The NT has claimed the silver medal at the recent School Sport Australia 12 and under national championships held in Barooga, New South Wales from January 8th – 14th. The team coached by Grant Ebbers from Darwin Middle School had four victories from its five games to see them finish second to New South Wales in the final standings and claim the silver medal for the tournament.
In round one they took on South Australia, NT bowled first and bowled and fielded exceptionally well to restrict South Australia to 145. In reply the NT looked to be faltering at the half way mark of their innings precariously placed at 4/74. In stepped Josh Hetherington, he struck a fine half century to see NT overhaul the South Australian target in the 49th over.
The second round saw NT take on the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Batting first NT compiled 8/164 with Dylan Mullan 54, Luke Lund 38 and Tom Nixon 27 leading the way with the bat. In reply the ACT could only manage 93 All Out as the NT bowlers bowled with great control to limit the scoring opportunities of the ACT batters. The best of the bowlers was Mitchell Pemberton with 3/10.
Round three of the tournament saw NT take on New South Wales. Batting first New South Wales compiled 6/166 with Sam Dick being the only multiple wicket taker with two wickets. In reply the NT could only manage 105 All Out. The NT batsmen struggled to score freely as the NSW bowlers were relentless at their attack on the off stump and the fielders backed them accordingly. The best of the NT batsmen were Josh Hetherington 37, Louis Coonan 23 and Tom Nixon 21.
Round four saw the NT bounce back with a win against Queensland in a thriller. Batting first the NT was restricted to 120 All Out. Keeper batsmen Louis Coonan was the best of the NT batsmen scoring a fine half century. After 49 overs, Queensland had compiled 8/114. Needing only seven runs for a victory NT captain Dylan Mullan turned to Nathan Hangan to bowl the last over of the game. Nathan responded to the challenge and executed a maiden over under immense pressure to give NT victory by six runs.
The last game of the tournament was against Victoria. Victoria batted first and the NT bowling group were on their game restricting Victoria to 9/115 after their 50 overs. Wickets were shared amongst all the bowlers. In reply the NT finished with 5/122 in the 48th over. Josh Hetherington finished the tournament the way he started with a fine half century to guide the NT to their fourth win from five matches.
Throughout the tournament the NT were challenged by all states and responded accordingly with some fine team performances. Many of the young up and coming juniors from around the Territory showed they have exceptional talent and we will watch with interest as these players progress through the representative pathway in the years to come.