Under-16 Country Cricket Championships: Dominant Central Coast claim title with clean sweep
It was total domination on the final day of the under-16 Country Championships, with new champions crowned after a clean sweep of the tournament.
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The Central Coast has claimed a rare women’s junior double after taking out the under-16 country cricket championships in Queanbeyan.
The team, which featured five players who took part in the championship-winning under-19s side earlier in the summer, finished on top of the standings after winning all four of its games over the course of the week.
It was an emphatic result for the team, which wasn’t seriously troubled in any of its games, recording three dominant wins and another comfortable victory in the process.
After the wet weather disruptions on day two saw organisers make the decision to award the title to the team that finished first past the post, Central Coast ended up on 11 points, two ahead of Greater Illawarra, with the rain unfortunately robbing the carnival of a blockbuster final.
With the team coming into finals day having won having won two from two, skipper Ava Drury put in a real captain’s knock with two outstanding performances with the bat and ball to get the side home.
First up, it faced its sternest challenge against another previously undefeated side in Greater Illawarra.
After being handed the ball, the Central Coast bowling unit showed just how good it is against the strong South Coast side, taking regular wickets to halt any momentum the batters generated.
AlexBobbi Smith, Scarlett Sheridan, Drury and Anouk van’t Wel all took two wickets in an excellent team performance that bowled Greater Illawarra out for 98 inside the 17th over.
In reply, Central Coast got off to a disastrous start, with Lacey Burton bowled with the very first ball of the innings and Narthana Sivasampavan dismissed four balls later to leave the side at 2-1.
However in what is a champion team, skipper Drury and Zara Hepplewhite steadied the ship to get the innings back on track.
Defending the good balls and picking the gaps nicely, the pair put on 68 runs for the third-wicket partnership until Drury was run out for 24 with the team score on 69.
Hepplewhite followed shortly after for 27 to leave the side at 4-75, and although the team did suffer a string of late wickets, Smith hit 13 not out to guide the side home with three wickets and 11 balls to spare.
This meant that the team’s destiny was in its own hands for the final round clash against last year’s champions Newcastle.
Batting first, it was another tough start for the central Coast, who lost Hepplewhite, Smith and Burton early in the innings to be struggling at 3-32.
However, just as she’d done earlier in the day, Drury – this time combining well with Layla Graham – got the innings back on track. The pair put on 38 in pretty quick time until the captain was run out for a well-made 26 from 30 balls.
The Central Coast was pushing for runs and it showed, with Graham run out for 17 as the team lost late wickets to finish its 20 overs on 7-101.
If the team’s start with the bat was a nightmare then its opening with the ball was a dream, with Graham knocking over both Molly Dare and Felicity Wharton in the first over to leave Newcastle reeling.
Newcastle’s Sophie Clune and Madison Kedwell steadied things, before the Central Coast skipper came on to change the game once again. In her first ball, Drury had Clune caught for 12, which triggered a mini collapse to leave the side in big trouble at 5-32.
Despite losing wickets, Newcastle’s run rate was solid and Kedwell looked dangerous before she holed out for 21 as the team fell to 6-48 from 10 overs.
In a testament to the Central Coast’s accuracy, the team had bowled just one wide and two no balls at the halfway, in contrast to Newcastle’s 24 throughout its innings.
It also had its fielding to thank, with Smith and Narthana Sivasampavan both pulling off excellent runouts as the Newcastle side ran out of steam.
And just as she had started things on day one with a third-over wicket, fast bowler Graham finished things off by taking Newcastle’s last wicket and bowling the team out for 73 to seal the title.
The big quick finished with 3-14, while Drury was outstanding with her left-arm orthodox spinners, picking up figures of 2-4 from three overs.
GREATER ILLAWARRA MATCHES IT WITH THE BIG GUNS
Heading into the final day undefeated and equal top of the standings, Greater Illawarra’s championship hopes ended at the hands of eventual winners Central Coast, who chased down their total of 98 in the 19th over.
