bravely in their first ever Junior Secondary Boys appearance, and impressed all teams with their attitude and willingness to learn over the week.
New Zealand Cricket would like to thank all players, parents and coaches for an outstanding week of cricket.
NZC also extend a big thank you to all tournament officials, grounds staff and Manawatu Cricket Association for providing a first-class experience for the players.
TOURNAMENT AWARDS:
Winners: Wellington College
Runners Up: Hamilton Boys’ High School
Junior Secondary Boys’ MVP: Aditya Gulla (Hamilton Boys’ High School)
Spirit of Cricket Award: Waitaki Boys’ High School
Spirit of Cricket Award adjudged by tournament umpire group for on & off-field standards.
