Term One Sports Report

Only one term into the year and already we’ve seen an incredible amount of energy and school spirit across our sports program. From carnivals to interschool competitions, it’s been fantastic to see students proudly representing the school.

We kicked things off with a vibrant swimming carnival, where house pride was on full display. Students embraced the opportunity to compete, creating a fun and energetic atmosphere and setting the tone for a big term of sport.

Our interschool teams made a strong start, with students competing across a wide range of sports including netball, hockey, volleyball, tennis, cricket, baseball, and softball. Throughout the term, teams have shown great teamwork and resilience against quality opposition.

Our swimmers continued their efforts at the divisional level, achieving strong individual results and demonstrating great determination. We look forward to their continued progress at the upcoming EMR competition.

A number of our teams have progressed through to the Eastern Metropolitan Regional (EMR) level, a fantastic achievement that highlights the strength of our sports program.

Senior boys cricket
Senior girls hockey
Senior girls softball
Senior girls cricket
Intermediate boys volleyball

It has also been great to see our Year 7 and 8 students preparing for their first interschool competitions in sport ed classes. They have shown strong commitment and we look forward to celebrating their successes.

To wrap up an action-packed term, we have our annual House Athletics Carnival. It promises to be another exciting day filled with participation, house spirit, and plenty of memorable moments.

Congratulations to all students who have been involved in sport this term. Your effort, teamwork, and positive attitude have made it a great start to the year. We look forward to even more in Term 2!

BHS INTERMEDIATE BOYS CRICKET SSV Whitehorse Division

On Friday, 20th February BHS Intermediate boys played at Elgar Reserve in the SSV Whitehorse Division. We were blessed on the day with perfect conditions for cricket: fine, sunny and 25 degrees.

In the opening round against Box Hill HS, BHS amassed 4/120 off their allotted 18 overs. Josh, Camden, Tristan and Kai led the way with the bat. Excitingly the game did come down to the final over with Box Hill needing 2 runs. Unfortunately, BHS couldn’t restrict Box Hill who won with 3 balls to spare. This was a heart-breaking loss as BHS made a number of fielding errors with countless dropped catches, misfields and overthrows. Unfortunately, this was the deciding factor in the game. This was a case of letting a game slip through our fingers and a missed opportunity to not proceed to EMR. An easy second round consolation victory over Koonung allowed BHS to finish off the day on a positive note. Despite the loss in the opening round the BHS boys enjoyed their day in the sun with their friends playing Australia’s favourite summer sport. Thanks to Isaac W (Year 12) for helping coach on the day.

Round 1: BHS 4/120 (18 overs) were defeated by Box Hill HS 8/123 (18 overs)

Highlights: Josh 31 retired & 1/23, Camden 31 retired & 1/19, Tristan 17, Kai 15, Max 9 & 2/15, Jack 1/17, Balroop 1/11.

Round 2: BHS 2/121 (14 overs) defeated Koonung 8/102 (14 overs)

Highlights: Camden 32 retired, Max 31 retired, Josh 24 retired and 2 wickets each for Naved, Xavier and Elliot.

BHS SENIOR BOYS CRICKET SSV EMR

On Tuesday, 3rd March BHS Senior Boys Cricket team played in the SSV EMR at Knox Gardens Reserve. BHS fielded a strong XI with 2 intermediate players coming into the side due to senior unavailability. Young guns Camden and Josh got the promotion on the back of standout performances playing for the intermediate team.

In the quarter final against Doncaster HS, BHS won the toss and elected to bat first. A 62 run second wicket partnership between Jake (36) and Partaj (28) set up a very good total of 4/115 off the allotted 15 overs. The wet outfield made bowling difficult with 25 runs coming from extras. In reply, Doncaster’s opening batsman came out all guns blazing smashing a brilliant 51 retired including 38 of those runs in boundaries. BHS managed to stem the damage slightly after his departure, but the game was in the balance and came down to a thrilling final over. Doncaster required 3 runs to draw and 4 runs to win with 3 wickets in hand including the potential return to the crease of the previously retired gun opening batsmen. Fynn had the ball in hand and all the work to do. The first 5 balls were: dot ball, wicket, 1, 1 and 1. Scores were now tied with 1 ball remaining. The future cricketing fate of both sides came down to the final ball of the innings. All fielders came up to deny any chance of a run. Fynn bowled the ball, the batter swung and missed, wicketkeeper Xavier caught the ball cleanly, the batters attempted to steal a bye, Xavier calmly held his nerve, composed himself and skilfully under the most intense pressure imaginable threw the stumps down, the umpire raised the dreaded finger to signal the batsmen was run out. BHS were euphoric; Doncaster was broken-hearted. This was sport at its absolute finest and one of the best finishes to a cricket game I’ve ever witnessed. With scores tied, School Sport Victoria rules declared BHS victorious due the less wickets lost in their batting innings. Both teams then shook hands and recognised that they were part of something very special. That final over will be retold for years amongst all who were fortunate enough to witness it.

