If he had only paced himself, Liam Eathorne might have got to celebrate a remarkable twenty20 double hundred.
Instead the year-13 Kavanagh College opening batsman had to make do with 184 from 58 deliveries. Yes, you read that right. He really did score at more than three runs a ball.
But having whacked 16 fours and 15 sixes during a McCullum Cup match against Logan Park High School, he just could not resist having one more heave and was bowled.
''Yeah, I did throw away a double hundred,'' he joked.
''I got a bit carried away in the end trying to get to 200. When I came home I felt a bit disappointed. My brothers gave me a bit of stick for it.''
Liam is from a talented cricketing family. There are five Eathorne brothers - twins Sean and Kieran (27), Brendon (25), Nick (22) and Liam (18) - and they have all played senior cricket for Carisbrook-Dunedin.
Sean is the most accomplished - he has played five first-class games, five twenty20 fixtures and seven one-dayers for Otago.
For the record, Kavanagh reached 304 for four and dismissed Logan Park for 37. Ned Spencer from Otago Boys' High School White also scored a century at the tournament, whacking an undefeated 100 from 65 deliveries against the King's High School 2nd XI.
OBHS claimed the McCullum Cup by beating King's High School by 51 runs on Thursday.
It was the second year of the secondary schools' twenty20 tournament, with a trophy named after the McCullum brothers at stake.
A girls' competition was also held, for a trophy named after White Ferns captain Suzie Bates.
Otago Girls' High School played a Dunedin Cricket Association XI in the final. Otago Girls' batted first and made 79 for six and the DCA XI raced to 84 without loss in reply.
