The Central Hinds were looking to add to their lone T20 win in the final round of the season, but it wasn’t to be against Northern Spirit at Napier’s Nelson Park.
Dangerous opening batsman Natalie Dodd, captaining the Spirit, seized the opportunity to bat first and took command of the match with an unbeaten 53-ball 70.
Alongside former South African Bernadine Bezuidenhout, the international pair piled on 111 for the second wicket, before Rosemary Mair stopped Bezuidenhout on 64 (50 balls).
Recalled WHITE FERN Sam Curtis then had the perfect platform to come in and hammer an unbeaten 34 off just 16 balls, including the first six of the day, off the last five overs to take the visitors to 182 for two in their 20 overs, sharing an unbroken 50-stand with Dodd.
It was a tough ask for the Hinds, and all the more so after the brilliant young Nensi Patel tore into their top order, removing all three top order batsmen cheaply. Patel would finish with an impressive 4-19 off her four overs as even a little late order resistance from Esther Lanser, Melissa Hansen and Kate Baxter couldn’t save the Hinds from a 39-run defeat.
The victory lifted Northern Spirit into fourth place for the season, while the Hinds get the wooden spoon.
Scorecard
Points table
