New Zealand's top eight secondary school cricket teams will vie for the prestigious Gillette Cup this week in Palmerston North.

The 20th national secondary school boys' cricket championship will be held at Fitzherbert and Manawaroa Parks from 10 to 13 December.

The Gillette Cup is synonymous with secondary school cricket and this year 201 schools entered the competition. Preliminary rounds in each of the six major cricket associations produced regional winners who advanced to this year's finals, along with the runner-up teams from the two associations with the most entries - Northern Districts and Central Districts.

This year's finalists are: Westlake Boys' High School, Hamilton Boys' High School, Whangarei Boys' High School, New Plymouth Boys' High School, Palmerston North Boys' High School, St Patrick's College (Silverstream), Christchurch Boys' High School and Otago Boys' High School.

Only four of teams have made it back from last year - Westlake, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Otago.

Palmerston North are making a record 12th appearance in the tournament, just ahead of Otago making their 10th appearance. Christchurch have won the Gillette Cup title four times, Palmerston North and Hamilton have each held the title three times, Otago have taken the title twice while St Patrick's and Whangarei College each have one previous win.

The Gillette Cup competition is an integral part of the player development pathway for secondary schools, with intense competition among school first elevens to reach the national finals. The national finals tournament has also launched 62 players into first class cricket with 14 graduating into the ranks of the BLACKCAPS.

This year's national finals tournament will be played over four days, with the eight finalists playing round-robin matches in two pools over the first three days. Teams are then ranked and the fourth day is devoted to crossover matches to determine the final placings in the tournament, including the eventual winner of the 2009 Gillette Cup.

The pools for 2009 are:

Pool A: Westlake Boys' High School, New Plymouth Boys'High School, Hamilton Boys' High School, Otago Boys' High School

Pool B: Whangarei Boys' High School, St Patrick's College (Silverstream), Palmerston North Boys' High School, Christchurch Boys' High School

The 2009 tournament will be officially opened at Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North at 9.15am on Thursday, December 10. The first round of matches commence at 10.30am. The first round draw is:

Pool A: Westlake Boys' High School v New Plymouth Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School v Otago Boys' High School

Pool B: Christchurch Boys' High School v St Patrick's College (Silverstream) Palmerston North Boys' High School v Whangarei Boys' High School