Cricket Far North juniors to feature in four grand finals
FOUR Cricket Far North junior representative teams have booked spots in their respective grand finals at this week’s Bulls Masters Youth Cup and North Queensland Cricket Alliance Championships.
The under-16s were the first to secure their spot after backto-back wins over Mackay Whitsunday at the Bulls Masters Youth Cup in Bundaberg.
The Fusion made light work of their rivals in Tuesday night’s Twenty20, chasing down the required 84 runs in the 15th over.
Brody Zanetich (3-16 from 3.1) led the way with the ball, before a 51-run stand between Aidan Firman (37 off 39) and William Hanlon (26 not out off 32) put the result beyond doubt.
In Wednesday’s 50-over win, Hanlon (46 not out off 67, 3-12 from 5.1) starred again, sharing in a 67-run partnership with Alex Nasser (45 off 63) before he ripped through the Nitros’ order.
Seth McGinty maintained his wicket-taking ways with another three-wicket haul, bringing his tournament tally to 13.
In Mackay, the U15s punched their ticket to their grand final with a win over the hosts, with Henry King (4-18 from 7.5) and Patrick Stevens (50 off 75) helping guide the side to victory.
The U12As will enter their grand final on a three-game win streak, after Wednesday’s victory over Mackay-Whitsunday.
Banjo Jenkins (31 off 42), Finn Vikionkorpi (30 off 29), Brody Bakurski (29 off 41) and Giacomo De Faveri (20 off 46) piled on the runs, before Marko van Vuuren (5-17 from 6.3) and Riley Mallyon (3-3 from 3.0) did the damage with the ball.
In Townsville, the U14s started Wednesday in third spot and, while they needed a win against Mackay-Whitsunday to be any chance of making the grand final, they also needed Central Queensland to defeat North Queensland.
A team bowling effort, which included seven wicket-takers, and a blistering ton from skipper Charlie Lawrence (100 not out off 121) set up the Fusion’s win, while Central Queensland also held up their end of the bargain.
The U12Bs and U13s both won on Wednesday, but missed out on making their grand finals.