FINAL Tournament Placings: Heaton Intermediate 10, Remuera Intermediate 8, Balmacewen Intermediate 4, Tauranga Intermediate 4, Tawa Intermediate 2, Saint Matthews Collegiate 2
Round Four
Balmacewen Intermediate 35 all out off 12.3 overs (K Hall 4-6) lost to Remuera Intermediate 36-3 after 5.4 overs (M Kumar 2-2), Manawaroa Park #6
Balmacewen Intermediate had it all to do against their Auckland rivals, Remuera Intermediate. Remuera were ruthlessly efficient in the field, dismissing Balmacewen for just 35. With no substantial contributions Balmacewen struggled against a disciplined bowling line up which was lead by Kate Hall capturing 4-6 from her four overs. A quick change over at innings break, Balmacewen knew they had some work to do to slow the confident Remuera side. Remuera, looking cool, calm, and collected and despite Megha Kumar doing her best to slow Remuera’s charge with a crucial 2-2, Remuera moved on to three victories from four games, reaching the required runs in 5.4 overs.
Heaton Intermediate 119 all out (L Young 55, A Narang 2-17, M Keane 2-20) beat Tauranga Intermediate 45-6 (A Grayson 14, A Danholt 2-5, L Young 2-5, C Heartland 2-11), Manawaroa Park #4
Heaton Intermediate batted first in their fourth game against Tauranga Intermediate. With their eyes set on the possibility of bringing the Shield home once again, they knew a slip up could give Tauranga a sniff in the race for the ANZ Junior Shield. A focused and formidable Lily Young, scored 55-run helping Heaton post 119. The final wicket came on the final ball of the final over with Tauranga’s Ahaana Narang 2-17 and Mikayla Keane 2-20 playing key roles in their restriction of Heaton to a below par total for their high standards. In reply wickets fell regularly and despite a battling 14 from inform Amelia Grason, Tauranga never got their noses in front. They completed their innings, posting a total of 45-6. Ava Danholt lead the Heaton attack with 2-5 off four overs, Lily Young also contributing with the ball with excellent figures of 2-5 and Ciara Heartland 2-11. Heaton move onto the afternoon games still unbeaten.
Tawa Intermediate 117-7 (A Birmingham 37, B Meroiti 30*) beat St Matthews Collegiate 93 all out off 18 overs (F Wells 26, G Abbott 3-22), Manawaroa Park #7
Tawa started the final day of the ANZ Junior Shield having not won a game. With St Matts in their sights and desperate for a win, they were put into bat first. After the first two wickets fell, Anya Birmingham managed to secure a tidy 37 runs, while team-mate Baylee Meroiti was left unbeaten on 30* a great contribution to the Tawa total of 117/7. St Matts reply, struggled early with early inroads made into the St Matt’s top order. Francesca Wells hoped to lift the team’s spirit with a score of 26 runs but nothing could stop the relentless Greta Abbott taking 3 wickets for 22 runs in 4 overs, leaving St Matts all out on 93 and securing Tawa’s first win of the tournament.
Round Five
Remuera Intermediate 87 all out off 18.2 overs (M Drumm 13, A Grason 2-11,) beat Tauranga Intermediate 31 all out off 12.3 overs (C McGuire 3-1, G Hayward 3-5), Manawaroa Park #7
Remuera knew if they were to have a shot at gold, they would need Heaton to lose their final game and improve their run rate against Tauranga. Tauranga, after winning the toss, put the strong Remuera side into bat first, hoping to put pressure on them with their well-practiced bowling. The shining light for the Remuera side was Mollie Drumm with 13 runs as the rest of the batting order feeling the pressure with no one else making it to double figures. Amelia Grason put the pressure on reaching figures of 2-11 with the ball, dismissing Remuera, all out for 87. After a top bowling attack, Tauranga knew they would need to dig deep to reach their target of 88. Remuera’s Christelle McGuire took 3 wickets for just one run and Gabby Hayward took 3 for 5 runs, stall Tauranga chase didn’t progress, pulling out some of the best bowling figures of the tournament ending Tauranga’s innings with just 31 runs.
Tawa Intermediate 88 all out off 19.4 overs (G Abbott 24) lost to Balmacewen Intermediate 92-2 off 18 overs (M Kumar 28), Manawaroa Park #4
Balmacewen have won a nail biter over Tawa Intermediate in the final round of the ANZ Junior Shield. Tawa, after winning the toss elected to bat in the hopes of going out strong. With the top order knocked over, Greta Abbott stepping up scoring 24 runs for Tawa. Balmacewen didn’t help themselves, gifting Tawa 45 runs through extras. With most bowlers taking at least one wicket, Tawa scored a below par score, dismissed for 88. Balmacewen knew they needed some strong partnerships to succeed and Megha Kumar produced an unbeaten 28 along with teammate Kate Ballantyne who hit a run a ball 16 and hit a boundary to take the win for Balmacewen. This secured 3rd place for the Dunedin school.
Heaton Normal Intermediate all out for 90 off 17.1 overs (L Young 16, F Wells 4-18) beat St Matthews Collegiate 63 all out off 11.3 overs (I Bartlett 44, A Danholt 3-16), Manawaroa Park #6
Heaton Normal had a nerve-racking final game against St Matts in the ANZ Junior Shield. The six-time national champions in the past 8 years, knew they needed to win their final game to stay undefeated and secure the retention of their title. St Matt's won the toss and put Heaton Normal into bat first. Pressure came on early with neither of the opening batters making it to double figures. Lily Young was the highest run scorer, making 16 runs for the under pressure Heaton side. The rest of the batting order fell away with Fan Wells making a significant contribution, taking 4 wickets for 18 runs off 4 overs, dismissing Heaton for 90 in 17.1 overs. The St Matts side took an aggressive approach to reaching the Heaton total. Heaton’s captain, Ava Danholt had her own plans, taking 3 wickets for 16 runs, preventing St Matt’s from reaching their target, leading Heaton to yet another national title. Player of the tournament India Bartlett was influential in almost taking Heaton down scoring 44 of St Matt’s 63 runs.
