Canterbury have come oh so close to upsetting Under 18 tournament leaders Central Districts, but in the end fell seven runs short.
Ken McClure gave his side a good shot of winning with an unbeaten 85, but Central bowled well at the death to extend their lead on the points table further.
Central opted to bat, but their top order didn’t fire. James McDougall showed his class by bringing up a fifty, but otherwise the Central batsmen only managed to make starts.
The tail-order was brilliant for Central and really hurt Canterbury. At the end of 50 overs Central were 233 for eight.
Hamish Robertson delivered with the ball for Canterbury and claimed figures of three for 38 from ten overs.
In reply Canterbury looked good at 51 without loss, but both openers were dismissed in quick succession.
That brought Ken McClure to the wicket and the number four was in good touch. He manoeuvred his way to 85, but couldn’t find a partner to stick with him.
When it came time to clear the boundary the Central bowlers really stood up and wickets began to fall.
In the end Canterbury fell short by seven runs, at seven wickets down.
McDougall capped off a brilliant game with figures of two for forty from ten overs.
The win extends Central’s lead at the top of the points table even more, something sure to be worrying the other teams.