Opener Amelia Valdez (16) was the pick of the batters, while usual suspects Ella Yates, Ebony Winston and Nicola Hudson were all strong with the ball and picked up a couple of wickets.
Despite this disappointment, the team did end its tournament on a high with an impressive victory against another strong side in Central Northern.
Just as they did in round two, Hudson (22) and Yates (26) once again proved to be the perfect partnership from three and four to pave the way for a strong total of 124.
Meanwhile, Yates followed up with another two wickets with the ball as Central North fell short on 108.
Overall, it was an excellent tournament by Greater Illawarra, with the team narrowly missing out on glory but certainly doing themselves proud to finish in second.
CENTRAL NORTH FALLS SHORT AT FINAL HURDLE
Central North fell short at the final hurdle after a dramatic final day of the tournament.
Heading into Thursday as one three undefeated teams, Central North scraped home by one wicket in a seesawing clash with Riverina.
Having ripped through the Riverina batting lineup to leave the side scrambling at 9-46, largely thanks to off-spinner Georgie Leonard’s four-wicket haul, Central North failed to take the last wicket as tail enders Kiana Dovern and Megan Collihole put on 45 for the last wicket to set a total of 91.
The chase started well for Central North, with Sophie Parsons (22), Mia Gentle (18) and Monique Krake (13) all getting starts to leave the side well placed. However a late order collapse saw the team crawl home, thanks to two late wides, to win by one wicket.
This meant the side went into the final game against Greater Illawarra undefeated and with a strong chance at taking home the title.
With the championship potentially on the line, they struggled to put pressure on the South Coast batters, who chalked up a strong total of 124.
In reply, Parsons (33) continued her strong tournament as Gentle (14) and Leonard (22 not out) put the side in a good position. However once again a batting collapse saw the team fall 16 runs short and ultimately finish in third place.
RIVERINA RUNS OUT OF STEAM
Riverina slumped to disappointing double defeats on the final day to end their tournament with just the one win in round one.
Their total of 91 was chased down by Central Northern in the 19th over of their round three clash, a total that could have been a lot less if it wasn’t for the efforts of their final two batters Kiana Dovern (18) and Megan Collihole (23*).
In the following fixture against Western, an overall total of 66 runs off the bat was unlikely to ever be enough, with Jacqueline Kuhn (16) the highest run scorer.
With the ball, Khyla Gardiner continued to impress by picking up three wickets against Central Northern, while Collihole backed up her solid batting with three wickets of her own across the two games.
While there were some positives in the bowling department, overall it was a disappointing day for Riverina who finished the tournament in fourth.
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR NORTH COASTAL
North Coastal solidified its spot in the middle of the table after mixed fortunes on the final day.
Coming into the Thursday with one win and one loss, the side face Western in a first-up clash. Stephanie Scouller and Edyn McDonald both claimed three wickets to restrict their opponents to 99 from their 20 overs.
However, it could have been a lot better for the wayward North Coastal side, who bowled 34 wides and no balls in their 20 overs.
In response, Riely McLeod (18) and Bonnie Crimson (13) got the team off to a decent start, before a collapse ensured the team fell just short, finishing at 9-82 from its 20 overs.
Facing off against the winless Southern Districts in the final round clash, Crimson (24) continued her strong tournament and was well supported by Scouller (17*) as the team posted 120.
This proved to be far beyond the reach of Southern Districts as Murphy Hutchings and Bianca Dyson both picked up two wickets each to restrict their opponents to 72.
It left North Coastal with two and two losses and in a rather apt fifth-place finish in the tournament.
WESTERN COME HOME STRONG
Coming into day three winless, Western ended their tournament on a high after picking up back-to-back victories on the final day.
The side set a batting total too high for North Coastal to chase in the opening game, before showing they can also do the damage as the chasing side in the following fixture with Riverina.
The middle to lower order came in clutch for Western against North Coastal, with the likes of Karly Wood (20), Charlotte Shoemark (18) and Lillian Harrison (13) adding some valuable late runs after four earlier batters were dismissed for ducks.
It was once again the middle order doing the job against Riverina, with Rachel Grimmond (13) and Holly Reed (17*) the ideal partnership to hunt down the total.
