Round 6
In a day of high drama the start of play was delayed in all 3 matches in round 6 at the National Under 19 tournament and with Canterbury already through to the final, interest was on who would join them. Auckland, Wellington and Central Districts were all in the frame and there were a number of scenarios that were possible as the day unfolded but if Auckland was to beat Canterbury nothing else would matter. In the end Wellington comprehensively beat ND to earn a bonus point which meant CD could go no further. When Auckland beat Canterbury with one ball to spare in a dramatic finish it meant it would be a Canterbury v Auckland final. To add to the drama the Canterbury v Auckland match was the last to finish so they already knew Wellington had won with the bonus point.
Scores from round 6:
Canterbury vs Auckland
Canterbury; 241/7 (Tom Latham 33, Bill Walsh 80) lost to Auckland; 242/7 (Tony Manning 99*, Jonathon Basset-Graham 38, Matt Farrant 3/45, Matt McEwan 3/49) by 3 wickets
Canterbury won the toss in their match against Auckland and chose to bat. Openers Tom Latham and Bill Walsh put on 77 for the first wicket. Walsh top scored with 80 off 133 balls. There were useful contributions from Matt Laffey with 26 and Logan Van Beek with 29 and at the end of 50 overs Canterbury had scored 241/7. Alex MacDuff and James Coughlan each took two wickets for Auckland. In reply Auckland started cautiously but with the run rate climbing it was the last power play that did the damage with Auckland taking it between overs 41 and 46 and moving from 161/5 to 223/5. They had scored 81 in the last 10 overs and with 5 singles in the last over they sealed a dramatic win and a place in the final. Tony Manning was unbeaten on 99 off 130 balls and Jonathon Bassett-Graham hit a whirlwind 38 off 20 balls. Matt Farrant and Matt McEwan each took 3 wickets.
Wellington vs Northern Districts
Wellington; 181/8 Tom Blundell 37, Chamika Gajanayaki 42*) beat Northern Districts; 78 (Josh Matthews 33*, Ili Tugaga 4/14) by 103 runs
On the BSO Northern Districts won the toss and fielded. Wellington was in trouble at 16/2 before the middle order rallied led by Tom Blundell with 37 off 82 balls and Chamika Gajanayaki who made 42 not out off 94 balls. They never really got going though and at the end of 50 overs were 181/8. For ND Anurag Verma took 2/47. ND started positively and after 2 overs was 17 without loss before disaster struck. At 29/6 it was effectively game over. They lost wickets regularly and only Josh Matthews with 33 off 73 balls offered any resistance. For Wellington pave bowler Ili Tugaga took 4/14 off 7 overs and Kyle Hitchman and Harsh Tataria each took 2 wickets.
Central Districts vs Otago
Central Districts; 225/9 (Andy Dodd 69, Bronson Meehan 51*) lost to Otago; 228/3 (Geordie Scott 61, George Spittle 100*, Michael Bracewell 38) by 7 wickets
On Lincoln Green Otago won the toss and fielded. CD scored 225/9 and Andy Dodd with 69 off 93 balls and Bronson Meehan with 51 not out off 73 balls were the backbone of the innings. Brad Soper, Mark Souter, James Filler ad Nick Beard all took two wickets each for Otago. In reply Otgao reached 228 in 46.3 overs. George Spittle scored 100 not out off 199 balls including 10 x 4’s and he put on 121 with Geordie Scott for the 2nd wicket. Scott scored 61 off 80 balls. Michael Bracewell chipped in with 38 off 49 balls to help secure a relatively easy win over CD.
Points at the end of Round 6:
1st Canterbury 25
2nd Auckland 21
3rd Wellington 19
4th Otago 12
5th Central Districts 12
6th Northern Districts 0
Finals day tomorrow:
1 v 2 Canterbury v Wellington
3 v 4 Wellington v Otago
5 v 6 Central Districts v Northern Districts
