Year 11/12 boys side come out top of the CD world

The Cross Country Rentals Taranaki Year 11 and 12 boys team have been crowned CD champions, taking out a gripping final against Hawkes Bay that came down to the final overs.

The final Hawkes Bay wicket fell with the tournament hosts still requiring 17 runs off 15 balls, after a chase that had been full of grit.

Taranaki had won the toss and opted to bat first against their more fancied opponents. Despite the loss of opener Logan Hislop on the first ball of the innings, a standout partnership between captain Taene Nelly (78) and Flynn Wilson (70) along with strong lower order contributions from Riley Parker (23) and Jamie Ingram (32) took Taranaki through to a competitive total of 238.

Hawkes Bay made a strong start to their chase but once the first wicket fell a quick flurry from Ethan Staddon, who capped a strong tournament with 4/48 saw Taranaki gain the upper hand. Hawkes Bay cricketers are rarely out fo the fight though, and some good tail order partnerships took them to the cusp of victory, before Staddon, Ingram and Asher Ryan put the screws on at the end – keeping the wickets coming and the pressure building, and closing out an outstanding win.

The path to the final saw the side notch up wins over Whanganui, by 10 wickets in their nearest neighbour pre-tournament week T20, and Marlborough and Nelson at the tournament itself. Marlborough were dispatched on day 1 of the tournament by 162 runs, while the team took out a 2-wicket nailbiter the next day against Nelson.

There was no shortage of standout performances over the four matches but some of the highlights were a cracking 70 by Stirling Monk against Marlborough and bowling figures for Staddon (5/11) and Ingram (4/16) in the same game.

Coach Tinashe Chimbambo was extremely proud of the team’s efforts and said it was just reward for a group of players who had worked very hard for the result and represented Taranaki with pride.

Congratulations to the players, coaches and management and a huge thanks to the parents, supporters, sponsors and everyone else involved with the team’s success.

Full details are available here at Play HQ.