Under-19s National Cricket Championships: Wrap, results, standouts from round four
A couple of young guns have stepped up with both the bat and ball as finals spots were on the line for NSW teams during round four of the U19 National Championships.
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It was all to play for in round four of the under-19 National Cricket Championships in Adelaide, with semi-final spots on the line for both NSW teams in the final regular-round fixture.
With both Metro and Country sitting outside the top four, the teams needed a win to give themselves a chance of fighting it out for the title.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE FOR METRO
A massive 193-run win against the Northern Territory has not been enough to rescue NSW Metro as the team’s title defence came to a spectacular end in round four.
A brilliant ton from Andrew Boulton, some outstanding lower-order hitting from Alexander Lee-Young and five wickets to Ryan Gupta highlighted the huge win over the NT. However that wasn’t enough for Metro, who finished the regular rounds in fifth place with two wins and two losses, putting an end to the team’s hopes of going back to back.
Batting first, Metro overcame the early loss of openers Riley Kingsell and James Moore to build a mammoth total.
Bouton teamed up Coby Holland to put on a huge 146-run partnership that saw the latter play an entertaining knock of 54 from 51 balls.
Boulton kept marching on, hitting 10 fours and one six as he brought up a stunning ton before being dismissed for 110.
And while Metro lost a string of wickets in the middle order, some incredible hitting from Lee-Young pushed the total beyond 300.
Coming in at far lower than normal at number eight, Lee-Young blasted four fours and four sixes en route to a brilliant unbeaten 54 from just 21 balls.
In response, NT was never in the hunt as it crawled its way to 110 before the team was dismissed after 35 overs.
Opener Charlie Bignell was impressive with 49, however no other batters made scores of note as Metro’s spinners enjoyed a good day out.
Leg-spinner Gupta was simply unplayable as he destroyed the NT batting line-up, finishing with the brilliant figures of 5-12 from nine overs. He was well supported by off-spinner Everett Oxenham, who took 3-32 for 10.
NSW Metro 8-303 (Boulton 110, Lee-Young 54*; Hatton 4-49, Malone 3-58) defeated Northern Territory 10-110 (Bignell 49, Gawthrope 14; Gupta 5-12, Oxenham 3-32) by 193 runs
BATTING BURIES COUNTRY’S CHANCES
Brittle batting has once again come back to haunt NSW Country as the side bowed out of finals contention with a 19-run loss to Victoria Metro.
After a strong team bowling performance that restricted the Victorians to 227, Country’s woes with the bat continued as the side was bowled out for 208.
Bailey Abela continued his fine tournament with 66 while all-rounder Zak Graham kept fighting until the end with a flashy 50 from 46 balls, however just two players in the top seven made a score of note in what has been a recurring problem for the side.
Coming into the final regular round game, fifth-placed Country needed to beat fourth-placed Vic Metro to have any chance of leapfrogging their rivals and making the finals.
Although Country made an early breakthrough when Riley Keen picked up opener Alex Turner, Vic Metro managed to build some good momentum and worked its way to 2-98 at better than five runs an over.
While they might have been staring down the barrel of chasing a big target, Country’s bowlers fought back well to take wickets and slow down the scoring, with Vic Metro finishing on 9-227.
Spinners Blayde Burke and Ryan Cattle, along with left-arm quick Riley Keen, all took two wickets each, while Kasey Barton, Sam Weir and Zak Graham all picked up one.
With a chaseable target, Country made a solid start until Shaun Smith was run out in the most unlucky of ways.
Backing up at the non-striker’s end, Smith could only watch on as teammate Abela’s straight drive grazed the fingertips of Victorian bowler Thomas Paddington before crashing into the stumps and leaving him out of his crease.
The wicket was followed by the dismissals of both Angus Campbell and Sam Weir for eight.
And while Harry Scowen helped to stabilise things in the middle order, when he scooped one to mid-wicket for 21 the team was in serious trouble at 4-86 from 21 overs.
For the second time in the tournament opener Abela proved to be the lone form of resistance while his teammates fell around him. And while more wickets tumbled, the left-hander brought up his half-century in a patient knock.
He was controlling the chase and Country’s chances nosedived in the 35th over when he spooned one back to Vic Metro left-arm orthodox spinner Dylan Walker to be dismissed for 66 and leave Country in deep trouble at 7-135.
