Auckland Under 15 Girls

2012/13

Team        

Natasha van Tilburg (c) - Western
Yasmeen Kareem - Eastern
Liz Olney - North Harbour
Jesse Prasad - Eastern
Isabella Ching - Central
Radika Patel - Central
Lucy King - Central
Ahalya Babu - Eastern
Claire McKavanagh - Manukau
Amberley Parr - Manukau
Ella Neighbours - Eastern
Georgia Rollo - Central

Non Travelling Reserves

Christy Alexander - Eastern
Ashlee Cooper - Western
Tariel Lamb - Central
Tayla Currey - Central

Management

Coach: Gemma Lord
Assistant Coach / Manager: Rebecca Yee    

Schedule

Will play in the Wanganui U15 girls tournament from 8-11 January 2013.

Warm up games/ camp will happen prior to this

Results

Wanganui Tournament

The Auckland U15 girls squad have just returned from Wanganui where they had great success in the 2013 National Girls Development tournament finishing second out of eight U15 and secondary schoolgirl U17 teams.

The Auckland team, coached by Auckland University Premier women`s captain Gemma Lord, was selected after the pre-Christmas U15 district tournament with five of the associations being represented in the squad.

In the opening match the girls lost out in a nail biter against Northern Districts. Auckland captain Natasha Van Tilburg of Eden Roskill and Western lost the toss and her side were put in to bat on a dry and lifeless pitch. Eastern`s Yasmeen Kareem got the team off to a good start, scoring 29, but a steady flow of wickets meant the girls needed to dig in in the middle overs and, after some useful runs from the lower order, Auckland were able to post a solid total of 119/6.

In reply Liz Olney and Jesse Prasad each picked up three wickets as the game came down to the final over, but it was Northern Districts who held their nerve to secure victory by three wickets.

After the opening loss the girls embarked on a four game winning streak which they rode all the way into the final. In game two Auckland showed their dominance over Wanganui in a one-sided encounter. Batting first our girls amassed 186/2 thanks to half centuries from Kareem and Van Tilburg before Ahalya Babu claimed the astonishing figures of 5/3 in three overs as the hosts could only muster 28 runs in reply.

Babu was amongst the wickets again in game three claiming 3/28 while Claire McKavanagh picked up 2/16 as Taranaki were bowled out for 108. Our girls needed just 20 overs to overhaul that score, Van Tilburg (45no) and Kareem (31no) once again leading the way.

It was more of the same in game four where Central Districts became the latest victims as they could only reach 65 batting first, Liz Olney and Georgia Rollo amongst the wickets on this occasion. Olney then completed a fine all-round display finishing 15 not out as Auckland raced to victory inside 15 overs with Kareem also unbeaten on 35.

Next up was secondary school girl side Manuatu in the semi-finals, a team amongst the favourites for the Championship. Auckland were expecting a tough game but once again their bowlers performed admirably as the opposition were restricted to just 96 with Claire McKavanagh (5/14) and Ella Neighbours (2/19) doing the damage. In reply captain Van Tilburg led from the front with an unbeaten half century which sent her side through to the final against Wellington.

After four outstanding performances the girls fell at the last hurdle in a rain reduced 20 over final. Wellington amassed a healthy total of 138 first up. In reply Auckland slumped to 49/6 but continued to fight until the very end with Jesse Prasad and Isabella Ching keeping hopes alive until the very end. 

Despite the finals defeat coach Gemma Lord was delighted with her team's performance over the four days: "The girls had a very successful tournament and they should be proud to finish second. It was really fantastic to see that the individual skills performed by all enhanced the overall team performance and success.

"Special mention goes to Lucy King who was our back up wicket-keeper but was used in every game as Natasha Van Tilburg was required to bowl - Lucy did an outstanding job behind the stumps. The girls were a team on and off the field and it was an awesome group to be a part of."

Results:

Game One

Auckland 119/6 (Y Kareem 29) lost to Northern Districts 120/7 (L Olney 3/13, J Prasad 3/16) by three wickets.

Game Two

Auckland 186/2 (Y Kareem 57 ret, N Van Tilburg 50 ret) defeated Wanganui 28 (A Babu 5/3, L Olney 2/8, C McKavanagh 2/7) by 158 runs.

Game Three

Taranaki 108 (A Babu 3/28, C McKavanagh 2/16) lost to Auckland 109/1 (N Van Tilburg 45no, Y Kareem 31no) by nine wickets.

Game Four

Central Districts 65 (L Olney 4/8) lost to Auckland 66/1 (Y Kareem 35no) by nine wickets.

Semi-finals

Manawatu 90 (C McKavanagh 5/14, E Neighbours 2/19) lost to Auckland 91/1 (N Van Tilburg 56no) by nine wickets.

Final

Wellington 138/4 defeated Auckland 78/6 by 60 runs.