"If Stalin had learned to play cricket, the world might be a better place right now."

Richard Downey (1881-1953, British Bishop)

Further evidence as to the civilising nature of the game of cricket was seen this year as Cambridge High School joined the ranks of the largest co-ed cricket schools in the Waikato, fielding three senior boys' teams, two junior boys' teams and one girls' team. The boys' 1st XI team reached the Northern Districts quarter finals of the Gillette Cup, whilst the junior team of year 9 and 10 boys reached the Northern Districts semi-finals of their equivalent competition.

1st XI
 

There was a different look to the team from the end of last season. Old timers Keenan Adlam, Sean Keeley and Jeremy Clayton departed the scene and other selections shuffled the line up. New caps were Jono Feast, Cale Villiger, Nic Boyle and Shaun Wilkie. Having seen the pasture was definitely greener on the other side of SH1, Robbie Smith joined from St Peter's. The highlight of Term One was the team's run in the Gillette Cup through the Twenty 20 rounds to the Northern Districts quarter final against Tauranga Boys' College. Along the way there were two notable games; the first a last ball win against St Peter's with Mark O'Shaughnessy gloving the ball to take the game. The second was a huge comeback against Mount Maunganui. Down and out twice in the game, Nic Boyle scored a quick fire 54 to push the team from 40/3 to 140/6. When Mount Maunganui were cruising at 94/2 with 8 overs to go, the team fought back and took eight wickets for 17 runs in four and a half overs to progress to the quarter finals.

The match against Tauranga Boys' was noteworthy due to the fact that Ross Laidlaw managed to take the wicket of Kane Williamson, the captain of the New Zealand Under 19 team. Apart from that the weather was terrible, the outfield was long and Andrew George ate most of the lunch. In four hours, there was only two and a half hours of cricket. Cambridge struggled to 84 of 44 overs with the unmown outfield hampering efforts to score quick runs. Andrew George had the home team at 0/1 after the first ball, but Williamson scored 59 off 36 balls to make the game safe for Tauranga, who won by seven wickets.

Locally the team has had success in the 50 over games competition, currently third with three rounds to play. Shane Butcher score his first 100 against Te Aroha and is currently averaging 72 in the longer game. Other notable batting efforts have been Jono Feast's debut innings of 70 not out against Matamata and Cale Villiger who made 81 not out against Fraser High on his debut. TYhere have also been some impressive bowling performances. Andrew George and Shaun Wilkie took their first five wicket bags with 6-44 and 5-28 respectively. Ross Laidlaw has been the leading wicket taker with 15 wickets at an average of 12-3.

2nd XI
 

Under the energetic tutelage of Mr Sheehan, the 2nd XI has continued to feature near the top of their competition. Unfortunately the weather hampered their challenge for the top two position of which they are capable. Impressive performances included the demolition of St Peter's 2nd XI by eight wickets along with another eight wicket win against Fairfield College 1st XI. Stand out performers in these games were Tim Hall against St Peter's (5-15) and Sam Garmonsway against Fairfield (51 not out).

3rd XI

Ethan Ward stepped up to coach, manage and babysit the keen members of the 3rd XI in term one. This was a team of mainly Year 11 students and lacked some experience. There were some highlights however - Sean Anderson smashed 45 off 11 deliveries against Hamilton Boys' High 8th XI, while Ben Dick and Ethan Ward were consistent wicket takers.

Colts

The season began with the rebuilding of the successful side from last year. The introduction of several talented Year 9 players to support the more than capable Year 10s resulted in a team that was placed third in the first part of the season. With great wins over Melville, Hillcrest and Hamilton Boys' High the team developed a successful style of play. Well let by the brother and sister combination of Mitchell and Brooke Kirkbride, the team strived for success. James Bateman became an anchor and the top of the innings frustrating the opposition quick's. Mate, Caleb, Daniel and Patrick all assisted at key times through the season with important contributions with the bat. In the bowling, a pace attack of Josh, Matty, Kyle and the talented Harlee destroyed and terrified the opposition batsman with accurate aggressive bowling. The team would like to thank all the support of the parents who tirelessly cheered them. A special thank you must also be mentioned from the team to Mr Kirkbride for his assistance with the coaching of the side. The parents would like to thank the players for a great 'parent versus player' game. Better luck next time!

Richard Baggs