Poppi Stephen was the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets against North Coastal and another against Riverina. Grimmond also picked up three across the two fixtures.
The double victory on the final day was enough for Western to finish sixth in the final standings.
NO BACK TO BACK FOR NEWCASTLE
It was a tough finish to a difficult carnival for Newcastle, which was unable to recapture the form that took the side to the title last year.
After losing its first two games, Newcastle put on a clinical performance to wipe away Southern Districts for just 43 in its first hit-out on the final day. In what was an excellent team display, Cosette Thomas picked up three wickets and Ruby Morrison bagged two.
The chase was easy work for Newcastle, who lost just one wicket to pass the total in the eighth over, with Sophie Clune top scoring with 18 not out.
The team then had the chance to play spoiler by taking on ladder leaders Central Coast in its final match.
Despite bowling 24 wides, Newcastle was excellent in the field and did well to restrict the eventual winners to 101.
In response, the team got off to a disastrous start, with four of the top six being dismissed for ducks. Clune (12) and Madison Kedwell (21) looked the best with the bat, but Newcastle’s top order collapse ultimately made the task too difficult and the team was bowled out for 73.
While competitive in most of its games, Newcastle would have left the tournament disappointed after winning just one of its four matches to finish in seventh place.
LEARNING CURVE FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
It was another tough day out for Southern Districts in their debut Country Championships, slumping to two more losses to end their tournament without a win.
Newcastle ruthlessly dispatched of the team’s batting lineup for just 43 runs in its opening fixture, in an innings where five batters were dismissed for ducks and none managed to crack double digits.
In their second game against North Coastal, Sophia Galland (28) continued her excellent tournament and provided the brightest batting spark for the team in the carnival. This however wasn’t enough to prevent their eventual DLS loss.
Across the two final day games, the side took nine wickets, with Charlie Newton the only to take more than one.
While the team showed signs of improvement at times throughout the tournament, Southern Districts ended their maiden Country Champs in last place.
STARS SHINE ON DAY TWO
Some of the contenders made their move away from the pack on a rain-affected day two of the under-16 country championships.
In a day that featured plenty of rain in Queanbeyan, all sides were restricted to just one shortened T20 clash as teams looked to make their way up the ladder.
After the ball dominated the bat on day one, teams put in much better performances with the willow on Wednesday as a couple of players enhanced their reputations with matchwinning performances
After two days, three teams have broken away at the top as they eye finals day.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
TWO FROM TWO FOR GREATER ILLAWARRA
It was a second win of the carnival for Greater Illawarra and a second loss for Newcastle, as the southern side took the win in the shortened nine-over match.
After a shaky start in which the team lost two early wickets, captain Nicola Hudson (17) steadied the ship for Greater Illawarra alongside vice-captain Ella Yates (18*) in a crucial 31-run partnership.
The pair scored their runs quickly and were helped when Ebony Winston came in with a quickfire 15 from just six balls as the team finished up with the impressive total of 4-72 from its nine overs.
In reply, Newcastle got off to a tough start with gun opener Molly Dare dismissed for just four.
However from here, Tilda Pola (29*) and Madison Kedwell (12*) batted well as they chased down the monster score, travelling at more than six an over.
Unfortunately for the side, neither batter was able to hit the boundary enough to catch the Greater Illawarra total, falling 14 runs short of victory by the end of the ninth over to remain winless this tournament.
Greater Illawarra 4-72 (Yates 18*, Hudson 17; Kedwell 2-16, Pola 1-8) defeated Newcastle (Pola 29*, Kedwell 12*; Yates 1-7) by 14 runs
NORTH COASTAL EDGE OUT RIVERINA WITH SMART BOWLING
Some tight bowling helped North Coastal to its first win as the side held off a Riverina chase to hand its opponents their first loss of the tournament in a rain-shortened 10-over per innings contest.
While none of the North Coastal batters dominated the innings, Riely Mcleod and Murphy Hutchings both hit 13 off the bat to as the team made its way to 5-54 from its 10 overs.
