Everything is net
The pleas of a cricket-crazed teenager have netted new equipment for his school.
Eighteen-year-old Siupeli Aho was the catalyst for the popularity of cricket at St Paul's College, in Ponsonby, sport director Dave McDermott said.
The Te Atatu Peninsula teenager inspired the college to get cricket nets for the first time, McDermott said.
Members of the Black Caps are coming to play cricket against the students on November 12, and the $70,000 nets will be officially opened the next day.
A generous Old Boys community, the Queen St Cricket Club and the New Zealand Community Trust donated funds to pay for the three full length cricket nets, which will neighbour the school basketball court.
Aho, a year 13 prefect and a first 11 captain, helped kickstart the project.
"He's a very passionate cricket boy always in my ear about getting more equipment," McDermott said.
"From year nine, he's been walking around with a cricket bat in his hand all winter. He lives in those nets."
New Zealand cricketer Dion Nash, whose son Solomon attends St Paul's, is Aho's bowling coach.
"Siupeli is a fast bowler now," McDermott said. "I definitely wouldn't want to face him."
The sport director said there's a shortage of nets in central Auckland and the world class equipment will help the school continue growing the sport.
Traditionally known for its rugby league prowess, St Paul's College started to play cricket competitively in 2016.
The team won two of their three games, one against Macleans College and the other Mt Roskill Grammar School.
Mr Dermott said the competitive approach to cricket came about purely from the boys themselves.
"I think the team has really driven itself. They collected all their own fees. We set them a goal for fundraising, how much it would be to get new uniforms and they went out and collected it amongst themselves."
Since then he's seen the demand for cricket snowball.
Siupeli Aho of Te Atatu Peninsula (pictured) at his favourite stomping ground, St Paul's College sports field.
Cash for your wrecked and water damaged car!
Hi neighbours,
Do you have a vehicle that is taking up space and becoming an eyesore? At AAA Auto Parts we dismantle and wreck cars. We will pay top cash whether your car is dead or alive!
* $300 - $3000 for small cars
* $700 - $10,000 for 4x4 utes, vans, 4WD, trucks and buses
* Same day removal
* Free quotes over the phone
We will beat any prices in the market by 10%.
Support your local business.
Give us a call on ** 0800 50 00 01 ** and we will be happy to have a chat.
Your Daily Brain Workout: Ready to Riddle?
What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 1/2 goat?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Does grocery bagging affect where you shop?
There's only a few differences between our larger chain supermarkets here in New Zealand. Having someone bag your groceries is one of them.
Does having your groceries packed for you at the checkout influence where you do your grocery shop? If so, tell us why.
-
23.9% Yes
-
75.4% No
-
0.7% Other - I'll share below
Loading…
