NZ National U17 tournament: Wellington and Canterbury face off for U17 title

Canterbury and Wellington notched up victories today to lead the competition as the National U17 tournament switched to one-day competition. The draw sees them square off tomorrow with the winner taking out the title. Central Districts moved into fourth spot on the table after recording their first win of the tournament.

Central Districts' most consistent bowler, Daniel Wightman, led the bowling attack with three for 20 as they rolled Otago for 142 in the 45th over. Ben Hitchcock (62*) and William Young (64*) made short work of the run chase, sharing a 143-run partnership to hand Central a comprehensive nine wicket win.

Kenneth McClure’s unbeaten 54 was the cornerstone of the Canterbury run chase in the match against Auckland. The Canterbury line up surpassed the Auckland total of 166 in the second to last over with six wickets in hand to finish round four at the top of the table. Auckland batsman Charles Elton hit a fine 62 but the rest of the batmen struggled with the accurate bowing by Canterbury’s Edward Nuttall who took six for 21.

Batting first, Wellington put on 217 with Andrew Fletcher leading the way with a superb 63, while Sam Keegan hit 38 and Luke Boyadjian 30. They then bowled out Northern Districts in 46.1 overs to win by 36 runs and vault to second spot on the table. Jared McDonald made a fighting 43 for Northern with the Wellington bowlers sharing the wickets.

Bottom of the table Auckland and Otago will play off for fifth and sixth tomorrow. Northern Districts meet Central District, while the winner of the match between Canterbury and Wellington will take out title.

Otago v Central Districts
Toss: Central Districts won the toss and fielded
Otago – 142 all out 44.4 overs (Tim O’Malley 33, Ben Williamson 37; Daniel Wightman 3-20, Kenneth Leuthart 2-24, Matthew Stringfellow 2-12) lost to Central Districts – 143/1 in 34.5 overs (Ben Hitchcock 62*, William Young 64*)

Win to Central Districts by 9 wickets

Auckland v Canterbury
Toss: Canterbury won the toss and fielded
Auckland 166 all out in 46.1 overs (Charles Elton 62, Cameron Fletcher 24; Edward Nuttall 6-21, James Tucker 2-35) lost to Canterbury 171-4 in 48.1 overs (Kenneth McClure 54*, Michael Davidson 44, Andrew McCracken 23, Timothy Hampton-Matehe 22*; Ish Sodhi 2-34, Jordan Sussex 2-23)

Win to Canterbury by 6 wickets

Northern Districts v Wellington
Toss: Wellington won the toss and batted
Wellington 217-9 in 50 overs (Andrew Fletcher 63, Sam Keegan 38, Luke Boyadjian 30, Sam Dean 24; Henry Cooper 3-30, Joseph Walker 2-24) beat Northern Districts 181 all out in 46.1 overs (Jared McDonald 43, Joe Carter 29; Brent Compton 2-31, Josh Cuttance 2-37, Corey Larsen 2-22)

Win to Wellington by 36 runs