ROUND ONE

Central HINDS beat the Otago Sparks by 73 runs (bonus point win)

At Donnelly Park, Levin

16 November 2019

ROUND Two

Central HINDS v Otago Sparks - points shared after washout

At Donnelly Park, Levin

17 November 2019

Defending champions the Central Hinds got off to a winning start in their 40th anniversary season, with a strong bowling attack proving too much for a fresh-look and youthful Otago Sparks side.

Sent in by new Sparks captain Bella James in the opening round, the Hinds had earlier made hard work of their own innings, losing their top order cheaply at 33/3 before Kerry Tomlinson and Hannah Rowe took control of the rudder for the next 12 overs with a 51-run stand.

Diminutive Eden Carson claimed a big wicket in Rowe caught on 22, but Tomlinson (42) crucially stuck around to put on a further 30 runs in the next set of 10, batting with the experienced Esther Lanser who top-scored with a calm 45.

Lanser then shared a 29-run partnership with Rosemary Mair for the sixth wicket before Mikaela Greig looked to inject quick runs.

Although the Hinds were dismissed with seven balls left in the innings, the Sparks had handed them 29 runs in the extras column that inflated the target the southerners then had to chase down to 199.

WHITE FERNS seamer Rosemary Mair — who hit intrernational headlines a fortnight ago for a perfect four-over spell, including a double hat-trick quadruple wicket maiden playing for Hawke’s Bay in the Shrimpton Trophy — again hit her mark straight away with the ball, returning 4-1-5-2 from her opening spell.

The Sparks dropped below the asking rate from the 10th over with Monique Rees claiming the big wicket of Hayley Jensen who was caught behind cheaply on her Sparks debut, while Mair finished her 10 overs with three for 21 — by which time the Sparks were nine down and hanging on by the skin of their teeth, with 92 runs still needed off their last 10 overs.

The last pair of Sophie Gray, who top-scored with 36 on her Sparks debut, and Sophie Oldershaw put up a good fight with a 27-run stand for the last wicket before Rowe sealed the 73-run win in just the 43rd over.

The win got the reigning champions off to a flier with a bonus point victory taking them to top spot on the table. It was valuable points in the bank with wet weather brushing the lower North Island for Sunday's second round at the same venue, resulting a washout with no toss made.

Despite the abandoment, flipped results in the other two Sunday second-round matches in Christchurch and Wellington saw the Hinds stay top of the table after the first two rounds of 2019/20.

The Hinds' next assignment will be away to Wellington Blaze at Karori Park in two weeks' time.

 

 

 

 

 

Article added: Sunday 17 November 2019