Australia's top young male players were on show in Perth over the past week with an eye on a place in the U19 World Cup squad
South Australia boys emulate seniors to win national U19 title
South Australia have taken out the Under-19 Male National Championships title for 2025 after defeating Victoria Metro in the final on Monday.
The iconic WACA Ground hosted the top age-group players in the decider of the tournament that was played at venues across Perth from December 1 to 8.
The annual tournament gave the emerging cricketing talent in the country a platform to not just represent their state but also make their case to don the green and gold, with Australia's squad for January's ICC Men's U19 World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia to be announced later this week.
South Australia's first title in the competition since 2012 came courtesy of a thumping 90-run win in the final.
The state's future appears strong as the underage title win comes on the back of their senior men's side's drought-breaking double triumph in the Sheffield Shield and the One-Day Cup last season.
After electing to bat first against Vic Metro, South Australia were all out on 217 in 48 overs with opener Hayden Barbulovic top scoring with 55 off 68 balls.
But a bowling effort led by the eventual player of the final, quick Jarrah Reidy (6-28), rolled the Vics on 127 within 36 overs, handing them consecutive runners-up finishes after also losing last season's final to Western Australia.
The 50-over competition was divided into two stages with each of the 10 teams playing four others over four rounds followed by two finals rounds that had the semi-finals, final and position playoffs played over the last two days.
NSW Metro claimed third place by beating Victoria Country. The side had earlier topped the points table, having gone unbeaten in the first stage before losing their semi-final to Victoria Metro.
Barbulovic was among the four players from the champions' side named in the Team of the Tournament announced by Cricket Australia on Tuesday.
Under-19 Men's National Championship 2025 Team of the Tournament: Nitesh Samuel (NSW Metro), Adam Solomons (WA), Shaun Smith (NSW Country), Archie Flynn (Vic Metro), Hayden Barbulovic (SA), Alex Lee Young (WK) (NSW Metro), Jack Appleton (SA), Charles Lachmund (QLD), Jacques Van Niekerk (WA), Jay Temme (SA), Lachlan Ranaldo (SA), Naden Cooray (NSW Metro).
NSW Metro's Nitish Samuel was awarded the Brian Taber Medal as Player of the Tournament after accumulating 364 runs at an exceptional average of 91 to finish as the tournament's highest run-scorer.
WA's Jacques Van Niekerk was the leading wicket-taker with his 16 scalps for the tournament.
"It's been fantastic to see so many strong performances throughout the tournament. The Team of the Tournament shows the outstanding talent we've had on display over the past eight days in Perth," Sonya Thompson, Cricket Australia's national development boss, said in a statement.
"The National Under-19 Championships are an important part of our high-performance pathway which provide young players the chance to challenge themselves in a competitive setting and take the next step towards elite cricket.
"Congratulations to South Australia on a well-deserved title and to all the individual award winners. The talent we've seen this week highlights the strength of our pathway and the exciting future of Australian cricket."