Wanganui batsman Henry Collier and his New Zealand Under 19 took some small consolation from their tour of Australia with a three-wicket win over Northern Territory U19 on Friday.
Collier, batting at No3, scored 42 in a strong second wicket partnership with Rakitha Weeransundara (41) during the 45-over game atDarwin's Gardens Oval as they began the seemingly straightforward task of picking off the 177 run target.
However, the fall of both young men triggered a middle order collapse that put the team under pressure.
Wanganui bowler Nick Blundell was not selected for the game as New Zealand went with a deeper batting line-up, and it proved a saviour as regular top-order player Leo Carter came in at No8.
He steadied the team with an unbeaten 28 as New Zealand reached their target in the 37th over.
Earlier, New Zealand used eight bowlers against Northern Territory, whose batsmen struggled to build on their starts as seven of them scored 15 or more but none exceeded 25.
Kurtley Watson took 4-34 off his nine overs.
As top scorer in the match, Collier had struck five boundaries in his 42, scored off 70 balls.
Notably, it was against Northern Territory sides that Collier enjoyed his best success of the tour, scoring a hundred in the warmup game before the start of the Tri Series.
He had disappointing returns against the Australian and Indian Under 19 teams, as New Zealand failed to make the final.
Unbeaten India, who will host next year's Under 19 World Cup, stamped their dominance with an eight-wicket win over Australia to lift the trophy on Friday.
