ROUND ONE
Central Hinds beat Otago Sparks by 73 runs
Donnelly Park, Levin, 16 November 2019
See what happened in Round Two here
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.
A 73-run win to start the season... MOOD 🙌😝#CENTRALHINDS #HBJShield
— Central Districts Cricket Association🏏 (@CDCricket) November 16, 2019
Scores: https://t.co/dRunjnview
Thanks to Marty Melville of 📷 @PhotosportNZ for travelling up to Levin to shoot the game 🙌 pic.twitter.com/UghTbxHYlo
Sent in by new Sparks captain Bella James, the Hinds had earlier made hard work of their own innings, losing the big names in their top order cheaply at 33/3 before the seasoned pair of Kerry Tomlinson and Hannah Rowe took control of the rudder for the next 12 overs.
Two wickets in four overs and Rosemary Mair and Mikaela Greig are both gone!
— Otago Cricket (@OtagoVolts) November 16, 2019
@CDCricket Hinds 160/7 (42) | LIVE SCORING | https://t.co/et369YWHso#HBJShield #OurOtago 🔵🔶⚪ï¸
📸= @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/d9iS9rUoQh
The diminutive Eden Carson claimed a big wicket in Rowe when the towering WHITE FERN was caught on 22, but Tomlinson (42) crucially stuck around to put on a further 30 runs in the next set of 10 with veteran and new Whanganui teammate Esther Lanser, who top-scored with a calm 45.
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 they then had to chase down to 199.
WHITE FERN seamer Rosemary Mair — who hit 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, taking figures of 4-1-5-2 from her opening spell.
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 needed off the last 10 overs.
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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 a 73-run win in just the 43rd over to get the reigning champions off to a flier with a bonus point victory taking them to top spot on the table.