With competitive with the bat, North Coastal did a stellar job with the ball in limiting the Riverina chase, taking regular wickets as not one Riverina batter cracked double digits.
Savannah Bambery and Edyn McDonald both picked up two wickets each as North Coastal took 4-11 through the middle part of the innings to restrict Riverina to just 45 runs from its 10 overs and ultimately hand North Coastal victory.
North Coastal 5-54 (Mcleod 13, Hutchings 13; Gardiner 1-4, Dovern 1-12) defeated Riverina 6-45 (Elliott 9, Oliver 8; Bambery 2-6, McDonald 2-6) by nine runs
CENTRAL COAST GO TOP IN CLINICAL PERFORMANCE
The Central Coast have gone to the top of the table after a convincing seven-wicket victory over Southern Districts.
Just as in the team’s first-up win over North Coastal, the Central Coast side was never troubled in the match, which was reduced to 10 overs per team.
After being sent in to bat, Southern Districts put in a much stronger performance in the middle after being rolled for 44 in their first game, with the team’s top order doing well to build a solid platform.
Although Natalia Egan was dismissed caught and bowled by AlexBobbi Smith for seven, fellow opener Eloise Deighton and Sophie Galland were solid in putting on 35 runs for the second wicket and moving the team to 1-42 from its 10 overs, finishing with 10 not out and 17 not out, respectively.
Galland backed up her dig with another excellent performance with the ball, running through the Central Coast top order to claim the scalps of Ava Drury (8), Lacey Burton (10) and Olivia Mitchell for a golden duck to give her side half a chance.
And while Southern Districts did well to build a solid platform and make some crucial breakthroughs, 42 wasn’t enough for the strong Central Coast side, who had Narthana Sivasampavan (7 not out) and Layla Graham (10 not out) guide the team home with 3.4 overs to claim its second win from two starts.
Central Coast 3-44 (Graham 10*, Burton 10; Galland 3-15) defeated Southern Districts 1-42 (Galland 17*, Deighton 10*; Smith 1-3) by seven wickets
CENTRAL NORTH PREVAIL WITH PARSONS MAGIC
Central North has kept pace with the ladder leaders, remaining undefeated after prevailing in a high-scoring match against Western.
Captain Sophie Parsons was once again the hero for her side, putting in her second matchwinning performance in a row with the bat as Central North continues to impress in the tournament.
After Western won the toss and chose to bat, opener Simran Dhatt didn’t waste any time, playing some nice shots as the team moved to 0-22 from the first three overs.
Unfortunately for Western, wickets kept falling at the other end and the side slumped to 4-31 after a top order collapse.
However just as the side looked as though it was in trouble, Karly Woods came to crease and belted 21 from 14 as the side finished its 10 overs on a healthy score of 5-68.
With a solid total to chase, things couldn’t have started any worse for Central North, who lost Reagan Merrick in just the second ball of the innings for a duck.
But Parsons, whose 47 not out got the side home in its round one clash with Newcastle, picked up where she left off, smashing three consecutive fours from the last three balls of the over to take Central North to 1-15 after one.
Just as she did in round one, Parsons combined well with Georgie Leonard as the pair hit the ball all around the park to score at 10 runs an over.
And while Leonard was run out for a run-a-ball 18 in the sixth over, the team was well on track to chase down the total at 2-51.
From here, Parsons was joined by Monique Krake to chase down the total with 11 balls remaining, with the former finishing on 32 not out just 19 balls.
Central North 2-71 (Parsons 32*, Leonard 18; Reed 1-19) defeated Western 5-68 (Woods 21*, Dhatt 20; Leonard 1-7, Milling 1-11) by eight wickets
DAY ONE WRAP
The ball well and truly dominated the bat on day one of the under-16 country championships in Queanbeyan, with some incredible bowling performances lighting up the competition. Some 51 wickets fell at an average of just 13.8 across the day as all sides played one 40-over per innings match each. This resulted in some small chases and lopsided contests, with three of the four games wrapped up well before schedule. Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
CENTRAL COAST PUT ON BOWLING MASTERCLASS
Some devastating bowling has helped the Central Coast to an emphatic opening-round victory over North Coastal at Brad Haddin Oval.
