Traditional rivals New South Wales and Victoria will do battle for the Cricket Australia Under-18 National Championship after booking their places in the main final following wins in their respective Round 7 50-over matches.
New South Wales posted a 158-run win over the ACT to catapult themselves into top spot on the ladder at the end of the preliminary rounds.
In one of the most impressive batting displays of the Championship, New South Wales posted 5-267 off their 50 overs. The innings was built around a 182-run partnership between Hannah Trollip (116) and Katie Mack (75). The ACT bowlers struggled to stem the flow of runs, with Zoe Cooke (1-20) and Melissa Norup (1-31) returning the best figures.
It was always going to be a hard ask for the ACT to chase down New South Wales’ total and the loss of a few early wickets put victory out of their reach. The ACT were bundled out for 109 in the 44th over, handing New South Wales a crucial two bonus points. Philippa Taylor (28) and Jenny Taffs (28) were the only two ACT players to reach double figures, while Opening New South Wales bowler Ashley James (3-17) did most of the damage with the ball.
Victoria scored a two-wicket win and picked up a vital bonus point against South Australia to book themselves a place in the main final against New South Wales.
After being sent in to bat South Australia posted a respectable total of all out for 171 off 46 overs. The total was set up by an impressive 69-run partnership between Tahila McGrath (56) and Alex Price (21). Alana King (5-40) spearheaded the Victorian bowling attack and she was well supported by Sarah Tatchell (2-30), who has been in great form throughout the Championship.
In order for Victoria to secure a bonus point they needed to chase down South Australia’s total within 40 overs. However, in the pursuit of quick runs, the wickets tumbled for Victoria as they fell to 5-88. King continued her good form of the match to add 42 not out to her side’s total and steer them into the final. Victoria finished 8-173 off 36 overs. For South Australia Alex Price proved why she has been one of the best bowlers of the tournament, finishing the match with 4-29, while Amanda-Jade Wellington (2-36) also returned tidy figures.
Western Australia scored a convincing 142-run win over Tasmania in their Round 7 encounter.
Western Australia got their innings off to a decent start to be 2-81 before they lost five wickets for 17 in the middle of their innings. They managed to get their innings back on track thanks to a 69-run eighth-wicket partnership, which helped them to a total of all out for 193 off 41 overs. Western Australian opener Heather Graham (43) was the key to their innings and she was strongly supported by Emily Bowden (33). Paris Crowe (3-22) was the standout bowler for Tasmania, while Kelsie Minty (2-23) continued her good form of the Championship.
Tasmania struggled to gain momentum in their innings after falling to 3-8. From here things only got worse as Western Australian bowler Taneale Peschel took a hat-trick in a four-wicket maiden. This vicious spell of bowling cleaned up the Tasmanian middle order and left them with no chance as Western Australia claimed the victory and two bonus points. Tasmania finished all out for 51 in the 21st over. For Tasmania Crowe (25) capped off an solid personal performance for the match, while for Western Australia Peschel finished with amazing figures of 5-17.
Queensland had the bye for Round 7, with their finals fate in the hands of the other teams.
MyCricket will host all scorecards and stats for the Under-18 National Championship. Simply select the Championship of choice from the drop down menu. Results will be uploaded at the end of play each day.
