Auckland collects bonus point win over Central
A huge bonus point win by Otago over Wellington and similarly impressive victory by Auckland over Central Districts saw a shift in the rankings at the National Under 18 Tournament in Lincoln with the Southerners taking a slender one point lead at the top of the table. Auckland and Central now share second place on 20 points while Canterbury are just three points further back after their 50-over victory over Northern Districts today.
Batting first, Otago’s Tim O’Malley anchored the inning with 68 as they made a respectable 237 for eight and then bundled out Wellington out for 101 in 35.4 overs. The Otago attack were relentless from the outset with the top five Wellington batsmen all back in the hut for single figure scores. New ball bowlers Jack Hunter (three for 24), Jacob Duffy (three for 14) along with first change Michael Rae (three for 19) all impressed for Otago.
Auckland beat Central Districts by 190 runs today after making 325 for five and then dismissing Central for 135 in 37.3 overs. The Auckland top four all hit half-centuries with opener Sachin Variath’s 74 providing the backbone of the innings and Robert O’Donnell’s quickfire 71 off 44 propelling them towards the massive total. The bowling attack then collectively chipped in to roll the Central line up cheaply.
Canterbury made 301 for seven and then bowled out Northern Districts for 259 to register a 42 run win. The Canterbury defence was helped by some exceptional fielding with three the team completing three run-outs while three bowlers picked up two wickets apiece. The Northern batsmen did put up a decent fight with Nikhil Vishwanath’s 61 the top score. Earlier, Canterbury’s opener pair of Ben Ward (68) and David Wakefield (57) laid a solid platform for the rest of the team to take advantage of while Freddie Anderson hit a rapid 53 at the end of the innings.
Otago v Wellington – http://scoring.blackcaps.co.nz/livescoring/match1366/scorecard.aspx
Auckland v Central Districts - http://scoring.blackcaps.co.nz/livescoring/match1365/scorecard.aspx
Northern Districts v Canterbury - http://scoring.blackcaps.co.nz/livescoring/match1364/scorecard.aspx
Points
Otago - 21,
Auckland – 20
Central Districts - 20
Canterbury – 17
Wellington – 8
Northern Districts – 6
