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Round up of the first round of fixtures of the 2023/24 Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, with Magicians, Hinds, Blaze and Sparks all in action.
Central Hinds (Atkinson 89, Greig 84) beat Canterbury Magicians (Dean 49) by 5 wickets (DLS Method)
Central Hinds got their HBJ Shield campaign off to a stellar start with a 5-wicket win over Canterbury Magicians at Palmerston North.
Hinds captain Nat Dodd won the toss, opting to bowl first with a fierce mob of grey clouds surrounding Fitzherbert Park.
Both sides saw welcome additions. White Ferns’ Lea Tahuhu, Hannah Rowe and Rosemary Mair lined up for their respective teams.
There was big news from the Canterbury camp; Frankie Mackay returned to the 11 following an injury sustained in last year’s opening HBJ showcase.
Mair, Rowe and Claudia Green were tasked with facing the Cantabrian’s opening forces of Laura Hughes and Abigale Gerken.
Rowe trapped Hughes (6) lbw in her first over, introducing Magicians’ U19 product Harriet Graham to the crease.
The pair built a steady partnership before Gerken’s demise, Mair slaughtering the batter’s middle stump.
Graham followed her partner back to the pavilion just moments after for the same score.
Top-scoring tailenders Izzy Sharp and Jodie Dean brought the big runs for the Magicians. New Zealand U19s captain Sharp recorded her 2nd best List A score with 36 off 56, with Dean falling 1 run short of her 50-run milestone.
Lea Tahuhu added 20 more in the dying stages of the innings, allowing Canterbury to reach 210-8 after 50 overs.
Hannah Rowe was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets from 8 overs. However, it was a collective effort with a wicket apiece for Claudia Green, Ocean Bartlett, Ashtuti Kumar, Thamsyn Newton and Rosemary Mair.
Palmerston North faced downpours during the innings break, reducing the Hinds’ chase.
Their powerplay would last 9 overs, losing both Nat Dodd and Newton cheaply, before an hour break in play once more for rain.
Centrals were given the DLS equation, a revised target of 208 off 48.
Georgia Atkinson and Rowe went out to bat, the latter earning a promotion in the order. She would score 12 runs before falling to Sarah Asmussen lbw.
Mikaela Greig put up a quick-fire 84 from 77, including 6 fours, with Atkinson at the other end on 89. Their 145-run partnership powered the Hinds to a 5-wicket win with 5 overs to spare.
An impressive batting performance from the pair and a team effort with the ball gave the Central Hinds their first win of the season.
STARTING XIs
Canterbury Magicians: Laura Hughes (C, WK), Abigale Gerken, Harriet Graham, Jacinta Savage, Nat Cox, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu, Jodie Dean, Frankie Mackay, Gabby Sullivan, Sarah Asmussen
Central Hinds: Nat Dodd (C, WK), Georgia Atkinson, Thamsyn Newton, Hannah Rowe, Mikaela Greig, Emma McLeod, Rosemary Mair, Flora Devonshire, Ocean Bartlett, Ashtuti Kumar, Claudia Green.
Otago Sparks (Black 4-12, Robertson 38*) beat Wellington Blaze (Rees 20) by 7 wickets
Otago Sparks took complete control at the Basin Reserve, Wellington with Emma Black’s 4-for leading the 7-wicket win charge over champions Wellington Blaze.
Monique Rees and Gemma Sims moved from the Central Hinds to the Wellington Blaze in the offseason, slotting straight into the starting XI.
Former Hampshire and Southern Vipers Academy (England) bowler PJ Watkins made the move to Aotearoa New Zealand earlier in the year, with the left-arm speedster earning a Sparks contract.
Felicity Leydon-Davis, former White Fern who took a 5-wicket haul on her ODI debut, is now Robertson following her marriage.
She elected to bowl first, a decision that worked quite nicely for the Sparks.
Emma Black struck instantly, dismissing Jess McFadyen for a golden duck. The next to go was Georgia Plimmer - Black again - who miscued one to Robertson at cover for 1 run.
Blaze skipper Kasperek lost her off-stump to a seemingly wide delivery, nipping back in at a rate of knots.
It was top-scoring Wellington debutante Monique Rees' top-scoring 20 that was of any note in the batting department, the champions finishing 92 all out.
Emma Black was simply outstanding with the ball, extracting as much as she could from the pitch to take 4 wickets for just 12 runs from 10 overs. Eden Carson grabbed 2 of her own, including a bold caught & bowled to remove Kate Chandler.
Felicity Robertson was back bowling after returning from a back injury last year, restricting her to a batting-only role for the Sparks in 2023. 2-12 in 4 overs marked her return with the ball.
To add the cherry on the top, she also top-scored for Otago with 38* off 69 in their chase of 93. Bella James opening the innings picked up 29 runs, with Polly Inglis finishing the game off alongside Robertson.
A convincing victory for Otago over current HBJ Shield champions Wellington.
STARTING XIs
Wellington Blaze: Rebecca Burns, Jess McFadyen, Georgia Plimmer, Leigh Kasperek ©, Kate Chandler, Caitlin King, Monique Rees, Nicole Baird, Xara Jetly, Tash Codyre. (12th Phoenix Williams)
Otago Sparks: Liv Gain, Bella James, Caitlin Blakely, Felicity Robertson ©, Polly Inglis (WK), Saffron Wilson, PJ Watkins, Eden Carson, Emma Black, Gemma Adams, Sophie Oldershaw, Paige Loggenberg. (12th: Chloe Deerness)
Match abandoned: Northern Districts versus Auckland Hearts at Cobham Oval
Continuous rain for 4 hours straight ended the game without any play despite the groundskeeper’s best efforts.
Auckland named their squad without Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas and Makayla Templeton who were unavailable due to injury.
16-year-old Rishika Patel was added to the team after finishing the National U19 Tournament as the highest wicket-taker last year.
Northern Districts announced former Heart Jesse Prasad in their line-up as well as former Hind Jess Watkin.
SQUADS:
Auckland Hearts: Bella Armstrong, Skye Bowden, Anna Browning, Prue Catton, Izzy Gaze (WK), Maddy Green ©, Amie Hucker, Breearne Illing, Rishika Jaswal, Josie Penfold, Molly Penfold, Saachi Shahri.
Northern Districts: Eimear Richardson, Bernie Bezuidenhout, Caitlin Gurrey, Sam Barriball, Jess Watkin, Tash Wakelin, Nensi Patel, Jesse Prasad, Holly Topp, Lucy Boucher, Shirya Naidu, Kayley Knight, Marama Downes.
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