Robinson’s match-winning half-century steers King’s to victory

For the second successive Saturday, Nick Tapper was involved in a match-winning partnership but unlike last week when he came in with the score on 54/3 in the 9^th over, this time King’s was in a spot of bother at 17/3 in the 6^th over. Fortunately for King’s, waiting out in the middle to lead the young battler into the trenches was the seasoned veteran Nathan Robinson who was making his final appearance in the maroon strip of the team that he has so faithfully represented over four years.

The MAGS opening attack was in so much control that they each bowled 4 overs on the trot and King’s saw them off with the score at 25/3 after 8 overs – 84 runs from victory and a faltering run rate that needed emergency intervention. Especially with the best bowlers in opposition attack having not yet been deployed. The next two overs produced 7 runs and the RRR now jumped to 7.7 per over. The MAGS talisman and NZ U19 leg-spinner Ashok conceded 8 runs in his 2^nd over which meant that Robinson and Tapper were confident in dealing with the threat that he posed.

The 11^th over produced 8 runs and King’s seemed to be working on a plan. Then followed a 9 run over and the worm had changed course with purpose. After watching Tapper sweep the leg-spinner in the previous over Robinson felt he needed to smash him out of the attack which he did with clinical execution in the 13^th over which included two sixes and the RRR now dropped to 6.3 RPO. After the 15^th over King’s needed 6 RPO and six balls later the match had completely turned on its head as Robinson and Tapper plundered 20 runs from the opposition’s main paceman and Auckland U19 rep.

Initially Tapper creamed him for two successive boundaries, then took a single and Robinson went one better with a six and a four and King’s had reached a relatively safe 99/3 with 4 over remaining. Tapper gave his wicket away in the next over but Robinson rose above the turmoil of a mini-collapse and ensured that he ‘carried his bat’ to the end bringing victory in the 18^th over, 9 balls to spare. Robinson finished on 58 not out and his innings of mature calm will be talked about and referred to in the change room for the next two years at least as it provided a template for victory which did not look likely in the first half of the innings.

When Tom Paranthoiene won the toss and chose to bowl the expectation was that the visitors would struggle on the newly laid, fast-paced wicket but they batted with guile, smarts and a bit of luck after the initial damage caused by Louis Anderson and Muhammad Abbas. After leaking 9 runs in his first over Seb Macdonald came back rather well in his next two overs and built up some pressure. Tapper at the other end conceded three runs in his first two overs to keep MAGS in check.

Patrick Maher produced a stunning individual bit of magic when he took a one-handed catch off his own bowling to remove the opening batsmen for a well compiled 39 runs at almost run-a-ball just when he was beginning to take full control of proceedings. This was one of the turning points in this match as the opener and Ashok were looking to build a match-winning partnership. At 63/4 and with only Ashok left to do battle it seemed that MAGS would struggle to breach the 90-run mark.

The new batsman who joined Ashok was given a torrid reception but slowly showed his mental toughness as he stood by his skipper and together they produced a worrying partnership of 42 runs. Ashok produced a glittering array of strokes, some of them textbook and a few unorthodox reverse sweeps to nullify the normally dangerous wicket-taking ability of Toby Irvine.

The normally parsimonious Irvine was plundered for 14 runs in the 16^th over and for the first time in this competition did not complete his full quota. MAGS would have been pleased with their total of 108 runs as their much vaunted, varied attack dismissed King’s for a mere 69 runs two weeks earlier. The difference was that Robinson was on sentry duty and he ensured that there was not going to be a significant batting collapse this time.

Overall it was a complete team effort by King’s to secure the Auckland Secondary Schools T-20 trophy for the second year in succession and although the occasion of playing at home in front of many supporters had it pressures, which the newer members of the team struggled to deal with initially, the more experienced ones stood firm, fielded with intensity and ensured that King’s finished off the year with well-deserved success thereby avenging their only loss this season.  

King’s win by 3 wickets.