The second day of matches have concluded at the ICNZ Junior Provincials tournament in Christchurch, with the semi-finalists for each grade having been decided. Here are the highlights from each grade on day 2, as we enter the finals phase tomorrow:
Under-17 Boys:
Canterbury have established themselves as the favourites in the Under-17 boys grade. They have gone through the round-robin phase unbeaten, adding to their two wins from the first day by claiming comfortable wins over Auckland, Central Districts and Northern Districts Development today.
The games have been set up by their batting, of which they have scored 562 runs over the five games, at an average of just over 112, whilst conceding just over 70 per game in the field.
Their 33 points ensured they topped the group comfortably, with second-placed Wellington 11 points behind.
There were only two points separating the next three semi-finalists.
Northern Districts claimed a vital last-round win over Wellington, with their two skins ensuring they finished in third place.
Auckland will be ruing a missed opportunity, losing a high-scoring affair to Wellington by 118 to 113 in the fourth round, and whilst they claimed a last-round win against Central Districts, it wasn’t enough to qualify for the semi-finals.
Canterbury’s semi-final opponents will look for greater consistency if they are going to topple the red and blacks, all making an average score of 90 whilst conceding an average of 80 during their group games.
In the semi-finals at 11.15am tomorrow, Canterbury will play Central Districts, whilst Wellington will battle Northern Districts. The winners will face off in the final at 1.45pm.
Day 2 results:
Northern Districts 65 (0) lost to Central Districts 134 (0)
Auckland 72 (1) lost to Canterbury 95 (3)
Northern Districts Development 68 (2) lost to Wellington 86 (2)
Wellington 118 (2) def. Auckland 113 (2)
Canterbury 110 (2) def. Central Districts 80 (2)
Northern Districts Development 70 (2) lost to Northern Districts 108 (2)
Canterbury 153 (3) def. Northern Districts Development 59 (1)
Auckland 114 (2) def. Central Districts 89 (2)
Wellington 81 (2) lost to Northern Districts 101 (2)
Final Standings: Canterbury 33, Wellington 22, Northern Districts 21, Central Districts 20, Auckland 17, Northern Districts Development 7
Under-17 Girls:
It was a very tight finish at the top of the standings in the Under-17 girls grade, with first, second and third only separated by two points.
In the end it was Wellington who prevailed over Northern Districts and Auckland Blue to take top spot, after rattling off three solid wins today. After missing out in a close run loss to Auckland Blue yesterday, they overcame Northern Districts, Auckland White and a disappointing Canterbury side to end up with four wins from their five matches.
Northern Districts and Auckland also registered four wins, but Wellington’s greater number of skins got them over the line, which included a win over Northern to start the third round.
Auckland missed their chance to take the top spot when they lost an exciting match in the fourth round against Northern by one run, from which they took three points.
They were pushed all the way by Canterbury earlier in the day, winning a high-scoring match by 115 to 110, and though they won two of their three matchess today, they could only take six skins from a possible 12 which was good enough for third place.
Canterbury could not add to their win from yesterday. In addition to their close early loss to Auckland Blue, they lost a must-win contest against Southern Districts in the fourth round by 101 to 68, meaning they missed out on a semi-final spot.
In the semi-finals, Wellington will play Southern Districts, a match they are expected to win, at 8.45am, whilst Northern Districts and Auckland face off at 10am. The final will take place at 12.30pm.
Day 2 results:
Auckland White 99 (1) lost to Southern Districts 128 (3)
Auckland Blue 115 (2) def. Canterbury 110 (2)
Wellington 117 (3) def. Northern Districts 91 (1)
Northern Districts 73 (1) def. Auckland 72 (1)
Canterbury 68 (1) lost to Southern Districts 101 (3)
Wellington 145 (4) def. Auckland White 41 (0)
Canterbury 68 (1) lost to Wellington 114 (3)
Auckland Blue 119 (3) def. Southern Districts 97 (1)
Final Standings: Wellington 31, Northern Districts 30, Auckland 29, Southern Districts 17, Canterbury 12, Auckland White 2
Under-15 Boys:
With one round to play tomorrow morning in the Under-15 boys grade, it is Central Districts who look like the side to beat. They have gone through their six round-robin games unbeaten and reached 43 points, which includes an impressive 19 skins out of a possible 24.
They are 11 points ahead of current second-placed side Southern Districts, however even with one round remaining for the other six teams, they cannot be overtaken.
While they racked up 400 runs in two games against Wellington and Central Districts White, they have scored over 500 runs in their other four matches, which is an average of over 125 per game. Their first day of play was relatively straightforward, however the second was much more tougher and could have easily seen the places reversed between the two sides.
They won a thrilling match in the fourth round by 121 to 120, which saw both sides take two skins, and dealt Southern their only loss to date. Certainly, a sign of things to come should they meet again in the final. Third placed Northern also fought gamely, eventually going down by 11 runs, but also taking two skins in the process.
Southern have also looked pretty good; apart from their loss to Central, the rest of their wins have been very comfortable and they have taken 16 out of a possible 20 skins to date. This included an 80-run thrashing of Wellington in the afternoon, followed by a 40-run win against Canterbury.
Like Central, they have made over 100 in every game to date, and the finals may come down to the team which can set a large score to chase under pressure.
While the current top three are all assured of semi-final places, Auckland and Canterbury will be battling it out for the last semi-final spot in the final round.
Auckland hold a three point advantage over the red and blacks after narrowly edging them out in a close contest earlier this afternoon, but have a tough assignment against Southern.
They will fancy their chances though with Canterbury having to overcome Northern in the other match.
The final round will commence at 8.45am, with semi-finals to take place immediately following at 10am, and the final at 12.30pm.
Day 2 results:
Central Districts 121 (2) def. Southern Districts 120 (2)
Central Districts 114 (2) def. Northern Districts 103 (2)
Central Districts 135 (4) def. Auckland 51 (4)
Southern Districts 136 (4) def. Wellington 56 (0)
Southern Districts 128 (3) def. Canterbury 88 (1)
Northern Districts 134 (4) def. Wellington 55 (0)
Central Districts White 53 (0) lost to Northern Districts 120 (4)
Auckland 146 (3) def. Central Districts White 91 (1)
Auckland 85 (2) def. Canterbury 80 (2)
Canterbury 104 (1) def. Wellington 74 (3)
Standings after five rounds: Central Districts 43*, Southern Districts 32, Northern Districts 27, Auckland 19, Canterbury 16, Wellington 6, Auckland White 2
*Central Districts have played six rounds
Under-13 Boys:
The quarter-finals of the Under-13 boys grade took place today, followed by the semi-finals of the Plate and Cup competitions.
In the quarter-finals, Canterbury beat their fellow Canterbury Red side, whilst both third-placed sides from each pool, Wellington and Northern Districts Gold, overcame both Auckland sides – Auckland White and Auckland Blue respectively, to send them into the Plate play-offs. Northern Districts Maroon advanced to the semi-finals with a win over Canterbury Black.
The semi-finals of the Cup competition saw Canterbury advance with a win over Northern Districts Gold, while Wellington also booked their place in the grand-final with their win over Northern Districts Maroon.
Both Auckland sides will play off in the Plate final after Auckland White defeated Canterbury Red and Auckland Blue beat Canterbury Black.
Auckland Blue vs Auckland White in the Plate final will take place at 11.15am while the Cup final featuring Canterbury vs Wellington is set for a 12.30pm start.