The Central Coast were absolutely relentless with the ball, knocking over the top order and then chewing through the batting line-up to bowl their rivals out for just 58 in 17 overs.
And while they lost five wickets en route to the small total, the Central Coast never looked like losing as they chased down the score inside 15 overs.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Central Coast didn’t have to wait long for their decision to look like a good one, with opening bowler Layla Graham clean bowling North Coastal’s Bianca Dyson in just the third over.
Graham was at it again in her next over, this time knocking over Riely McLead to leave North Coastal at 2-20.
The wickets kept falling, with Sophie Buckley and Lane Jordan both dismissed cheaply to see the side slump to 4-48.
While runs were difficult to come by, Bonnie Crimson looked the most fluent of the North Coastal batters in trying conditions.
However when she got a top edge to gully off the bowling of Scarlett Sheridan for 15, it triggered an almighty collapse.
Murphy Hutchings was bowled the very next ball before spinners AlexBobbi Smith and Kiarra Laugwitz ripped through the tail to bowl North Coastal out for 58.
It was a disappointing effort with the bat, with the team recording four ducks and losing its last six wickets for just six runs.
Despite chasing a small total, the Central Coast had issues of its own early on, with Narthana Sivasampavan and Lacey Burton dismissed early on the back of good bowling from Lane Jordan and Stephanie Scouller to leave the team at 2-15 inside four overs.
It was a good response from the North Coastal bowlers, who would have been starting to get excited when Central Coast captain Ava Drury and Rejoice Mudavose were sent back to the pavilion with the scores on 4-27.
However two of the Central Coast’s wicket-takers, Smith and Graham, steadied things to move towards the target.
And although Smith was dismissed for 16, the Central Coast ran out comfortable five-wicket winners.
It was a remarkable game of cricket that saw 15 wickets fall for just 118 runs. And while both sides were allotted 40 overs each, the game was wrapped up inside in 32.
Central Coast 5-60 (Smith 16, Graham 9*; Jordan 2-16, Gilbert 1-6) defeated North Coastal 10-58 (Crimson 15, Jordan 7; Sheridan 3-14, Laugwitz 2-0) by five wickets
RIVERINA GIVES SOUTHERN DISTRICTS WAKE-UP CALL
It was a walk in the park for Riverina and a harsh reality check for Southern Districts in their opening day clash at Neil Bulger Oval.
Batting first, Southern Districts simply couldn’t impose themselves on the game as the Riverina bowling attack dominated.
In a tough start out of the blocks, the team found itself at 3-10 after six overs as Riverina’s Khyla Gardiner ripped through the top order.
Sophia Galland showed some resistance with a fighting 12 from 40 balls as she and Jayme Campbell eked out a 25-run partnership, however the latter’s dismissal caused the team to fall in a heap as it lost the last five wickets for just four runs to be bowled out for just 44 after 19.5 overs.
Remarkably, Galland was the only player to reach double figures, with five of her teammates departing without scoring.
It could have been far worse for Southern Districts, whose total was bolstered by the 23 extras bowled during their innings.
Evelyn Niedzwiedzki was the star of the show with the ball, taking four wickets, while Gardiner put in a terrific shift as well, taking 3-2 from four overs.
And while the team had just a small total to chase, Riverina found itself in some early strife to be 3-17 inside the first three overs.
However that proved to just be an early scare as Sarah Oliver (16*) and Gardiner (5*) guided the team home after just 8.4 overs, with the game completed in less than 30 overs.
Galland was once again a bright spark for Southern Districts, taking two wickets with the ball.
Riverina 3-46 (Oliver 16*, Gardiner 5*; Galland 2-18, Egan 1-18) defeated Southern Districts 10-44 (Galland 12, Deighton 4; Niedzwiedzki 4-5, Gardiner 3-2) by seven wickets
GREATER ILLAWARRA SENDS OUT WARNING SHOT
A well-rounded bowling performance and solid showing with the bat was enough for Greater Illawarra to comfortably dispatch of Western in a positive start to the team’s campaign at Freebody Oval.