BHS had now won 4 games in a row and were on a roll. There was, however, no time for lengthy celebrations as BHS were required to start the EMR semifinal straight away against a star-studded Rowville SC. Rowville won the toss and elected to bat first. Rowville lost wickets at regular intervals but still amassed an almighty 10/140. Hugo, Coby, Will, Aarav and Nate were the best of the bowlers. This was the first time that Rowville has ever been bowled out. A great achievement for the BHS bowling attack. A required run rate of 9+ runs per over was always going to be a colossal challenge. In reply, BHS fought bravely and when Aarav and Jake were in partnership there was belief that the underdog could prevail. Rowville then dried up the scoring by setting more defensive fields with their quality spinners in action and they wrestled back control of the game. BHS eventually finished with a very respectable 5/106. BHS was disappointed with the result but there is no shame in losing to Rowville SC which is a team full of some of the best school aged cricketers in the state. BHS should be very proud of their efforts as they had Rowville genuinely worried and challenged at various stages of the game.

Results

Quarter-final: BHS 4/115 (15 overs) defeated Doncaster HS 8/115 (15 overs)

Highlights: Jake 36, Partaj 28, Aarav 10, Fynn 13 & 2/27, Coby 2/26, Hugo 1/27, Nate 1/17.

Semi-final: BHS 5/106 (15 overs) were defeated by Rowville SC 10/140 (13 overs)

Highlights: Aarav 40 not out & 2/1, Jake 26, Hugo 12 & 2/29, Coby 11 & 2/43, Will 2/9, Nate 1/14, Fynn 1/38.

BHS SENIOR CRICKET SSV Whitehorse Division

On Thursday, 26th February, Blackburn High School Senior Boys Cricket team played in a round robin limited overs tournament at Koonung Reserve in the SSV Whitehorse Division. BHS won all 3 games against Box Hill HS, EDSC and Box Hill HS again in the Grand Final. What made this success so remarkable was that it was done with only 8 players. It truly was one of the great underdog BHS sporting performances. Hugo (Captain), Fynn (VC), Coby, Aarav and Partaj were the standouts with the bat, ball and in the field. Xavier, Nate and Isaac also made valuable contributions throughout the day.

In the Grand Final BHS were sent in and made 6/61 off their allotted 10 overs thanks to solid contributions from Partaj, Coby, Fynn and Aarav. This total was probably 10-20 runs behind par but runs on the board in a final is often vital. In reply Box Hill HS were cruising and well above the required run rate for their first 4 overs. The game totally changed in the 5th over. Coby took 2 wickets, Aarav then followed up next over with a further 2 wickets and in what was the final over of the innings Coby backed up again taking another 2 wickets. In the space of 3 overs, BHS took 6 wickets for 11 runs to totally destroy the Box Hill innings. BHS in the end won by a large margin in a short format game of 17 runs. Coby’s match-defining spell of 4/8 in 2 overs was the best individual performance of the day. This is not the first time he has done this. 12 months ago in the EMR he produced a similar devastating spell with the ball in hand. The boys and the coach were ecstatic, but attention quickly turned to the EMR in 4 days’ time. Reinforcements have been called in to the squad and the team will be strengthened for the next challenge.

Special mention to captain Hugo who led the team brilliantly and managed to find a way to win with only 8 players and also gave all players an opportunity to bat, bowl and field.

Results

Round 1: BHS 4/84 (12 overs) defeated Box Hill HS 7/82 (12 overs)

Highlights: Hugo 2/20, Nate 1/5, Partaj 1/7 & 27, Coby 1/15 & 12, Aarav 21*, Xavier 6*

Round 2: BHS 1/49 (6 overs) defeated EDSC 8/46 (10 overs)

Highlights: Fynn 23 & 2/9, Partaj 17*, Aarav 1/3, Hugo 1/11, Nate 1/13

Grand Final: BHS 6/61 (10 overs) defeated BHS 9/45 (7 overs)

Highlights: Partaj 14, Coby 14 & 4/8, Aarav 11 & 2/3, Fynn 10 & 2/19, Hugo 1/15

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