2022/23 NZC Gillette Venus Women's Under 19 Tournament - Day Four
The last of the one-dayers (before the three T20 rounds to come over the last two days) produced some standout individual and team performances.
The table also came in for a shake-up, after Canterbury U19 suffered their first defeat of the week, at the hands of defending champion Central Districts who took a bonus point to boot.
Wellington U19 meanwhile took a very good win to go up the table and sit equal on points with Canterbury now at the top of the one-day table, with Auckland breathing down their necks and just one point behind ahead of the decisive T20s.
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The Canterbury-Central Districts showdown on Lincoln No.3 saw CD U19 heading in looking to get back to their winning ways, after two close defeats in rounds two and three.
They succeeded, picking up their second bonus point win after a five-wicket back to Gretel Fairbrother and an unbeaten century to run machine Emma McLeod in a comfortable chase.
Canterbury captain Izzy Sharp had a good start to the day by winning the toss and batting, but she became the first of Fairbrother's five victims at 34/2.
Grace Foreman already had an early wicket, and Darcy Prasad's gritty 59 as Canterbury's other opening batter did a lot to help her side push on through the early unrest.
Prasad shared a series of partnerships with her teammates, including 53 for the sixth wicket with Abigail Hotton who carried on after Prasad's dismissal at 159/6 to finish with an unbeaten 47*.
But Fairbrother was having a field day, and took the last wicket in the 45th over to bowl Canterbury out for 234, finishing with 5-36 off her 8.3 overs.
She had taken a wicket in her penultimate over as well, before Foreman (2-31) struck in the next over, and then with a hand in a runout as well, to finish off their opponents in a hurry.
CD overcame the early loss of both their opening batters to chase down the runs in just the 37th over, to secure the bonus point.
First drop Reese Drager got made a start with 31, sharing an 87-run stand with McLeod for the third wicket that allowed Central to settle.
The highlight was McLeod's century off just 98 balls as the Wairarapa star brought it home in an unbroken 125*-run partnership with Abby Treder (47 not out).
The win puts CD in the top four, on 10 points, trailing the leaders by just four points after the four one-dayers.
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McLeod's ton wasn't the only century of the day, nor was there only one bag. Over on Lincoln Green, Auckland opener Emma Irwin was doing exactly the same thing for her team with a match-winning score of 136 off just 131 balls.
Leading from the top, she'd won the toss and batted, the opening pair reaching 81 for no loss before the first wicket fell.
Dayle Anderson made the breakthrough and would go on to 3-39 off her five overs, with another strike in her very next over, but the wickets just wouldn't come quickly enough for ND.
Kate Craig settled in at four and worked together with Irwin to build a powerhouse 205-run stand for the third wicket, which must surely be some kind of record at the tournament.
Craig reached 73 before departing just a few balls after Irwin at the death - but the job had been all but done with the bat, Auckland going on to finish with an imposing 305/5 in their 50 overs.
Northern Districts U19 faced a monumental task to chase that down.
Captain Tash Wakelin (41) and Amy Brown (24) made a positive start together, but once their opening stand was broken at 66/1, Auckland was relentless and bowled out ND for 135 in the 39th.
Just as CD had done on the opposite side of the playing fields, Auckland had taken a big win with both a century and a bag in the mix, Rishika Jaswal finishing with outstanding figures of 10-4-17-5 in a convincing 190-run victory.
PHOTOSPORT
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The live-streamed match saw Wellington U19 join the victory dance with a well controlled win over Otago U19 - and it was an important win for the capital who joined the top rung of the table as a result.
Batting first, Wellington batted through their 50 overs for a good total of 239/7, a team effort with Ashleigh Henderson top-scoring with 48.
She shared a 77-run stand for the fourth wicket with Rachel Bryant (31) that ensured Wellington overcame the loss of its top order.
Hannah O'Connor was in the wickets again for Otago with 3-40, supported by Katelyn Walton (2-29) but Otago couldn't get close enough in the chase to put any real pressure on their opponents.
It was a good start. Isabel Parry (49) and Hannah Wilson (34) did a great job with a 70-run opening stand. But after the breakthrough - a runout in the 19th, Wellington began taking wickets regularly.
Abby Fooks at six was the only other batter to really get going with a gutsy 38 and Otago would be bowled out for 168 in the 48th, having already lost their way.
For Wellington, Ava Conroy took 3-30, and Isla McKenzie 2-18.
8 December 2022 • ROUND FOUR (one-day)
Bert Sutcliffe Oval
Wellington U19 beat Otago U19 by 71 runs
Lincoln No.3
Canterbury U19 lost to Central Districts U19 by 7 wickets - bonus point win
Lincoln Green
Northern Districts U19 lost to Auckland U19 by 190 runs - bonus point win