After electing to bat first, Western struggled to build meaningful partnerships at the crease as Greater Illawarra took regular wickets.
In an excellent performance from the whole attack, six of the eight bowlers in the Greater Illawarra line-up took wickets, with Ebony Winston recording the best figures at 2-8 from four overs. Amelia Valdez, Jessica Bramble and Ella Cattley also all took two wickets.
In what was somewhat of a common occurrence on day one, Emma Rippon (10) was the only batter to make double digits for Western, who were bowled out for 83.
In the chase, openers Georgia Lovegrove (29*) and Amelia Valdez (25) swept away any doubts about which team would take round one points, putting on a 66-run to almost get their side over the line themselves, before Lovegrove hit the winning runs in the 20th over to cap off the victory.
While concerned about their batting, Western will also be looking to improve their accuracy with the ball, with the team bowling 22 wides in its 20 overs.
Romaine Trenerry was the only bowler to take a couple of wickets for Western, finishing with figures of 2-8 from three overs.
Greater Illawarra 2-84 (Lovegrove 29*, Valdez 25; Trenerry 2-8) defeated Western 10-83 (Rippon 10, Johnston 9; Winston 2-8, Valdez 2-9) by eight wickets
CENTRAL NORTH EDGE NEWCASTLE IN RAIN-AFFECTED RUNFEST
Some excellent batting has helped Central North to a crucial first-up win over Newcastle in a rain-affected clash at Rockley Oval in Googong.
In what was a high-scoring clash compared to the other day one fixtures, Central North was on 2-124 from 23 overs when rain stopped play, in chase of Newcastle’s healthy total of 9-197 from its 40, winning by 34 runs via the DLS method.
Batting first, Newcastle seemed to suffer the same early-innings struggles as the other sides on day one, slumping to 2-24 after both openers fell cheaply.
Co-captains Felicity Wharton and Madison Kedwell then came together to push things in the right direction and put on 42 before the latter was dismissed for 20.
From here, the team suffered a middle-order collapse, losing 5-29 as off-spinner Georgie Leonard took two wickets in an over and opening bowler Monique Krake claimed the big wicket of Wharton for 27.
At 7-95 Newcastle was in trouble before Cosette Thomas took control of the innings. Coming in at number eight, she batted extremely well with the lower order, putting on a partnership of 33 with Evie West (10) and then another 30 with Isabella Bliss before she was run out late for an extremely important 32 from 26 balls.
But even her dismissal couldn’t stop Newcastle, with Bliss and number 11 Ruby Morrison helping the team put on 44 from the last five overs to finish on a healthy total of 9-197 after its 40 overs.
In reply, Central North made a steady start to the chase, making their way to 0-17 from the first six overs.
After Newcastle’s opening bowlers failed to make early inroads it was West who made the breakthrough in the eighth over, bowling Mia Gentle, who scored just two from 27 balls.
Unfortunately for Newcastle, that brought Central North skipper Sophie Parsons to the crease, who combined well with Leonard to push the run rate to around five an over.
The pair were starting to get going when Tilda Pola caught Leonard on the pads and the opener was given out LBW for a well-made 28.
But just like before, the wicket failed to bring any meaning breakthrough for Newcastle, as Krake joined Parsons at the crease.
The pair continued to chew through the target and, with clouds approaching, really started to put the foot down.
They smashed 51 from the last seven overs before rain came to leave Central North on 2-124 from 23 overs, with Parsons unbeaten with 47 from 40 balls and Krake on 28 not out.
With no resumption in play possible, Central North was awarded the win by 34 runs via DLS method.
The result left Newcastle with the rare feat of losing despite having scored far and away the highest total of the day.
Central North 2-124 (Parsons (47*, Krake 28*; Pola 1-12, West 1-37) defeated Newcastle 9-197 (Thomas 32, Wharton 27; Krake 2-22, Leonard 2-28) by 34 runs via DLS
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