Canterbury comprehensively won the top of the table clash against Wellington to go through the National Under 17 tournament unbeaten and lift the title for the third consecutive year.
Batting first, Canterbury made a competitive 222 for seven off their 50 overs. Ben Ward was the mainstay of the Canterbury line up, sharing three 50 run partnerships and top scoring with 69. He was well supported by Ananthan Yugaraja who struck 42 and Timothy Hampton-Matehe who closed out the innings, hitting a swift 34 not out. Wellington could only manage 128 in reply with Andrew Fletcher’s 32 the best. James Tucker was the chief destroyer taking four for 17 with Canterbury’s best bowler of the tournament, Theo van Woekrom, chipping in with three for 32.
Northern Districts held onto third spot, despite losing to Central Districts by 34 runs in their final match. Central bowler Daniel Wightman’s did most of the damage, taking five for 21 to reduce Northern to 162 all out in the 45th over. Earlier, a solid team effort with the bat gave Central a defendable 196. Matthew Stringfellow was their best with 39 while William Young reached 37.
Auckland’s star batsman, Simon Middleton, was among the runs again, this time hitting a 61 ball 82 to sink Otago by 10 wickets. The Auckland opening pair knocked off the 151 runs required in 29.4 overs in the one sided contest with the victory ensuring they didn’t finish bottom of the table. Ish Sodhi was the other unbeaten batsmen, hitting on 54. Auckland bowler Sean Solia sneered four for 24 to make sure they were chasing a modest total.
Canterbury v Wellington
Toss: Canterbury won the toss and batted
Canterbury 222-7 off 50 overs (Ben Ward 69, Ananthan Yugaraja 42, Timothy Hampton-Matehe 34*; Charlie McLean 2-37, Josh Cuttance 2-45, Brad Chin 2-27) beat Wellington 128 all out in 40.2 overs (Andrew Fletcher 32; James Tucker 4-17, Theo van Woerkom 3-32)
Result: Win to Canterbury by 94 runs
Northern Districts v Central Districts
Toss: Central Districts won the toss and batted.
Central Districts 196-8 off 50 overs (Matthew Stringfellow 39, William Young 37, Ben Hitchcock 29; Sean Davey 3-44, Tom Herman 2-42, Joseph Walker 2-30) beat Northern Districts 162 all out in 44.3 overs (Thomson 53*, Jared McDonald 24; Daniel Wightman 5-21)
Result: win to Central Districts by 34 runs
Auckland v Otago
Toss: Otago won the toss and batted
Otago 151 all out in 47.5 overs (Hamish O’Brien 20, Michael Collins 26; Sean Solia 4-24, Ish Sodhi 2-13, Jordan Sussex 2-12) lost to Auckland 153-0 in 29.4 overs (Simon Middleton 82*, Ish Sodhi 54*)
Result: Auckland won by 10 wickets
Points Table
Canterbury - 18
Wellington - 12
Northern Districts - 10
Central Districts - 8
Auckland - 6
Otago - 0
