WA Wins National Male Under 17 Championships
14 / 01 / 2010
Western Australia has broken a 31-year drought by winning the National Male Under 17 Championships in Adelaide.
WA completed an unbeaten campaign of six first innings wins and one outright victory earlier today when they crushed defending champions New South Wales by 204 runs to claim the state's first National Under 17 title since 1978-79.
Two of WA's stars of the tournament were instrumental in their final round win over NSW – Willetton wicket-keeper Cameron Bancroft top-scored with 86 as WA amassed 321 after skipper Ashton Turner won the toss and chose to bat first. Claremont-Nedlands opener Will Bosisto staked his claim for the carnival's leading run-scorer by chipping in with 72.
Bancroft scored 263 runs for the tournament at an average of 43.8, and snared 22 dismissals (16 catches, six stumpings), which is one off the competition record. Bosisto recovered from a slow start to the carnival to finish as one of its most prolific batsmen, with 309 runs at 61.8, including a top score of 122 in the thrilling win against Victoria in round five.
Chasing 322 for victory was never going to be an easy task for New South Wales, and they were dismissed midway through the second and final day of the match for 117. Fremantle leg-spinner Daniel Kennedy took 6-27 to rattle through the junior Blues line-up.
Willetton fast bowler Simon Mackin and Bayswater-Morley medium-pacer Ryan Wetherall each took 12 wickets for the tournament to be the leading WA bowlers, while Fremantle's Turner snared 11 wickets bowling his off-spinners. Subiaco-Floreat quick Ben O'Regan picked up nine wickets and impressed many astute judges with his pace and venom.
WACA High Performance Coach Lindsay Flinn, who was at the helm of the WA Under 17s, said the win was a great reward for the team.
“The players have worked extremely hard leading up to this carnival and have done themselves and their state proud with the way they have conducted themselves on and off the field at these championships,” Flinn said.
The Under 17s title continues a fantastic run by Western Australian teams at National Championship carnivals in recent seasons. WA took out the SchoolSport National Under 15s Championship last summer – a team that was led by Bosisto – and finished second at the National Under 17 and Under 19 titles in 2008-09.
Retravision Warriors all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is also leading the Australian team at the ICC Under 19 World Cup, which begins next week in New Zealand.
WACA Chief Executive Officer Graeme Wood says the outstanding results are testimony to the hard work put in by many people involved with the teams.
“Having played in a victorious National Under 19 Championship for Western Australia I know that all who are involved will be extremely proud of the achievement and it will be a treasured memory long into the future,” Wood said.
“I congratulate the WACA High Performance Department, led by Manager Doug Harris, as well as Lindsay Flinn and his Assistant Coach with the Under 17s in Aaron Harwood.
“I also pay tribute to the players that have served their state with distinction over the past two weeks, and the countless support staff and parents that have freely given their time to assist them to achieve a fantastic and well-deserved championship win.”