Auckland have beaten Wellington by five wickets in their 50 over match at the Under 18 tournament in Lincoln.
Captain Ben Horne was brilliant for his side as he made 98 not out to chase down Wellington’s total of 185 with 15 balls to spare.
Wellington opted to bat when they won the toss, but didn’t fare as well as they would have liked against an impressive Auckland bowling line-up.
Sam le Gros was the best of the batsmen for Wellington on his way to 72 from 94 balls. Tyler Johannson had a late flurry at the end of the innings with an unbeaten 27 to help his team reach 185 all out after 49.1 overs.
Marc Chapman was devastating with the ball for Auckland and took three for 26 in his ten overs.
In reply Auckland looked solid and were never in any real danger of letting the game slip.
Horne played maturely to make an unbeaten 98, and was unlucky not to reach his ton. His main support came from Robert O'Donnell who made 56. Bits and pieces from the rest of the top order was enough to see Auckland get over the line in the 48th over with five wickets in hand.
Will Brunton bowled well for Wellington but was always fighting an uphill battle. He ended with figures of three for 27 from ten overs.
