Quinn Childs. PHOTO/FILE
CRICKET
JAKE BELESKI
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The Central Districts Under-21 women’s cricket team finished their national championship campaign in Auckland off with a convincing win over Wellington Under-21s on Friday.
The result meant that CD – the defending champions from last season – finished runners-up to Auckland Under-21s.
Five Wairarapa players – Georgia Atkinson, Ocean Bartlett, Monique Rees and sisters Kate and Gemma Sims – were part of the CD squad for the tournament.
In their final T20 match on Friday, CD were asked to bat first and compiled 99-7 from their 20 overs.
Bartlett top scored with 25 not out from 21 deliveries, including one boundary.
Rees also contributed 17 off 32 balls.
Wellington – who were bowled out for just 17 in a T20 match against Auckland the day before – crumbled again to be 20-7 off 10.5 overs when the rain arrived. CD won the match by 46 runs thanks to the Duckworth-Lewis method.
CD won five of their seven games at the tournament, as well as recording one loss and having one match abandoned.
Their only defeat was a 45-run loss to the unbeaten Auckland side in a one-day match, which proved the defining moment of the tournament in the end.
CD won their one-day matches against Northern Districts, Wellington and Canterbury, and also two T20 matches, against Otago and Wellington.
Atkinson had a tournament to remember with the ball, finishing with nine wickets to be sixth equal on the list of leading wicket takers.
Five of those wickets came in a remarkable spell against Wellington in a one-day match, as she finished with 5-3 from just 2.2 overs.
Meanwhile, the CD Under-19 men’s team – including Wairarapa’s Quinn Childs – finished third at their national championship at Christchurch.
They played their final T20 match against Wellington Under-19s on Friday, and cruised to a 38-run win.
CD won the toss and chose to bat, and amassed a challenging total of 177-6 from their 20 overs.
Early wickets had Wellington on the back foot, and they limped through to 139-8 from their 20 overs.
Childs featured heavily for CD with the ball, taking 2-19 from his four overs.
It was another success for Auckland when the final standings were announced, as they won six of their eight matches to finish well clear of second-placed Wellington.
CD won two of their five one-day matches at the tournament, but suffered defeats to Wellington and Auckland, as well as a tie against Northern Districts.
They did finish at the top of the T20 standings, however, after beating Canterbury and Wellington, but losing to Otago.
