Twin centuries underpinned a big new Gillette Men's Under 19 National Tournament record, in today's third round of one-day action in Lincoln.
Batting first on the wind-whipped Lincoln No.3 ground, Auckland Under 19 reached a mighty 432/9 in their 50 overs against Central Districts U19: a tournament record total in the one-day format that broke the previous mark of 407, set by Wellington U19 against Otago U19 (in Auckland) way back in December 2000.
Opening batters James Nelson (140 off 125 balls - the highest individual score so far at this year's nationals) and Luke Watson (115 off 81 balls) set up the massive win for Auckland by sharing a double century opening partnership of 225 in 27.5 overs, before CD's first breakthrough.
Auckland had elected to bat and from there, CD was on a hiding to nothing, going on to a defeat by a margin of 316 runs after Rahman Hekmat capped off a strong day for Auckland cricket with 5/28.
Their bonus-point win propelled Auckland Under 19 to a four-point margin over defending champion Wellington Under 19 at the top of the table, with two further one-day rounds to be played tomorrow and Friday, ahead of Saturday's Final, and playoffs for third and fifth.
PHOTO | Emma Breitmeyer
Auckland is the only unbeaten team after three rounds while Canterbury U19 holds third spot despite a 148-run loss today to Otago U19 in a mid-table clash - Otago's Mason Gain posting a century on Lincoln Green.
Wellington U19 (with opening batter and the tournament's top run-scorer, Henry Christie making 115) got the better of Northern Districts U19 on Bert Sutcliffe Oval today with a 195-run victory on the big-scoring day.
OTAGO U19 v CANTERBURY U19
Otago had its day in the sun on Bert Sutcliffe Oval, taking a handsome 148-run victory off their South Island rivals. Otago elected to bat first with Central Otago opener Hugo Bogue (51) putting together a half century at the top. The best partnership came in the middle order from Will Jones (who'd already put on 55 with Bogue) and Mason Gain. They shared a 121-run stand for the fifth, Gain going on to reach 100 off 92 balls in the penultimate over of the innings, carrying on after Jones had been stopped on an aggressive 76. All out for 304 in the last over, Otago had a good total on the tins and Canterbury needed to operate at run-a-ball to keep pace. But no one got a strong start, and instead the Otago bowlers began to celebrate regularly as one after another the top line-up trudged back. Dismissing their quarry for 156, Otago won the match with more than 16 overs to spare.
WELLINGTON U19 v NORTHERN DISTRICTS U19
Big wins were the order of the day and Wellington, who has looked impressive all tournament, made sure they were on the right side of the ledger against ND. It was Wellington captain Oscar Jackson who won the toss and elected to bat, and he was one of two capital batters to get traction. Henry Christie at the top produced a century, on a day of centuries - going on to 115 off 121 balls, and batting for almost 47 overs. Jackson (77 off 86) stayed for a 143-run stand for the third wicket that set up Wellington's strong total of 273/9. ND wasn't the only team in Round Three to find themselves on the wrong side of a landslide after trying to attack the big chase. After a promising start, wickets fell in clumps and they found themselves under increasing pressure. In the end, the chase lasted only 22.4 overs as Wellington kept their thumb on their opponent, bowling them out for just 78.
AUCKLAND U19 v CENTRAL DISTRICTS U19
The record created by Auckland U19 today has been detailed above, and it wasn't just the openers with their mammoth double century stand who were in the runs. Number four Lachie Stackpole chimed in with 57 and Josh Olliver 49 as CD was put to the sword. A total of 432/9 was never going to be beaten, but Central fought bravely in the chase. Captain George Mowat battled for his more than an hour for his 34 as wickets fell all around him, Auckland's chief detroyer Rahman Hekmat hunting his bag. CD was all out for just 116 but they had made Auckland wait until the 31st over to celebrate what was likely a record winning margin to boot.
