Redemption complete: Australia reclaim World Cup Under-22 Titles
In a repeat of the 2022 World Cup Finals, strong batting efforts including an epic chase saw Australia take back the trophies from their rivals across the Tasman.
The Big Picture
Australia reclaimed both Under-22 World Cup trophies after victory over New Zealand in each of the finals this past Saturday in Colombo.
After leaving Melbourne without any of the age-group titles following losses to their Trans-Tasman rivals for the first time, Australia turned the script after both powerhouse indoor nations met in the Grand Finals yet again.
The Australian Under-22 Women’s first innings batting effort proved too much for the Kiwis, winning by 31 runs, whilst the Under-22 aced a superb chase in a high-scoring affair, victorious by 11 runs.
Here’s how it all unfolded:
Under-22 Women
Cup Final:
Australia 100 (37-16-20-27) [Gregory/Stone 37, Anderson 3/-3, Ross 2/3] defeated New Zealand 69 (7-18-15-29) [Ross/James 29, Talekar 3/-3, Stone 2/4] by 31 runs.
England 98 defeated United Arab Emirates 83 by 15 runs
Player of the Final: Elise Hart, Australia
Player of the Tournament: Cynthia Coghlan, Australia
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Alanah Gregory set the tone with four runs off the first ball. The Aussies got off to a fine start, before a run-out in the last over of the pair kept New Zealand motivated in the field.
Despite a great first over from the second partnership, New Zealand took back the momentum, with four wickets in nine balls. Australia responded positively with 10 runs in the eighth over.
A run-out on the second ball kicked things off for New Zealand in the third pair, with a couple wickets following. A late back-net shot from Rituja Takelar moved the pair up to a respectable 20.
Ella Harvey and Gabby Lockwood looked to set for a big score, racing to 30 after just three overs, before Dayle Anderson grabbed two late wickets to give New Zealand some belief at the innings break, with 101 the target to win the title.
Australia started their defense strongly, with five wickets in the opening partnership, including at least one in every over. The New Zealand openers could only manage a meagre seven runs, leaving a big task at hand.
Australia continued their attack, taking two early wickets in the second pair, before a 13-run over gave the Kiwis something to build on.
Despite a handy first over from the third partnership, the pressure in the field remained immense, with victory slipping away from the reigning champions.
An impressive 29 for the final pair from Bree James and Olivia Ross wasn’t enough, with the New Zealanders falling 31 runs short. The first victory of the day going the way of the Australians.
Leading Contributors:
Most wickets: Cynthia Coghlan (AUS) - 25 wickets at 2.27 wickets per game.
Most runs: Cynthia Coghlan (AUS) - 215 runs at 19.55 runs per game.
Best contribution (total): Cynthia Coghlan (AUS) - 204 contribution from 11 games.
Best contribution (average): Jasmin Earl (AUS) - 22.13 per game from eight games.
Under-22 Men
Australia 125 (42-35-24-24) [J Noorbergen/Benson 42, Duker 2/2, Carter 1/14] defeated New Zealand 114 (26-20-31-37) [Amaral/Annand 37, J Noorbergen 2/5, Kearney 1/7] by 11 runs.
United Arab Emirates 88 defeated England 78 by 10 runs
Player of the Tournament: Carl Goosen, South Africa
Charlie Pawson and Reuben Carter made a terrific start for the defending champions after being asked to bat first. The openers were cruising on 31, before a run-out on the final ball from Australian skipper Jay Noorbergen.
Australia started the second pair well with an early run-out, but the New Zealanders showed composure to score 20 runs under some great bowling pressure.
Sam Clode and Rikesh Patel were superb in the third pair, losing just one wicket, and moved the score on to 77 after 12 overs.
Despite three wickets in the final partnership, it was the counter-attack from Harlin Amaral, who smashed two sevens and a five, that brought the New Zealanders to an imposing 114 at the end of their innings. In the context of the final this would be a tough chase for the Australians,
Starting the chase, Noorbergen and Ethan Benson were flawless in the opening partnership, smashing 42 runs. The momentum was now well and truly with the Australians.
Blake Noorbergen and Josh Smith took advantage of the brilliant start, hitting 35 runs of their own for the second partnership to vault Australia’s score to 77 by the halfway mark of the innings. It left just 38 to score in the last eight overs, as New Zealand, who had not taken a wicket in the first eight, saw the game slipping away.
Australia continued their clinical batting display, before Jacob Duker was finally able to conjure up the first wicket for the Kiwis, in the 12th over.
With 14 needed from the final pair for victory, Paul Draheim and Damien Guild started with a 10-run over. Three wickets fell throughout the partnership, but the damage was minimised via a couple of back-net shots, sealing victory for Australia by 11 runs.
Leading Contributors:
Most wickets: Nathan Kerr (AUS) - 21 wickets at 3.00 wickets per game; Leo Ward (ENG) - 21 wickets at 2.33 wickets per game.
Most runs: Jacob Duker (NZL) - 159 runs at 15.90 runs per game.
Best contribution (total): Jacob Duker (NZL) - 135 contribution from 10 games.
Best contribution (average): Nathan Kerr (AUS) -18.43 per game from seven games.
Image: U-Pro Indoor Cricket