And while Graham put together an excellent fighting 50 from 26 balls at the end, Country left themselves too much to do as the team was bowled out for 208 with one over remaining.
The loss continues a disappointing tournament for the team, who after a round one win has lost its last three games, with batting collapses in particular posing a problem.
Victoria Metro 9-227 (Kellaway 47, Toseland 39; Burke 2-40, Cattle 2-44) defeated NSW Country 10-208 (Abela 66, Graham 50; Walker 3-31, Paddington 2-44) by 19 runs
ROUND THREE WRAP
There were quite remarkable scenes on day three of the under-19s National Cricket Championships in Adelaide, with some outstanding lower-order hitting helping one side to a dramatic final-over victory in a high-scoring thriller.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
32-RUN OVER DECIDES HIGH-SCORING THRILLER
An incredible display of hitting that saw 32 runs pummelled from one over has helped the ACT to a thrilling three-run victory over NSW Country in round three of the under-19s Nationals.
In remarkable scenes, ACT number 10 Sineth Herath slogged five sixes and a two from the final over of his team’s innings to push the total to 9-296 from 50 overs.
Facing up to Country quick Kai Croft, Herath showed impeccable timing and brute strength as he slogged the first five balls of the over for six. In particular, he favoured the deep mid-wicket boundary as he launched ball after ball over the fence.
Lining up for a perfect six from six, Herath once again tried for his favourite spot but didn’t quite get hold of the ball, managing a two to make it 32 from the over. Watch the incredible scenes here.
He finished with an incredible 46 not out from just 21 deliveries, with the late cameo pushing his side to an excellent total of 296.
But Herath just didn’t just limit his final-over credentials to the bat.
Taking the ball in the final over of Country’s innings, the pace bowler showed nerves of steel as he saw his side home to a narrow three-run win.
Needing 13 to win from the final six deliveries, Country looked in good touch as it hit nine from the first four balls to require just four from the final two balls.
With the pressure on, Herath bowled one full and wide, with dangerous Country batter Riley Keen skewing one to backward point to be caught for 28 from just 15 balls.
Then, with Country requiring four from the final ball, Herath once again came up with the goods as he bowled a full delivery that evaded Blake Mackrell and went through to the keeper for a dot ball to seal the thrilling victory.
It was a dramatic finish to what was a nailbiting clash that yielded a remarkable 589 runs.
Batting first, the ACT got off to a bright start as Nicholas Allen (27) and Ansh Tiwary (17) both got starts at better than a run a ball.
Akshay Joseph played a holding dig with 45 from 69 balls as Raakin Rahman played the knock of the innings with 81 from 79 balls.
Despite his excellent contribution, the ACT at one stage fell to 7-202, before clean hitting from Herath took the team to 9-296.
Left-arm quick Keen was the pick of the bowlers with 3-37 from eight, while medium pacer Sam Weir (2-20) and leg-spinner Ryan Cattle (2-31) were also impressive.
In response, Country put together an excellent chase.
After the loss of an early wicket, opener Shaun Smith (74) and skipper Angus Campbell (46) teamed up for a 94-run stand.
At one stage the side was cruising at 3-148 before Smith’s dismissal triggered a mini collapse.
Number five Weir held the innings together with an excellent 73, while some big hitting from Ted Waterman (30) and Keen (28) got the team to within one boundary of victory before ultimately falling short.
The loss may well prove costly for Country, who slipped to fifth on the ladder with just one win from its three games. The team will need to defeat fourth-placed Victoria Metro on Monday to give itself any chance of leapfrogging its rivals in the top four on net run rate.
As for the ACT, the victory was the team’s first of the campaign and was an excellent reply after a tough start to the tournament.
ACT 9-296 (Rahman 81, Herath 46*; Keen 3-37, Weir 2-20) defeated NSW Country 9-293 (Smith 74, Weir 73; Hogan 2-45, Rahman 2-60) by three runs
TITLE DEFENCE IN TATTERS AS METRO CRUMBLES
NSW Metro’s title defence has been put on life support after the side slumped to a 33-run loss to South Australia.
Chasing 279 for victory, Metro suffered a middle- and lower-order collapse to be bowled out for 245.
The loss leaves the side in sixth place on the ladder with just one win from its opening three games, with Metro needing to win in its final regular-round clash against Northern Territory on Monday and rely on other results to try and qualify for the finals.
