Thursday 19 March 2026
Our First XI Cricket team played in the Auckland Premier Boys T20 final on Wednesday at Melville Park, deservedly defeating Mount Albert Grammar Schools First XI.
MAGS won the toss and elected to bat on a good surface with a lightning-fast outfield. They immediately looked to make the most of the powerplay in a bid to post an imposing total for King’s to chase. Malcolm Barrow (Year 13, School) took an outstanding catch to claim the first wicket; however, MAGS continued to attack and were extremely well placed at 83–3 in the 12th over.
King’s then bowled exceptionally well, particularly Hugo Bicklebank (Year 12, Averill) and Edward Mitchelson (Year 13, Marsden) at the death, and as a result MAGS were restricted to 123–5 from their allotted 20 overs.
King’s began the run chase with purpose, as Sammy Bamford (Year 13, Major) and Barney Foote (Year 13, Averill) kept pace with the required run rate and put on a meaningful 42-run opening partnership. Malcolm Barrow was then sent in to attack during the powerplay but was dismissed for 5. Aekkam Sarao (Year 13, Parnell) looked to push on and was in complete control until he was unfortunately run out backing up at the non-striker’s end, much to the delight of the vocal MAGS supporters. This seemed to give MAGS renewed hope and set up a tense final five overs.
Those hopes were effectively ended when Barney Foote struck a lofted cover drive for six, followed by another boundary. 15 runs coming from the 18th over put King’s firmly in the box seat. Excellent running between the wickets meant only two runs were needed from the final over. Lucca Stredder (Year 13, Parnell) struck a single from the first ball, allowing Foote to finish the chase in style with a quintessential cover drive for four to secure the Auckland T20 Schools title for 2026! Congratulations to our cricketers for this fantastic and hard-won achievement.
