NZC National Men’s Under 19 Tournament
ROUND TWO | 5 December 2019
Lincoln Green, Lincoln
Auckland U19 beat Canterbury U19 by six wickets
Auckland U19 picked up their second six-wicket win in the space of two days to get the defending champions off to a flier at the 2019/20 nationals.
View this post on InstagramSimon Keene bringing up 💯 with this 6️⃣ Auckland U19s two from two 🏏 #TheAucklandWay 🔵⚪️
Moving across to their first game on Lincoln Green, Auckland was asked to bowl first by Canterbury.
Matt Boyle once again got cracking early for the hosts, falling just a boundary shy of adding a half-century (at run-a-ball pace) to his hundred the day before and dominating the early strike until his loss in the 15th over.
Captain Nic Lidstone carried on to top-score for his side with 85, sharing an 81-stand for the third wicket with Redfern.
Adithya Ashok once again proved a challenge through the middle for the batsmen, however, breaking through early in his second spell to remove Archie Redfern on 31.
Wickets began to fall regularly as miserly leggie Ashok (1-29) kept the pressure on and finished at a cost of just 2.9 per over.
Wicketkeeper Quinn Sunde was in the thick of the action, taking three grabs and running out Matt Munro off the last delivery of the innings as Canterbury finished on 255 for nine.
Despite losing an early wicket when Lachie Harper broke through in his first over, Auckland was untroubled in the chase - thanks to their remaining opening batsman Simon Keene belting a fine century, his 111 flying off 103 balls (16x4, 3x6).
By the time of his departure in the 34th over, Auckland required just a further 101 runs, with plenty of time and wickets in hand.
Chasing down the target in just the 44th over, Auckland didn't quite pick up the bonus point on this occasion to maintain clear air at the top of the table, but will be pleased to have brushed aside a strong Canterbury side.
