End of season victories augur well for Whanganui age group cricket

The U15 Whanganui girls give Horowhenua Kapiti an end-of-season whipping in Palmerston North at the weekend.

Emphatic end-of-season victories suggest 2019/2020 could be a monumental season for Whanganui boys and girls age group cricket teams.

The Anndion Lodge Whanganui Girls Under 15 team finished their season with an exciting win against Horowhenua Kapiti played in Palmerston North, while the Ray White U16 boys dealt a substantial blow to their Manawatu countrparts at the weekend.

The U15s girls were happy to win the toss and chose to bat.

Losing star opener Maggie Jones early, brought Jemma Tan to the crease alongside Georgia Hiscotte. Both set about building a partnership and put on 42. Tan retired on 30 not out. Contributions from Grace O' Shaughnessy and Maggie Pearce took Whanganui to a score of 115 from their 20 overs.

With their chance to bowl, a committed Whanganui seized control early with a magnificent run out from captain Charlotte Stent. HK were never allowed to really get going with wickets falling at regular intervals.

Wickets were shared around the team with Tan getting 2/18 from 4, Jones 2/17 form 3 and debutant Maia Kaua being the best wicket taker with 2/11 from 3.

Young guns, Elsie Butcher and Pearce bowled well and Pearce contributed with a good run out showing she will be a force to be reckoned with in time. Stent proved miserly on 0/9 from 3 at the death with Horowhenua-Kapiti running out of overs at 104/8.

Meanwhile next season's Cricket Whanganui U17 Pathway programme got underway with an identified group of U16s taking on their Manawatu U16 counterparts.

Played on a slightly tacky Tasman Tanning No1 ground at Victoria Park in Whanganui, the U16s were asked to bat first. With the ball not coming on, the Whanganui side found batting difficult and needed the experienced William Hocquard (41) to apply himself and occupy the crease and build small but valuable partnerships through the Whanganui innings.

Defending 173 and the track still a little tacky, captain Harry Godfrey used his seamers well to bowl out the Manawatu side for 100. James Craig and Blake Hoskin hit the seam consistently to trouble the batsmen with seam movement and were rewarded with two wickets each. Hoskin went for only one run in his 4 overs as he hit a consistently probing length. Josh Allpress was also rewarded with two wickets from his 4 overs.

This performance bodes well as the squad looks to expand with other identified players over winter to prepare to defend their U17 trophy in December. All pathway teams will follow a similar plan with winter specialist technical training available from July onwards as players prepare to push for higher honours over the December Central Districts selection tournaments.