Tawa College v Whangarei Girls' High School
Whangarei Girls' High School 32 all out (J Kerr 4-9, P Williams 2-12) lost to Tawa College (A Kerr 12*, J Kerr 8*) by nine wickets
Wellington's Tawa College and Whangarei Girls' High School played their first match of the tournament on Fitzherbert Park number two, where Whangarei elected to bat first. But the first ball of the day created excitement for Tawa College with a run out.
Whangarei’s Jade Litchfield showed great promise with a top score of 22, but it was Tawa College's day as Jess Kerr had a great match with the ball, picking up 4-9 of her four overs.
Other strong performances with the ball were produced by Kate Fenton 2-10 and P A Williams 2-12. Tawa College had a memorable win, the Kerr sisters, Jess and Amelia, chasing down the 33 runs required to win in just 3.4 overs.
Jess Kerr
St Hilda’s Collegiate v Havelock North High School
St Hilda’s Collegiate 108/7 (KA Heffernan 25, GA Heffernan 36) beat Havelock North High School (SK Pyott 37, E Carson 2-12) by 11 runs
Dunedin's St Hilda’s Collegiate and Havelock North High School, representing Central Districts, began their tournaments on the number one pitch at Fitzherbert Park today. St Hilda’s won the toss and decided to bat first, with a good opening partnership getting their team total to 108/5 after their 20 overs.
There were impressive knocks from Kate Heffernan (25 runs) and Georgia Heffernan (36 not out). Havelock North was sharp in the field with two run outs and with bowlers Sophie Pyott, Erica Sinclair and Natalya Taylor all taking a wicket each.
A strong start from Havelock North’s opening pair got them going on a good chase, Sophie Pyott with 37 runs. But tight bowling by St Hilda’s Eden Carson, who picked up 2 wickets for 12 runs, helped take her side to victory.
Villa Maria College v Epsom Girls' Grammar
Villa Maria 63 all out (B Armstrong 3-7, G Adams 3-16) lost to Epsom Girls' Grammar 64/2 (J Tainui 23, B Armstrong 26) by eight wickets
Villa Maria College and Epsom Girls' Grammar kicked of their campaigns with a game at Manawaroa Park. EGGS won the toss and decided to bowl first; and they restricted Villa Maria to a total of 63. Bella Armstrong picked up three wickets for just seven runs and Gemma Adams also chipped in with three wickets for 16 runs.
Villa Maria then got off to a good start in reply with the ball, with an early wicket from Rachel Davidson. But a strong display with the bat from Jayda Tainui (23 not out) and Bella Armstrong (26 runs) helped EGGS pick up the win for their first game of tournament.
Epsom Girls' Grammar first XI
Havelock North High School v Epsom Girls' Grammar School
Havelock North High School 97/4 (S Pyott 21, O Addis 27) beat Epsom Girls' Grammar 80/8 (C Crooks 25) by 17 runs
Havelock North High School and Epsom Girls Grammar faced each other at Fitzherbert Park for their round two game. Havelock North chose to bat first and had a strong start to their innings, but some tight bowling and sharp fielding helped keep down Epsom Grammar’s total.
Strong batting performances from Sophie Pyott (21 runs) and Olivia Addis (27 runs) were the highlight for Havelock North's batting. Epsom got off to a good start, but wickets begin to fall consistently around EGGS batter Claire Crooks (25 runs) which helped Havelock North restrict the run flow and walk away with a good win.
Whangarei Girls' High School v Villa Maria College
Villa Maria College 155/1 (O McGoverne 66, G Sullivan 43*) beat Whangarei Girls' High School 85 all out (C Davidson 3-20, G Sullivan 2-10, J Charlton 2-20) by 70 runs
Whangarei Girls' High School and Villa Maria College played their second round matches on Fitzherbert Park number one. Villa Maria were sent in to bat first, and scored an impressive 155 off their 20 overs, losing only the one wicket. Olivia McGoverne scored a fine 66 runs before being run out and opening batting partner Gabrielle Sullivan contributed with solid 43.
The loss of early wickets created pressure for Whangarei Girls' High school, then Jade Litchfield (15 runs) and Tia Saunders (15 runs) came in and helped steady the middle order. However, consistent bowling from Villa Maria bowlers Caitlin Davidson with 3-20 and Gabrielle Sullivan 2-10 and J Charlton 2-10 saw them restrict Whangarei and pick up a win from round two.
St Hilda’s Collegiate v Tawa College
Tawa College 144/1 (A Kerr 45*, M Mason-Jones 39) beat St Hilda’s Collegiate 92/4 (I James 20, O Gain 17, K Heffernan 20*) by 52 runs
Tawa College and St Hilda’s Collegiate headed over to Manawaroa Park to begin their round two game, where Tawa College elected to bat first. A strong opening stand saw Tawa College get off to a solid start, a partnership of 50 between Wellington Blaze and New Zealand A player Amelia Kerr (45 not out) and Makayla Mason-Jones (39 runs) setting a strong total for Tawa College to defend.
Amelia 'Melie' Kerr
St Hilda’s Eden Carson took a crucial wicket (1-19) to help stop momentum continuing for Tawa. St Hilda’s then began the run chase positively, Isabella James getting off to a good start with a solid 20 runs, assisted by Olivia Gain (17) and K Heffernan (20 not out).
However, tight bowling from Tawa College with wickets shared helped take their side to a second victory for the opening day of the Finals.
