Cricket
Cricket at St Paul’s
St Paul's 1st XI cricket grounds are ringed with established trees on the eastern, western and southern boundaries, while on the northern boundary edge superb elevated viewing directly down the wicket is provided from the balcony of the Long Room in the gymnasium which was completed in 2007.
In the gymnasium there are two purpose-built indoor cricket nets equipped with bowling machines which provide complimentary winter training facilities and also allow training on wet days in the summer.
The School has one other quality grass wicket, two artificial wickets and five well maintained outdoor nets providing excellent facilities for cricketers at the School.
St Paul’s generally fields between four and six sides in Waikato Secondary School competitions.
Philosophy
"Our cricketing objective is to provide a challenging and enjoyable cricketing environment where all players are able to develop a love for the game". Being a smaller school, St Paul's has to harness the potential of every available cricketer in order to compete with the bigger schools around New Zealand. Boys with a particular love and aptitude for the game are identified in Years 9 and 10 and given individual or small group coaching with the specialist coach.
A Record of Success
St Paul's has a proud record of punching well above its weight in recent years. The School has qualified for the Gillette Cup national top four competitions on three occasions – in 1998, 2001 and 2004. St Paul’s has regularly made the last eight or sixteen of this competition. The youngest man ever to represent New Zealand in test cricket, Daniel Vettori, is an Old Collegian, while during the 2000's Te Ahu Davis, Nick Fitzgerald and Grant Bell, have represented New Zealand at age group level.
St Paul's Old Collegian Daniel Vettori
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St Paul’s 1st XI
The 1st XI plays in the 1st Division of the Waikato Secondary Schools competition. Traditional inter school fixtures for the major sides being the 1st XI and Colts, are currently played against St Kentigern's, Lindisfarne College, King’s College and Wanganui Collegiate. Other major schools that may be played throughout the year include Rangitoto College , McLean’s College, Westlake Boys High and Kelston Boys’ High School .
Tours for the 1st XI team are organised on a regular basis and provide opportunities for players to test their skills against different opposition and conditions. In the past 5 years the 1st XI has had tours to South Africa, Australia and schools in the lower North Island.
Coaching
All teams are coached by at least one experienced staff member, which gives independence to decision making and ensures sides are well organised for matches.