2022/23 NZC Gillette Venus Women's Under 19 Tournament - Day Two
Central Districts Under 19 and Auckland Under 19 clashed in an absolute cliffhanger on the second day of action in Lincoln.
The match went down to the last wicket and last delivery, with Auckland nine down and still needing one to tie or two for the win in the nailbiting one-dayer.
They were chasing Central's 246, after having dismissed their opponent with one ball to spare in the first innings, after CD captain Jessie Hollard had elected to bat.
CD's Gretel Fairbrother (3-41) had the ball in hand ready for the last over of the match and, after conceding two off her first delivery, bounced back with a wicket before dotting down with her third and fourth deliveries.
Now Auckland's Holly Lightbourne needed four for the win, and scrambled two off the penultimate ball.
One to tie! Two to win! One wicket for CD to win!
It all hinged on the nerve-wracking last ball, and Lightbourne went for it - bringing home the second run to keep Auckland unbeaten with a second win in two days.
For Central, the consolation was another strong all-round performance, Wairarapa strokemaker Emma McLeod backing up her unbeaten 73 yesterday with another busy 63 off 70 balls.
She shared a 95-run stand with Manawatu's Abby Treder (a run-ball 55) in CD's total, but Auckland fought back to curtail the lower order after Treder's departure.
Kate Irwin had another strong day for Auckland, taking 4-53 and a catch before producing a half century (52) in the reply, along with Elizabeth Buchanan (53) and 49 from Brooke James as they crucially strung together partnerships to keep themselves in a thrilling game.
Earlier, Lightbourne had also made her presence felt in the field with three catches.
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The other two matches weren't so close, with Canterbury U19 taking a big win off Otago U19 to also stay unbeaten - and with a second bonus point in as many days, they went clear at the top of the table.
Canterbury captain Izzy Sharp elected to bat and then sat padded up watching Darcy Prasad (77) and Maggie Martin (66) put on a wonderful 130-run stand for the second wicket.
Sharp wasn't required until the 30th over, and although Otago fought back with a few wickets, Canterbury cruised on to reach 256/7.
That would prove too big a chase for Otago who struggled to gather momentum in the reply.
First drop Isabel Parry batted for nearly an hour for the top score of 27, but Canterbury kept zeroing in on her partners until she herself was dismissed at 84/8 in the 31st over.
A big 131-run victory for Canterbury with almost 10 overs in hand, Hannah Wallace finishing with 3-13 off her six overs.
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Day Two saw Wellington U19 pick up their first win of the tournament, while, like Otago, Northern Districts were kept hungry.
Batting first after having been sent in, Wellington amassed 292/4 on Lincoln No.3, a solid effort with the top order all firing.
Openers Antonia Hamilton (87) and Hannah Francis (52) slathered on 155 for the first wicket, ND finally breaking through in the 26th over.
From there it was always going to be a tough comeback for Northern, the platform in place for Wellington who kept the runs flowing, Kate Chandler following up with 42 at first drop.
ND captain Tash Wakelin top-scored at the top with 36 in reply, but Wellington was quickly on top with the ball as they rumbled ND for 101 inside 30 overs, taking a bonus point for the comprehensive 191-run victory.
5 December 2022 • ROUND TWO (one-day)
Bert Sutcliffe Oval
Wellington U19 beat Northern Districts U19 by 191 runs (bonus point)
Lincoln No.3
Canterbury U19 beat Otago U19 by 131 runs
Lincoln Green
Central Districts U19 lost to Auckland U19 (bonus point voctory) by one wicket on the last ball
