Man of the Match North Coastal's Sam Reading receives his award from RTA Speedblitz Blues player Luke Doran

North Coastal have won the Under 16 State Challenge over Bankstown in a thriller. For the first time the match was played  in a Twenty20 format, as well as being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Batting first, North Coastal tallied an impressive 7-168 led by skipper Dain Morton with a superb 50. Morton was well supported by Nick De Guisti (27) who cleared the boundary a number of times, Sam Reading (25) and some late order hitting by Sam Anderson (20). Liam Davidson bowled a tight spell early for Bankstown with some pace and aggression while leggie Ashley Paddison snared 3-24.

After losing an early wicket, Michael Challitta (54) and Liam Davidson (20) added 76 in short time and looked in control. Challitta was particularly impressive with some beautiful shots straight down the ground. Jake Cormack batted well for 32 before he was brilliantly stumped by Sam Reading. Wickets fell quickly in chase of the target, and it was down to a run a ball with 4 overs remaining. Some sensational outfielding by the North Coast lads saw 2 runs outs, and Reading chipped in with another smart stumping which saw Bankstown require 11 from the last over with 2 wickets in hand. Another run out saw Bankstown fall tantalisingly short of the target in a superb game with plenty of vocal support for both sides.

Sam Reading (North Coast) was named as the Man of the Match with a superb display behind the stumps and clever dig with the bat.

A full score card for the match is available under the Fixtures and Results tab in the Main Menu. Click HERE for a slideshow of photos of the match

On the 9th, 10th and 11th February, NSW Country Colts played the High Performance Youth XII (HP XII)  in two Twenty20 fixtures and a 2 day fixture at Blacktown Olympic Park.

The HP XII side dominated the Twenty20 fixtures, winning both games easily. In the 2 day fixture however, NSW Country recovered from a poor first innings batting performance which saw them 39 runs behind, to secure an outright victory over the HP XII.

Batting first, the HP XII scrambled together 187 led by Jordan Silk (70), Kurtis Patterson (45) and Angus Robson (36). The leading bowler for the Country side was skipper Kaine Harmsworth with 4-40, well supported by Michael Radnidge (3-37) and Ray Cooper (2-11)\. In reply, the Country Colts side were in good shape at 3-109, however a batting collapse saw them dismissed for 148. The pick of the bats for Country were Kurt Neely (45), Jordan Peacock (33) and Jono Laverick (25), while Scott Heaney (4-55), Pat Cummins (2-8) and Adam Zampa (2-17) did the job with the ball for the HP XII.

Batting a second time, the HP XII were bundled out for 98 with only Jordan Silk (30) and Sean Abbott (25) offering any resistance. Ray Cooper was impressive in taking 3-7, Harmsworth completed a fine double with 3-29 while Jono Laverick chipped in with 2 wickets. Chasing 138 for victory, the Country side attacked from the start and led by a blistering 77no from Aaron Flaherty cruised to victory in the 28th over for the loss of only 3 wickets.

Full scorecards for the Twenty20 and 2 day fixtures are available under the Fixtures and Results tab on the Main Menu.

Newcastle have taken out the Hughes Lilienthal Shield in the Country Colts Carnival held in Maitland on the 23rd and 24th January 2010. Both Newcastle clashed with North Coast in the final after being undefeated in the preliminary rounds. Batting first, North Coast totalled a competitive 242 led by Adam Turner (56) and Matt Parrish (46). In a superb spell of bowling, Newcastle's Ray Cooper took 6-53.

In reply, Newcastle cruised to victory in 47 overs with the loss of 5 wickets. Best with the bat were Jesse Major (50), Jason Keelan (45no) and Jed Dickson (40). The pick of the bowlers for North Coast was Grafton left arm quick Rohan Hackett with 2-32.

In beautiful conditions at Oxley Oval Port Macquarie, North Coast have capped a fine season for their Under 14 side in winning the State Challenge over the NSWDCA Harold Moore Shield winners South Eastern in a classic game of cricket which went down to the wire.

Batting first, North Coast were in all of trouble at 5-48 against some superb bowling from Manns, Erickson and Ezekiel. Coming to the wicket with the score on 32, a superb unbeaten innings of 57 by Darcy Balenzo held the Coast's innings together aided by both Olly James (37) and James Carroll (22) which saw North Coast scrape together a defendable 165. The best of the bowlers for South Eastern were Erickson (4-25) and Manns (3-28).

In reply, South Eastern started steadily, with Tim Jagot leading the way. Despite losing the wicket of Jagot for 49 with the score on 101, with 6 wickets in hand and plenty of overs to go, it was looking very much like a South Eastern victory. As they did in the Kookaburra Cup final North Coast fought back with their fielding led by Owen Geard and  a vital run out then saw wickets began to fall. South Eastern lost 5 wickets for 38 runs and this left the last pair with 27 to secure victory. Despite some shaky moments, North Coast held their cool and South Eastern were dismissed for 155. Other to do well with the bat for South Eastern were Duffy (28) and Ezekiel (22) while the pick of the bowlers for North Coast were Dickson (4-22) and Blake Taylor (2-22).

The Player of the Match was awarded to Owen Geard from North Coast for a superb effort in the field.

North Coast have secured their second trophy in two weeks after defeating Central Coast in today's final of the U14 Kookaburra Cup at Bradman Oval. The victory sees North Coast dominate Country Cricket junior carnivals this season winning both the Bradman Cup and Kookaburra Cup.

In today's final Central Coast won the toss and elected to bat on a brilliant wicket at Bradman Oval. They were in trouble at 6 for 54 before a steadying partnership between Mark Mariner (70) and Jonte Pattison (50). Central Coast were finally all out for 173 with the wickets shared amongst the North Coast bowlers.

North Coast lost two early wickets before the middle order fired, Blake Taylor (51), Nathaniel Scott (40) scored quickly for North Coast  however it was Jake Kroehnert with a solid 34 not out in the final few tense overs got the North Coast team over the line 7 wickets down to secure the Kookaburra Cup for 2010.

Central Coast allrounder Mark Mariner was named player of the final.

The carnival was a great success for first time hosts Highlands CA and their hardworking group of volunteers.

Full score cards available in the Fixtures and Results tab in the Main Menu.

Congratulations go to the following umpires who will be standing in the CBA Australian Country Cricket Championships in Albury Wodonga from 3 - 14 January 2010.

Glen Crew, Ricky Field, Adam Marshall (Central North), Neil Findlay (Illawarra), Tony Hackett (Riverina), Don Maisey (Central Coast), Kim Norris (Newcastle), Paul Price, Paul Dilley, David Went (Nth Coast) and Bruce Whiteman (Southern) while Keith Griffiths (Nth Coast) the NSW Country Representative Umpires Advisor will undertake the role of Match Referee for the Championships.

North Coastal Zone will play the A W Green Shield winners Bankstown at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 14th February 2010 in the Under 16 State Challenge. The match will commence at 1.30pm and will be a Twenty20 fixture.