The best of the best in Otago secondary schools cricket were battling it out over the long weekend.
Both the Gillette Cup and McCullum Cup cricket tournaments were held in Dunedin.
St Kevin’s College and Waitaki Boys’ High School both sent their first and second XIs to compete.
The Gillette Cup featured Otago’s best 1st XIs and served as a qualifier for the national tournament.
On Saturday, a 50-over knockout round was played, the losing teams then moving on to play each other in T20 matches.
Both the Waitaki Boys’ and St Kevin’s first XIs suffered losses in their opening fixtures to Wakatipu High School and King’s High School respectively.
Waitaki Boys’ drew a bye in the first round on Sunday, while St Kevin’s beat Taieri College.
The two sides then played each other in the second round that day.
St Kevin’s claimed an emphatic 10-wicket win over its cross-town rival after bowling the opposition out for just 37.
Monday’s matches were called off due to rain.
St Kevin’s College viceprincipal Craig Smith said the tournament was a great experience for all their players.
‘‘It was great getting the boys playing some cricket against secondary school students as well.’’
The top performances from St Kevin’s first XI were Jesse Valpy’s unbeaten 77 against Taieri College, as well as the bowling performance of Ben Kay (four for seven) and Liam Direen (three for five) against Waitaki Boys’.
For Waitaki Boys’ first XI, Lochie Mavor returned impressive figures of three for 40 against Wakatipu.
Despite the losses, Waitaki Boys’ coach Jaden Dowling said the team was mixing well and it learned plenty over the weekend.
‘‘I truly believe a team learns a lot from a loss like [the one we had against St Kevin’s] and we are all in good spirits and buzzing for a rematch.’’
In the McCullum Cup, St Kevin’s second XI won three of its four matches. Its only loss came at the hands of eventual champion Otago Boys’ High School.
Hunter Growcott scored an impressive 76 not out in a win over Logan Park High School.
Waitaki Boys’ second XI was winless in its four matches.
