Young players show maturity

Wanganui Under-13 Sam Sherriff shapes to drive in his match-winning innings of 67 watched by fellow opener Adam Lennox. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Late afternoon rain failed to dampen the spirits of two Wanganui junior boys representative cricket teams tackling their Taranaki counterparts.

Both the Watsons-sponsored Under-12 and Under-13 teams showed maturity beyond their years.

Playing Taranaki U12 South, the Wanganui youngsters won the toss and elected to bat first.

Sensible batting throughout the innings kept the scoreboard ticking over at around five runs an over without losing wickets in clump.

William Hocquard anchored the innings with 52 retired, assisted by contributions from Freddie Lane's sensible 27 and an aggressive James Craig's cameo of 14 off nine balls.

Wanganui ended with a competitive score of 172 off 35 overs. The boys ran well between the wickets and always kept the scoreboard ticking over.

A combination of solid bowling and good ground fielding meant Taranaki were always struggling to keep up with the required run rate. They ended all out for 120. All the Wanganui bowlers were consistent with the wickets shared between them.

It was promising to see the boys understanding their role in the field and saving singles and encouraging each other and enjoying their fielding. Running hard between the wickets and keeping the score ticking over were key factors.

Based on the CricHQ scoring system, the Pita Pit Wanganui player of the day was Zac Farmer for his tight bowling and excellent fielding.

The Jason Clark-coached Watsons U13s also came up trumps after showing good game awareness to post a formidable total on the thick outfield at Springvale Park.

Captain Sam Sherriff crafted a mature 65 to hold the Wanganui innings together and late hitting by Henry Kilmeister and Henry Deans provided the momentum to take on to the fielding effort. Hadleigh O'Leary and Hayden Skou's pace and bounce troubled the Taranaki openers with one retiring injured with a suspected broken forearm from an O'Leary short ball.

Levi Woolston bowled good lengths to provide the initial breakthrough and, once Keithley Watson bowled Taranaki dangerman Sam Moore out for 37, the game was well under control.

Debutante Curtis Heaphy was tidy behind the stumps and fellow newcomer Hayden Skou brought a new dimension into the bowling attack with his left arm mediums.

With Australia in sight for the end of the season, all efforts will be to prepare this talented group to represent Wanganui at their best while overseas.

The Pita Pit Wanganui player of the day was Sam Sherriff for his match-winning innings.