Bowling first, Metro got off to a strong start as early wickets to Jaiveer Singh Dhanoa and Oliver Patterson – as well as an excellent run-out by Everett Oxenham – reduced South Australia to 3-57.
However this only brought together Thomas Brown and Luke Szabo, who put on the defining partnership of the match.
With shots all around the ground, the pair put on a remarkable 143-run stand at about a run a ball that ended when Szabo was dismissed for 65.
While the wicket triggered a lower-order collapse, Brown continued to bat with the tail as he brought up an excellent ton.
He was eventually dismissed for 129 from 140 balls as the home side was bowled out on the final ball of the innings for 278.
In what was a tough day for the bowlers, Addison Sherriff was the pick with the ball, finishing with 3-32 from 10 overs, while Patterson claimed 3-45 from his 10.
With a solid total to chase, Metro got off to a strong start. Openers Riley Kingsell and James Moore put on a 103-run stand for the first wicket as the top five all got strong starts.
The team was very well placed at 3-181 at one stage before the dismissal on John James for 22 proved to be pivotal.
From here, Metro lost 5-31 as the team crumbled under the pressure of some excellent bowling.
And while tail ender Patterson showed some resistance with a fighting 28 from 23 balls, Metro was ultimately bowled out 33 runs short in the 48th over, with South Australian all-rounder Brown capping off a perfect day by adding four wickets to his century.
South Australia 10-278 (Brown 129, Szabo 65; Sherriff 3-32, Patterson 3-45) lost to NSW Metro 10-245 (Moore 65, Kingsell 42; Brown 4-42, Crawford 3-42) by 33 runs
ROUND TWO WRAP
There was incredible drama on day two of the under-19s national cricket championships as NSW teams reversed their fortunes from the opening day of competition.
After a first-up loss NSW Metro bounced back with a strong performance while NSW Country was involved in a game that has to be seen to be believed.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
DUCKS GALORE IN COUNTRY COLLAPSE
NSW Country has been brought back to earth after a stunning collapse saw the side handed a thumping 77-run loss to Queensland.
Chasing 254 for victory, Country was travelling well at 1-137 before the team remarkably lost eight wickets for just 18 runs in a manic 42-minute period before ultimately being bowled out for 177.
In scenes that needed to be seen to be believed, six Country players recorded ducks, with the bottom eight batters managing the grand sum of just one run between them.
Queensland quick Seth McGinty was the chief destroyer, remarkably clean bowling five Country players before they troubled the scorers as he finished with figures of 5-22 from six overs.
The collapse put a sour note on a brilliant century from opener Bailey Abela, who was in excellent touch and batted through the innings before being the last man dismissed for 117.
Bowling first, Country found itself on the back foot early as Queensland belted 17 from the first two overs.
In particular, Queensland opener Aidan Firman was on fire until he chopped on to the bowling of Ted Waterman for 23.
While Queensland was travelling well, Country had managed to drag the run rate down and was rewarded when Waterman was brought back into the attack and took the wicket of Steven Hogan for 44.
The big quick was particularly impressive. After conceding eight runs in his first over, he really found his rhythm and conceded just eight more from his next five overs.
Suddenly Country was on a roll, with opener Jack Balkin skewing a shot to gully off the bowling of leg-spinner Ryan Cattle to make it two wickets in consecutive overs, with Queensland falling to 3-94 in the 23rd over with two new batters at the crease.
Unfortunately for Country, those two batters were in fine touch, with Alexander Procopis and Tighe Morris making it look easy in the middle.
They pushed the score first past 150 and then 200 as they sent the run rate north. With the batters swinging at everything, the excellent 142-run stand was eventually broken when Country captain Angus Campbell trapped Procopis in front LBW for a brilliant 81 from 77 balls.
Morris was dismissed shortly after for 63 as Queensland finished with a strong total of 7-253.
With a solid chase ahead of it, Country got off to a steady start as openers Bailey Abela and Shaun Smith worked their way to 0-49 from the first 10 overs.
Abela in particular looked in good touch, taking control of the chase as he brought up his half-century in 63 balls.
The pair was closing in on a century stand when Smith was bowled for 28 with scores 1-99 after 22 overs.
Country was well placed as skipper Angus Campbell joined Abela at the crease. While the team moved past the halfway point of the chase, Queensland’s spinners were keeping things tight and doing well to slow the run rate down.
