Cricket: Central Norths under 16 girls reach Country Championships grand final

The team set off for the NSW Under 16s Girls Country Championships on Sunday with plenty of hope and promise in their ranks.

But a blockbuster start to the tournament on Monday even took coach Luke Knight aback, and set the stage for a blazing run to the final on Tuesday afternoon.

"They definitely played some two cricket over the two days, and we set the platform in our first game yesterday against North Coast," Knight said.

Having restricted North Coast to 9-83, the Central North girls had a fairly straightforward chase to get their campaign underway.

Prior to the tournament, Knight expected the team's bowling to be their strong suit. But they quickly turned that prediction on its head and reached the target in 11 overs for the loss of one wicket.

"Our bowling was probably a little bit frustrating at times with our lines and lengths, but our batting certainly made up for that and really came through," Knight said.

Their second game against the ACT followed the same pattern as the first, as Central North chased down 121 with nine balls to spare.

This win put them at the top of the Pool A table, and only a heavy loss in their third round game on Tuesday morning would push them out of the grand final.

The match against Illawarra seemed to be going the same way as the two prior, after Central North restricted their opponents to a total of 6-107 and were batting calmly in response. But in the last 10 overs, things fell apart.

"Their bowlers bowled some really tight lines and we got a little bit shy of hitting off the square," Knight said.

"We left ourselves too many runs to get in the back end."

Central North finished the innings at 4-106, just one run shy of the target. But the loss was not enough to dislodge them from first place, and they progressed through to the grand final against Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon.

After three games in two days, however, the physical demands took a toll on the Central North girls, and they were outplayed by Newcastle to lose by 28 runs.

In spite of that loss, Knight was "pretty ecstatic" with their efforts and the teamwork they showed over the course of two days.

"Our first training session was Saturday where the girls came together for a couple of hours," he said.

"So for them to pull together and make it to the final, I'm pretty ecstatic with that."

Now that the under 16s tournament has concluded, some of the Central North girls will stay on with the under 19s side as their Country Championships are set to begin today.

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