Full round review:
Canterbury pulled off a last ball victory over Auckland to extend their lead to eight points at the Lincoln University National Under-19 Tournament in Lincoln.
Otago picked up a comfortable win over second-placed Central Districts to elevate into third, while Wellington cruised past Northern Districts to get off the bottom of the table.
The boys from the capital were led to a tournament high 331 for six by opener Sam Le Gros, who scored a sensational 123 off 103 balls. The bowlers then dismissed Northern for 225 to complete the emphatic 106 run victory.
Le Gros crushed 16 fours and three sixes in what was a brilliant display. He brought up his century off 91 balls and made sure his side would set an imposing target. Alongside a number of cameos from the likes of Sam Keegan (62) and Henry Walsh (52) Wellington well and truly surpassed 300.
Northern’s response revolved around Anish Desai, who fought hard with 97 from 94 balls. Opener Sean McCarthy provided the most support for him with 41, but it wouldn’t be enough.
Liam Sullivan took four wickets in his 9.3 overs for 55 runs to help his side end the game after 42.3 overs.
The closest game of the round was between Canterbury and Auckland, with the former reaching their target off 232 off the final ball.
Leo Carter (69) was the leading scorer from a solid all-round effort with the bat from the top-order, but his dismissal left the middle-order with a big task.
Sam Chamberlain (39*) put in a crucial effort at the end, but it was Marsh who proved to be the hero, hitting a boundary off the final delivery for the win.
Earlier, Auckland had benefited from a late 59 not out from Max O’Dowd to get them to a respectable total. Shawn Hicks did the early work with a well-made 73 to be the top-scorer, while Connor Ridge chipped in with 31.
They finished 231 for eight, with Canterbury’s bowlers sharing the wickets.
In the other match, Otago upset Central Districts with a dominant 100 run triumph to slot into third. Having made 249 for nine in the first innings, they then ran through Central’s line-up to dismiss them for 120 after 33 overs.
The pursuit got off to the worst possible start with both openers getting ducks, before number three Matthew Edmondson showed some resistance with 30 from 46 balls.
Unfortunately though that would be their top-score, as Otago’s Michael Haddleton took impressive figures of four for 19 from six overs, ending their innings prematurely.
Otago’s innings featured a number of starts, with opener Tom Griffin the only one to bring up his half-century with 56. Both Hamish O’Brien and Ben Willemsen made scores of 40 plus and overall seven players made double digits as they fell just one short of 250.
The tournament has a rest day tomorrow, before the teams get back into the action on Tuesday.
Points table:
Canterbury 31
Central Districts 23
Otago 18
Auckland 15
Wellington 15
Northern Districts 12