Campbell looked to keep things ticking over but spooned one back to spinner Balkin to be dismissed for 21 and leave the side at 2-137 in 32nd over.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match as Country endured an incredible collapse on the back of some excellent bowling by McGinty.
Harry Roscarel was bowled second ball while trying to put one over the fence, with Sam Weir trapped on the pads in the following over for a duck.
Harry Scowen was cleaned bowled by McGinty for zero before an almost carbon copy of the delivery sent Kai Croft’s stumps flying in the very next ball.
Waterman managed to deny the hat-trick by tucking a single away off his hips. But he only lasted an over as he joined his teammates as another to be clean bowled by McGinty.
The carnage continued when Zak Graham was run out for zero, before McGinty capped off his incredible run by clean bowling Cattle for a duck to leave the side nine down.
Over the past 40 minutes Abela had watched on from the other end as his teammates collapsed around him. With just one wicket in hand the left-hander took matters into his own hands by playing his shots and he duly brought up a well-deserved ton with a huge six over mid-wicket.
He was eventually dismissed for 117 as Country was defeated by 76 runs.
Queensland 7-253 (Procopis 81, Morris 63; Waterman 2-35, Campbell 2-48) defeated NSW Country 10-177 (Abela 117, Smith 28; McGinty 5-22, Balkin 3-32) by 76 runs
METRO RETURNS TO FORM
Defending champions NSW Metro has bounced back from a first-up loss to Victoria Metro in style, knocking over Victoria Country by 92 runs in round two.
Some strong middle order contributions helped Metro overcome a slow start to post a total of 223, before an excellent team bowling effort saw the side roll its opponents for 131 for the side’s first win of the tournament.
Winning the toss and batting first, Metro took a cautious approach to the start of its innings as openers Riley Kingsell and James Moore scored just 26 from the first 10 overs.
While the pair saw off the new ball, the introduction of spin caused troubles as Kingsell chipped one back to Vic Country leg-spinner Henry Edwards to be dismissed for 16.
It got worse in the very next over when Alexander Lee-Young chopped on for five to leave the side struggling at 2-32.
Moore and Andrew Salian steadied the ship and started to lift the run rate as they built a nice partnership.
They put on 70 and pushed the team into triple figures before Moore was bowled for 42.
While the team was only scoring at around 3.5 runs an over, Salian looked the most fluent with the bat. He was closing in on a half-century but edged one behind while cutting to be sent packing for 49.
With two new batters at the crease the innings was at a bit of a crossroads, however Coby Holland and Addison Sherriff were able to keep things ticking along. Holland looked especially sharp, bringing up a half-century at better than a run a ball.
The pair put on 83 before to lift the side beyond 200. And while both were dismissed late, Metro finished on 8-223.
Metro got off to a strong start with the ball Oliver Patterson claimed the wicket of opener Jaskabeer Singh in just the third over.
It got better shortly after when danger man Oliver Peake was trapped on the pads by Sheriff by five while some sharp work in the field from Everett Oxenham led to a brilliant run-out to reduce Vic Country to 3-51 in the 13th over.
Metro’s fielders were on their toes and remarkably had a second run-out in the 18th over when Koliba ran out Archie Lalor, although footage showed that wicketkeeper Alexander Lee-Young had actually dislodged the bails with his gloves before catching the ball.
Vic Country was in free fall, and when Andrew Boulton bowled Lincoln Koliba for one, the team had slumped to 5-73.
While Metro was on top, Vic Country number four Cavigan was the danger man. He worked his way to 47 before playing one onto his own stumps while trying to sweep to Oxenham.
The wicket essentially put the game to bed as Oxenham and fellow Metro spinner Ryan Gupta cleaned up the tail.
The former finished with the figures of 3-20 from eight overs as the team bowled Vic Country out for 131 to finish off a comprehensive win.
NSW Country 8-223 (Holland 54, Salian 49; Hoekstra 3-36, Frost 1-12) defeated Victoria Country 10-131 (Cavigan 47, Frost 21; Oxenham 3-20, Patterson 2-31) by 92 runs
ROUND ONE WRAP
There were mixed emotions for NSW teams as the under-19s National cricket Championships kicked off in Adelaide.
Looking to defend its title from last year, NSW Metro took on Victoria Metro while Country took on Tasmania.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
COUNTRY IN ROUND ONE DEMOLITION
NSW Country has kicked off its tournament in style with a thumping eight-wicket victory over Tasmania in round one.
