The New Zealand Under-19 team have finished their tour of Australia with a three wicket victory over Northern Territory U-19s in a 45 over match at Garden’s Oval, Darwin.
Having narrowly missed out on a spot in the Tri-Series Final, the New Zealand side looked reasonably comfortable throughout their final match and eventually completed their chase of Northern Territory’s 176 after 36.2 overs.
The pursuit got off to a good start, with Rakitha Weeransundara (41) and Henry Collier (42) producing a strong second wicket partnership.
However, their dismissals saw the start of a collapse, with Northern Territory going through the middle-order cheaply and putting New Zealand under considerable pressure.
New Zealand had opted for a deep batting line-up in the match though, with usual top-order player Leo Carter coming in at eight. He played a steady hand for his side, making an unbeaten 28 as he and Kyle Jamieson (6*) surpassed the target in the 37th over.
Ben Reichstein was the chief-wicket taker for Northern Territory, finishing with figures of three for 44 from seven overs.
Earlier, seven Northern Territory players had made score of 15 or more, but none of them exceeded 25.
The lack of a substantial partnership took its toll, with New Zealand maintaining the upper-hand for the majority of the first innings. The run-rate slowed down and a score of 200 plus began to look out of reach.
A quick-fire 25 not out from Robert Vandermeulen at the close of the innings made sure Northern Territory would have something to bowl at, as they finished their 45 overs at 176 for eight.
New Zealand used eight bowlers in all, with Kurtley Watson’s four for 34 from nine overs and Alec Hodgson’s three for 20 from five overs being the best of the figures.
The Kiwi side are now home bound and will continue their preparation for the Under-19 World Cup at the start of next year.
India maintained their unbeaten run to claim the Tri-Series trophy, recording an emphatic eight wicket win over hosts Australia.
