Under-19 National Championships begin with mixed results

Vic Metro kicked their campaign off in fine style, scoring a four-wicket win over Queensland at Railway Oval.

Winning the toss and batting first, Queensland were bowled out for 199 in the 49^th over.

Nick Fletcher took 3-33, Gehan Seneviratne took 2-32 and Jonah Koch claimed 2-48, while Sam Grimwade, Mitchell Barnewall and Thomas O’Donnell all took one wicket each.

Metro timed their chase perfectly, reaching the target of 200 in the 48^th over.

Will Pucovski top scored with 58, while skipper Sam Harper made 45 and Liam Banthorpe hit 34.

The Vic Country side suffered a loss in their first game against ACT/NSW Country at Woodville Oval.

Vic Country won the toss and elected to bat, doing so with good results, scoring 4-246 from their 50 overs.

Blake Thomson top scored with 65, while Nick King (50), Angus Boyd (50 from 29 balls) and captain Matt Underwood (44) also contributed to the total.

ACT/NSW Country were able to form good partnerships during their innings, with Henry Hunt scoring 128 and James Psarakis making 50 in a successful chase.

Xavier Crone, Adam McMaster, Angus Boyd and Liam Bowe all took a wicket each for Vic Country.

Sam Elliott had a good start to his Under 19 campaign with the Northern Territory team in a win over South Australia.

Elliott took 1-34 from ten overs in Northern Territory’s 15-run victory.

Jonathan Merlo and Blake Parsons also made appearances in the Under 17 Cricket Australia XI, and performed very well against tough opposition in NSW Metro.

Merlo took 1-21 form five overs and top scored with 56 with the bat, while Parsons bowled ten overs, finishing with 0-30 in a 48-run loss.

It will be an all-Victorian affair today as the Metro and Country teams face off at Prospect Oval.