Skipper Angus Campbell was the star of the show, taking four wickets with the ball and plundering 60 with the bat as Country went past Tasmania’s total of 133 inside 25 overs.
Campbell’s good day out started early as he won the toss and sent Tasmania into bat on a green-looking pitch.
Country’s bowlers kept things tight in the opening stages, with Ted Waterman in particular bowling with accuracy as he went for just three runs in his first three overs.
After bringing himself on early, Campbell struck in his first over as Tassie opener Thomas Campbell chopped on for 10.
The change bowlers were having quite an impact, with Kasey Barton picking up the wicket of Tasmania’s other opener Luke Quinlan for 19 shortly after.
Tasmania’s Aidan O’Connor was starting to accumulate some runs, however his teammates were finding it difficult to get a roll on and a terrible mix-up saw Pat Harnwell run out for just seven to reduce the side to 3-80 in the 24th over.
Leg spinner Ryan Cattle was keeping things tight and he got his reward when Ethan Clark was caught at long on while trying to clear the boundary.
With a sluggish run rate, Tasmania was trying to force the issue. However running between the wickets once again proved to be a problem as another mix-up sent Thomas Thorpe packing for one as the side slumped to 5-110.
With his teammates falling around him, O’Connor decided to put the foot down. He belted 12 from one Barton over before the young gun cleaned him up for a well-made 81.
This led to a lower-order collapse as Campbell and Barton cleaned up the tail, with Tasmania bowled out for 133 in the 39th over.
While only chasing a small total, Country got off to a tough start when Shaun Smith top edged one to mid-on in just the second over.
This only proved to be a temporary hiccup, however, as Bailey Abela and Campbell went to work as they chewed through the target.
The skipper in particular looked in good touch as he scored at around a run a ball, belting 16 from one over as he passed 50 and Country’s run rate edged up towards six an over.
Just as he looked like really letting loose, the skipper top edged one to backward point to be dismissed for 60 from 69 balls.
From here, Abela (39 not out) and Harry Roscarel (15 not out) cruised to victory as Country went past the total in the 25th over to chalk up an impressive eight-wicket win to kick off its campaign.
Tasmania 10-133 (O’Connor 81, Quinlan 19; Campbell 4-24, Barton 3-1) lost to NSW Country 2-134 (Campbell 60, Abela 39*, Roscarel 15; Groom 1-10) by eight wickets
REIGNING CHAMPS STUMBLE
NSW Metro’s title defence is off to a rocky start after the Blues slumped to a seven-wicket loss to Vic Metro on the opening day at Adelaide’s Park 25.
With the likes of Sam Konstas and Charlie Anderson having kicked onto higher honours following last season’s U19 success in Albury, the new Blues had big boots to fill.
But it was Victoria’s day. After rolling their northern rivals for 144 in 34 overs, Alex Turner (62* off 90) and Archie Flynn (43 off 63) saw the Vics safely home for the loss of three wickets and 16 overs to spare.
Sent in on a green wicket, Bankstown’s Riley Kingsell came out blazing and the score raced to 17 midway through the second over.
But in a sign of NSW’s dwindling fortunes, the right-hander’s innings ended when he pushed a waist-high full toss back to the bowler.
Facing a fired up Nicholas Brennan in the next over, Mosman’s Alexander Lee-Young did little wrong only to have his off stump rocked back by an absolute peach.
North Sydney’s James Moore (48 off 60) weathered the storm and found support from Fairfield-Liverpool keeper Coby Holland (21 off 36). The pair added 45 before Holland departed at 4/97.
Well on top, Victoria hammered home the advantage and removed the final seven wickets for 47 runs.
On a juiced up deck, Metro weren’t without hope and landed an early blow when Addison Sherriff held onto a hot chance at second slip off Easts left-armer, Oliver Patterson (2-34).
From there, Turner and Flynn steadied the ship before the Victorian duo batted NSW out of the contest.
In a quick turnaround, Metro can lick their wounds overnight before they return to the same venue on Friday for a clash with Victoria Country.
NSW Metro 10/144, 34 overs (Moore 48, Holland 21, Boulton 19; Toseland 3/21; Ramkumar 3/22) lost to Victoria Metro 3/145, 34 overs (Turner 62*, Flynn 43; Patterson 2/34) by seven wickets at Park 25
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