NZC National Women’s Under 19 Tournament
ROUND THREE WRAP – One-Day | 19 December 2019
CD, Canterbury and Wellington were all chalking up the wins on Day Three at Nationals in Lincoln
Central Districts picks up first win
Early wickets from Nelson indoor cricket star Saffron Wilson (3-23) and an anchoring 70 from Palmerston North's Ashtuti Kumar ensured CD dominated Otago on Lincoln No.3.
Otago U19 had won the toss and batted, but Wilson put herself on a hat-trick in her second over, then struck again five deliveries later to have the southerners in an early tangle at 17 for three.
When a swift throw from Ocean-Jade Bartlett ran out Olivia Gain in the ninth, Otago was on the back foot and it took a string of lower-middle order partnerships for Otago to get some scoreboard traction.
Napier's Margot Scoular (2-32 off 10) and Wairarapa's Kate Sims (0-17 off six) proved hard to get away as Otago scrambled to 184 before being bowled out in 45 overs, Paige Loggenberg left stranded on a valiant unbeaten 49* down the order.
In the chase, allrounder Kumar (70 off 95) joined Scoular after the early loss of Sims, and batted through until the 37th over - by which time CD needed just 35 further runs for a five-wicket victory, completed with plenty of time to spare.
Canterbury dominates Auckland
A strong first-up effort with the bat saw Canterbury dictate terms in a big match against Auckland.
Canterbury set Auckland a substantial chase of 226 after captain Missy Banks had elected to bat first on Lincoln Green.
The top-order pair of Casey Liddington and Harriet Graham set the tone with a century opening stand, wickets intact until Auckland's Amie Hucker finally broke through in the 27th over.
Graham (52) went on to post a half century, and the strong start enabled the local side to play with relative freedom despite losing eight wickets en route.
Gemma Adams picked up a useful 3-26 for Auckland, but the side had a tough day with the bat - bowled out for just 101 in the 31st over in reply.
Tatiana Gibbs collected 3-20 off her 6.1 overs while Banks was again in the mixer with 2-14 off five and Libby Stead picking up 2-20, also off five overs, as Canterbury put the finishing touches on an emphatic, 124-run win.
ND heartbreaker as Wellington takes out big-scoring nailbiter
Northern Districts U19 only narrowly missed out on backing up their previous day's win after a thriller took centre stage on Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
Wellington had opted to bat first and put up a competitive score of 253 for nine in their 50 overs, contributions coming from most of the line-up with the highlights a 60-run stand for the second wicket between opener Jamie Mason-Jones (45) and Georgia Plimmer (34), together with a quick 43 runs for the eighth wicket shared by Antonia Hamilton and Sam Mackinder (36* off 29).
ND made a sound start to the task in front of them with the bat, the opening pair ticking off 68 runs inside 13 overs before a wicket fell.
Xara Jetley then chipped out her first to have ND 81 for two, but the Northerners were ticking along nicely thanks to first drop Holly Topp who would bat through until the 46th over before finally falling just one shy of what would have been a patient half century.
Topp provided solid support for Lucy Boucher (108*) who starred for ND with a terrific unbeaten century at run-a-ball pace.
With a superb 152-run stand for the third wicket, the first drop and the number four ensured their side kept tabs with the required run rate throughout to the death, ND ultimately requiring just nine runs to tie and 10 to win off the final over.
Captain Beth Moloney took the ball for Wellington looking to ensure no boundaries were taken off her final set off six.
She did the job, conceding just five runs and a leg bye - singles and twos - off her first five balls, which left Boucher off strike, and Georgina Harris (3*) needing to find the rope off the last ball.
Molony was on target again, however, brushing off the pressure as she restricted Harris to another single to seal a nailbiting two-run victory for the Wellington women.
