Auckland is the winner of the 2008/09 National Under 19 tournament after beating Canterbury by 5 wickets.
Scores from the Final Day:
Final
Canterbury; 209 (Liam Bartholomeusz 38, Logan Van Beek 64, Jimmy Neesham 3/39) lost to Auckland; 211/5 (Kirk Bunting 62, Jimmy Neesham 69, Tony Manning 34*) by 5 wickets
Auckland won the toss in the final on the BSO and chose to field in the match. Canterbury lost Tom Latham early but then Bill Walsh and Des Kruger put on 41 for the 2nd wicket but it was the 5th wicket partnership between Liam Bartholomeusz and Logan Van Beek that gave the innings some impetus. Van Beek hit an aggressive 64 off 73 balls including 2 x 4’s and 2 x 6’s and a feature of his innings was his excellent running between the wickets. After Van Beek was dismissed the innings folded quickly and Canterbury was all out in 45.3 overs for 209. In reply Michael Barry was out early but Kirk Bunting and Jimmy Neesham put on 103 for the second wicket. Bunting made 62 off 89 balls and Neesham an attacking 69 off 48 balls including 11 x 4’s and 1 x 6. Tony Manning was not out 34 when they reached the target in 45.4 overs. Matt Farrant and Logan Van Beek both took two wickets each but in the end it was a well paced victory for Auckland.
Play off for 3rd and 4th
Otago; 231/9 (Jesse Simpson 70, Thomas Pere 4-44) beat Wellington; 224 (Michael Pollard 48, Chamika Gajanayaki 64, James Fuller 3-61, Nick Beard 3-11) by 7 runs
The play off for 3rd and 4th on Lincoln No. 3 was the closest match of the day. Otago put on 23 for the first wicket but was unable to put together any sizeable partnerships until Nick Beard and Jesse Simpson put on 69 for the 5th wicket. Simpson top scored with 70 off 92 balls and Beard chipped in with 32. For Wellington Thomas Pere took 4/44 off his 10 overs. Defending 231 Otago struck early but Michael Pollard and Vinnie Ward put on 47 for the 2nd wicket with Pollard scoring 48. They lost wickets regularly before Harry Wright and Chamika Gajanayaki put on 81 for the 6th wicket with Gajanayaki scoring 64 off 91 balls. They were all out for 224 in 48.4 overs with James Fuller and Nick Beard each taking 3 wickets. Giving Otago a win by 7 runs.
Play off for 5th and 6th
Central Districts; 229/6 (Ben Smith 64, Andy Dodd 68, Anurag Verma 3-48) lost to Northern Districts; 230/5 (Fraser Kilgour 52, Ashywn Herwels 51*, B.J Barnett 3-32) by 5 wickets
CD won the toss on Lincoln Green and chose to bat. They were in trouble at 2/4 but Andy Dodd continued his fine form with 68 off 104 balls and he put on 122 for the 3rd wicket with Ben Smith who made 64 off 108 balls. Bronson Meehan and Ethan Bolstad chipped in with 33 and 26 runs respectively and at the end of 50 overs CD had made 229/6. ND saved their best batting until the last day and a series of solid partnerships took them to victory in 49 overs with 5 wickets in hand. Ashwyn Kilgour top scored with 52 not out off 64 balls and he put on an unbeaten 47 with Anurag Verwag for the 6th wicket that saw them home. Vermag finished on 26 not out off 26 balls to give his side a 5 wicket win.
Final Placings:
Auckland 1st
Canterbury 2nd
Otago 3rd
Wellington 4th
Northern Districts 5th
Central Districts 6th
