Junior Cricket Report
Thursday, 12th March 2026 at 12:08pm
GBHS Junior Cricket / Rounds 1-4
... "The game then turned like a Shane Warne leg break." - Alain Baillie (Coach).
GBHS Junior Cricket boys are celebrating a sudden victory against Macleans College, which the boys and their supporters (including a proud Principal) will remember for a long time.
Round 1 GBHS 8/96 lost to Rutherford College 8/145 Our first game of the year at Rutherford College saw 7 boys debut for GBHS. We bowled first. Mac Kalksma and Kritesh Navaneethan led the way with 3 wickets each. Kavi Rohit and Oscar Raos also took 1 wickets. In reply our inexperienced batters found the Rutherford bowlers a bit too steady. Kritesh 14 and Nathan Hawkins 11 were our main contributors.
Round 2 GBHS 5/136 defeated Liston College 6/101 We were sent in to bat on a slow outfield and after losing an early wicket, Kritesh Navaneethan (21) and new captain Nathan Baillie (25) combined for an 80 run partnership. A steady 10 from Max Doig, and a flow of extras from the Liston bowlers kept the score ticking, seeing us reach 5/136 off our 20 overs. A great team bowling performance kept the pressure on the Liston batters. Mac Kalksma 3 overs 1/13, Kavi Rohit 3 overs 1/10, Creig Fernando 2 overs 1/5, Nathan Hawkins 2 overs 1/13 and Kritesh 2.1 overs 1/6 all took wickets and kept the run rate down. Josh Taylor roamed the outfield cutting off extra runs and was rewarded with a run-out as we kept Liston to 6/101 to record our first win of the year.
Round 3 GBHS 8/103 lost to Avondale College 4/125 We chose to bowl on a much faster outfield this week. One aim of this team is to give everyone a go, and that was achieved with 11 boys getting a bowl. We did well to restrict Avondale to 125. Wickets shared between Kritesh Navaneethan 3 overs 2/10, Max Doig, 2 overs 1/12 and Oscar Raos 2 overs 1/11. Kritesh (18) and Nathan Baillie (21) again got us off to a good start with a 50-run opening stand. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a way to get the rest of the runs, but several of the boys batted for longer than they had before, which will stand them in good stead for the future.
Round 4 GBHS 6/123 defeated Macleans College 109 We chose to bat. Nathan Baillie made 40 and Nathan Hawkins 11 as they added 54 for the second wicket. We lost a couple quickly, but Nathan H then combined with Ilyas Naushad (6) to add 26 critical runs late in our innings. In reply, despite Kavi Rohit (2 overs 1/7) taking an early wicket, Macleans cruised to 1/91 off 12 overs. The game then turned like a Shane Warne leg break as legspinners Kritesh Navaneethan (3.5 overs, 6/10) and Nathan Baillie (3 overs, 3/8) combined to take 9/18 to tear the Macleans batting order to shreds. All 9 wickets were out to catches, with Nangial Khan taking 3, Nathan B 2, and Kritesh, Vedan Rohit, Max Doig and Rafay Zuberi one each. A game that looked lost was suddenly a victory that the boys and their supporters (including a proud Principal) will remember for a long time.
Well done boys' for keeping cool, bowling well and holding those catches under pressure!
