Auckland have taken the Under-18 tournament title with a game to spare, beating Canterbury by five wickets in their Twenty20 match in Lincoln.
Auckland weren’t as convincing as one might have thought when chasing 88 for victory, but still had enough in the tank to claim the cup the day before their final match.
Canterbury were put in by their opposition and struggled from the get go. The Auckland bowling attack was too good and at one stage it didn’t look like Canterbury would get above 50.
Thankfully for the home side Freddie Anderson showed some resistance by becoming the only player in his side to reach double figures with an impressive 41.
Himself and extras carried his side to a meagre 87 for nine after 20 overs.
Everyone expected Auckland to chase down such a low total with ease, but it wasn’t all them in the second innings.
Canterbury claimed five wickets and lasted 15.2 overs to show some fight in them, but never had enough on the board.
In the end Auckland proved too strong and secured victory and the title with a boundary.
It was another tough game for Canterbury, while Auckland however have some celebrating to do.
