THE Victorian 12-and-under boys cricket team has won back-to-back School Sport Australia titles.
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The team claimed its second consecutive crown after defeating rivals New South Wales in Darwin on Sunday.
Claiming a 14-run win, the boys, which included Kangaroo Flat junior Ryan O'Keefe, won four games across the tournament to share the gold medal with Queensland.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Victorians scored a total of 132, with O'Keefe among the best with the bat.
The 12-year-old scored 21 runs off 28 balls and also took a wicket.
The Victorians put New South Wales on the back-foot, quickly taking four wickets.
In the end Victoria was too strong, bowling out New South Wales for 118.
"It was very exciting and I'm really happy for the kids," Victorian coach Dave Gallacher said.
"In our last two games we had runs on the board and it really came down to our tight bowling with the boys holding themselves together under pressure.
"We had limited preparation with only three sessions, so to see the boys gel and come together as a team quickly was great."
On Saturday, the Victorian boys also defeated Northern Territory.
O'Keefe scored 24 runs in Victoria's 9/128 total.
Northern Territory ended with figures of 10/110.
The Crusoe College student ended the tournament with 83 runs and two wickets.
The Victorian 12-and-under girls finished the competition in third place, bringing home a bronze medal.
The girls team scored two wins for the competition.
Letesha Bawden was a part of the Victorian team.
The White Hills cricketer took one wicket and scored four runs throughout the tournament.
