Clinical Northern District crowned champions of NSW’s premier U16s cricket competition
Records tumbled as a Northern District young gun stepped out of his father’s famous shadow with a century in the U16s AW Green Shield grand final. Full wrap, team of the year, 40+ GALLERY.
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With the preliminaries done and dusted, the cream of the crop headed to Mark Taylor Oval in Sydney’s north to decide this year’s champion of the under-16s AW Green Shield.
Entering their third straight grand final, junior powerhouse Parramatta set out to claim an eighth title. While for unbeaten minor premiers Northern District, a ninth victory would mean the perfect season.
Playing at home, ND’s won the toss and opted to put first runs on the board. Here’s how a record breaking day unfolded at Waitara.
RANGERS RULE
A century to Zach Haddin has propelled Northern District to a second coveted Green Shield title in five seasons after the Rangers outclassed Parramatta by 115 runs.
With a remarkable score of 112 off 137 balls, Zach, the son of former Aussie wicketkeeper Brad, stepped out of his father’s famous shadow in the team’s record total of 5/305, carrying his bat through all 50 overs.
Opening alongside quarter final century-maker Lachlan Bartlett, the pair launched Northern District to within striking distance of a seventh Greenies title, advancing the score to 150 inside 29 overs before the aggressive Bartlett departed for 84 off 96 balls.
Fresh from a vital contribution in NSW Metro’s grand final victory at the U17s Nationals in Launceston, Xander Carstens (31 off 32) returned with immediate impact. One of four middle order cameos, the state rep struck the first six of the day before skipper Finn Bailey (17 off 12) landed one over the long-on fence.
Looking dangerous in reply, Parra captain Advik Ajithkumar (31 off 47) joined Hamilton Seoung (22 off 18) in an opening stand of 32. But the wheels fell off when Ajithkumar departed in the 20th over at 2/88.
Evan David (24 off 38) and Ethan Natkunamanickam (27 off 16) provided some late fireworks before Bartlett (3/52) capped off a fine double, rounding out the innings on 190 with the final wicket.
“It was a pretty dominant performance,” said Northern District coach Josh Miller, who with assistant Tom Felton has been at the helm for the last three titles.
“Although we played well in the quarter and semi I thought we left a bit out there, but today, it all came together nicely. Zach was limited by injuries last year, so for him to dominate today is great to see.
“And Lachlan is a super cricketer, and a super competitor. He finds a way to impact every game, even when he makes runs he still bowls the house down. He’s obviously got a big future, and he’s still available for Greenies again next year.”
HADDIN’S TIMELY TON
Haddin is a chip off the old block. What he lacks in size is made up for by a big engine and an even bigger heart.
Happy to play second fiddle to Bartlett, the right-hander carved out a perfectly paced innings that included eight boundaries. After reaching 50 off 83 balls, he stepped up the pace, needing another 46 to reach triple figures.
Running hard from start to finish, the St Joseph’s College student defied the oppressive conditions, continually converting ones into twos – none better than his scorching return to the strikers end to bring up his first century.
“That was my first century at any level, it was a good time to do it,” said Haddin, whose knock was rewarded with the Kevin Cunningham Medal as player of the match.
“I’d reached 50 three times in the earlier rounds and I knew we needed someone there at the end, and I thought, it might as well be me. I felt if we could score 250 to 300, then we could win the game.
“It was pretty special having dad there to see it, especially seeing that we won too. It was a good day, and I was glad he was here, which was nice.”
RAISING THE BENCHMARK
Traditionally strong in U16s, this year’s title makes up for the Rangers’ heartbreaking semi final exit to Parra last season at Asquith Oval.
“It’s a really rich cricketing area,” Miller said of the club’s large footprint.
“We’re blessed to have a lot of guys come out of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai rep system, and then we get guys from North Shore, Northern District and from Blacktown.
“It is great to see young talent rise through under-13s through to Greenies, and the continued success means the benchmark is always high.
“There’s some seriously talented players that miss out, unfortunately. But I think the results show that generally the right decisions are made, and when we get them wrong, it’s not through lack of trying.”
DAY OF RECORDS
As the scores continued to climb, cricket statisticians from far and wide were asked to dig deep into a pool of resources dating back more than 90 years.
At the time of writing, Northern District’s 5/305 appears to be the highest grand final total in the limited over era of the competition, dating back more than 40 years.
As for Haddin’s maiden ton, his 112 was just seven shy of the highest compiled in a grand final since 1944/45. Back then, Manly’s Barry Watson had a day out with an innings of 119.
PARRA NEXT-GEN ON SHOW
While it was a tough day for Parramatta, there’s plenty of bright days ahead.
Fielding a side with three 13-year-olds and four aged 14, Nick Bertus and Luke Dempsey’s squad are sure to return bigger and stronger 12 months down the track.
With three successive grand final appearances and the majority of the squad set to return, a fourth next season would hardly surprise.
GREEN SHIELD TEAM OF THE YEAR
Following the grand final, NSW Premier Cricket announced the players selected in the 2024/25 AW Green Shield Merit XII. Selection criteria was restricted to performances during the preliminary rounds.
Batsmen
1. Neel Patel UNSW 466 runs at 93.2; HS 167.
2. Archie O’Hara Sydney University 341 runs at 68.2; HS 135.
3. Darcy Horstead Manly Warringah 274 runs at 54.8; HS 104.
4. Junaid Mansoor Randwick Petersham 273 runs at 45.5; HS 90.
5. Xander Carstens Northern District 244 runs at 48.8; HS 117.
6. Kaviru Karunaratne UTS North Sydney 239 runs at 59.75; HS 64.
Wicket Keeper
7. Ahan Vinod Fairfield-Liverpool 18 dismissals; 206 runs at 41.20
Bowlers
8. Thomas Walker Manly Warringah 19 wickets at 10.26; Best 5/7.
9. Aarnav Yadav Sydney University 18 wickets at 11.39; Best 4/17.
10. Archie Selmes Sutherland 16 wickets at 12.69; Best 5/23.
11. Lachlan Bartlett Northern District 15 wickets at 10.13; Best 4/19.
12. Joseph Mendis Western Suburbs 15 wickets at 7.40; Best 4/14.
GRAND FINAL PHOTO GALLERY
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