Batting first it was again a case of the top order getting starts but not going on with it as 4 of the top 5 made between 13 and 21 and every time the innings started to build momentum a wicket would be lost. Chris Swanson batted with real guts and determination to make 60, but too many wickets were lost to put real pressure on Kings at the end of the innings. Tom Yarrall with 21 and Simon Morbey 14 not out helped St Paul’s scramble up to 209.
St Pauls’s got off to a flyer in the field with the opening bowlers bowling superbly and Yarrall taking 2 wickets in two balls along with another superb Swanson run out to have Kings floundering at 3 for 5. Enter Kings captain Mitchell Murray who had broken the Gillette Cup record with 171 earlier in the week who today struck a superb 134 not out. St Paul’s took one further wicket to captain Swanson, but with the sun finally reappearing the wicket became baked hard and St Paul’s found the going tough. St Pauls had a couple of chances later in the innings to put pressure on Kings but couldn’t take them as Kings won the game by 6 wickets.
This ended a wonderful experience for the team who had to scrap very hard for everything they got in often cold and miserable conditions. With Christchurch Boys winning and Kings College second, St Pauls tied with Hutt International on two wins each, but were placed 4th in New Zealand on run rate. Nelson College were 5th and Kings High 6th.
