Despite a strong start with the ball, Northern Territory were defeated by Victoria Country on day five of the U17 National Championships.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl at NTCA Oval No.2, Southern Districts Matt St Clair (1/22) struck with just the fifth ball of the innings, finding the outside edge of opener Oscar Scott-Walters which was smartly caught by Palmerston’s Cadell McMahon.
At the other end, the decision to open with off-spinner Neel Patel (1/33) also paid dividends, as he bowled accurately and built-up pressure on the Victorian top order which eventually led to the downfall of Xavier Grant. McMahon was again involved in the dismissal, this time taking a sharp catch down the leg-side while keeping up to the stumps.
Nightcliff’s Riley Suter (1/42) chipped in with a third shortly after, caught by captain Ralph Stephens (Darwin CC), and with the Victorian side lagging at 3/53, the NT looked in control and headed towards their first win of the Nationals.
It was a strong middle order fightback, however, from Jobe Fraser (100) and Edward Kreutzberger (79*) which took back momentum for Victoria, leading their side to a final total of 4/233 from their 50 overs. Reehan Shyamsundar (1/33) was the other wicket taker as he continued his excellent National Championships.
NT’s batting innings never got going, with early wickets restricting the run rate and putting the middle order under pressure to build partnerships. There was some fight by Shandilya (26) and Shyamsundar (21), but at 7/82 the match looked all but gone for the Territory side.
A final push from Tracy Village’s Tye Beer (42) and St Clair (22) sparked some life into the run chase, but eventually they both departed as the NT side were bowled out for 141.
Captain Ralph Stephens said:
“It was a game where we came in feeling quite confident and backed ourselves to get the win – and this was our best all-round bowling performance to restrict Victoria to 233.”.
“We are disappointed with our batting effort as the conditions were favourable to scoring runs, and we know we have the talent to chase those totals”.
“The positive is today, and the last four days, have provided so many great learnings which will hold us in good stead for our final clash tomorrow”.
The NT side will face Tasmania tomorrow in the final game of the National Championships.
Victoria Country 4/233 (Fraser 100, Kreutzberger 79*; St Clair 1/22, Patel 1/33) def Northern Territory 141 (Beer 42, Shandilya 26; Biddiscombe 2/21, Russell 2/30).