Western Australia have risen to a thrilling victory at the U19 National Championships
WA claim Rod Marsh Trophy at U19 championships
After edging out hosts South Australia in the semi-final, Western Australia rose to another emphatic victory on Thursday to claim the elusive Rod Marsh Trophy at the U19 championships.
WA quick Albert Esterhuysen led his side to victory in the final with a stellar 3-21 off nine overs to leave Victoria Metro bowled out for 128, 20 runs short at Karen Rolton Oval.
His performance, which included two maidens and three of his side's last four wickets, led him to earning Player of the Final honours.
Fittingly, Connor Southam, who also finished with three wickets, got the winning wicket for WA thanks to a sharp catch from competition-leading run scorer and captain, Simon Budge, who struck a key 30 in the first innings opening the batting.
The Melville wicketkeeper-bat also scored 111 in the semi-final against South Australia and led the runs in the tournament with 346 runs at an average of 57.7.
Ethan Benson was also vital for WA with 34no as Vishwa Ramkumar (4-32) was the pick of the Victoria Metro bowlers and Christian Howe (40no) fought his best with the bat to try and chase WA's total.
But WA proved to be the better team on the day as they continually claimed wickets to win the title in their fifth win in a row at the championships after losing their first game to Queensland.
It caps a week-long carnival in Adelaide where countless U19 cricketers from around the country took to the field to showcase their talent.
WA's Jordan Quiggin finished as the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 18 wickets including 2-32 in the final.
The Spirit of Cricket Award went to Northern Territory who produced a compelling championship with three wins.
The Brian Taber medal for the Player of the Tournament was tied between Alex Turner (Victoria Metro) and Joshua Malone (Northern Territory).
Team of the Tournament: Simon Budge (WA), Riley Kingsell (NSW Metro), Jayden Draper (QLD), Oliver Peake (VIC Country), Bailey Abela (NSW Country), Aidan O’Connor (TAS), Thomas Brown (SA), Jordan Quiggin (WA), Josh Malone (NT), Kyle Parrot (VIC Country), Vishwa Ramkumar (VIC Metro), Ryan Cattle (NSW Country) (12th man)