2024/25 HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
Round 4
Sunday 1 December 2024
Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North
CENTRAL HINDS lost to AUCKLAND HEARTS by 95 runs
- bonus point win -
Central Hinds : 0 points
Auckland Hearts : 5 points
All images: MBUTCHER
SELECTED MILESTONES
Lauren Down: fourth List A century
Lauren Down: career best List A score (129, previous best 124)
Izzy Gaze: career best List A score and maiden half century (51, previous best 49)
Flora Devonshire: career best List A score and maiden half century (55, previous best 41)
Emma McLeod: career best List A bowling (2/47)
Anika Tauwhare: career best List A bowling (3/57)
What a difference a day makes. After the stiff winds of the previous day, Palmerston North was wrapped by a still, overcast morning, with a brief wash of overnight showers briefly delaying the rematch between the Central Hinds and Auckland Hearts.
This time Mikaela Greig won the toss for the hosts and unsurprisingly bowled first, but the result turned out to be much the same, winding down to a fighting chase in which the Hinds this time conceded a bonus point.
The Hearts' strong top order got a solid start, Saachi Shahri (below) and Lauren Down both passing 50 in a 172-run opening stand.
There wasn't much in the placid deck for the bowlers, a big total on the cards early doors, and the Hinds without the services of star Rosemary Mair for the Sunday game (young Nelson pace bowler Anna Gaging coming in for her first game of the season after recovering from a shin injury, and key swing bowler Claudia Green having missed the whole weekend with concussion).
The Hearts were meanwhile without WHITE FERN Brooke Halliday for Sunday's match, under workload management.
Anchorwoman Down calmly led the way, and was the first to reach her half century (below), off 65 balls.
The elegant technician Shahri followed with a 62-ball milestone, nine boundaries already between them on the big ground. They batted together into the 30th over before the Hinds got a hard-earned breakthrough.
Shahri celebrates her 50 | MBUTCHER
Hannah Rowe (1/23 off the six overs allocated to her for the day) was relieved as she got Shahri caught on 62 by Anna Gaging: a lusty pull shot that held up inside the boundary.
Down now started work on a new partnership with Izzy Gaze who seized the opportunity for a List A best in their 94-run second wicket stand.
It was Gaze's first half century in the one-day format, a run-a-ball effort that helped to take her team to 266/2 before she was stumped shortly after waving the bat, in the 44th over.
Down meanwhile was relishing her first substantial knock since returning to cricket after the birth of her daughter.
She had already reached her century, off 117 balls, a picture of authority and experience in the middle, the day beginning to heat up in the sunshine.
She had hammered a pull shot off Thamsyn Newton to take herself to 99*, then reached three figures with another boundary off the following 37th over, bowled by Ocean Bartlett, driving the leg-spinner through the covers.
Emma McLeod spun in for the Hinds | MBUTCHER
The Auckland 200 was already on the board as well, and it would take almost another 10 overs before the Hinds finally got Down out for her well-made 129 (off 140 balls, with 11 boundaries - having batted for 46.1 overs).
The first innings had reached the death by now, a flurry of wickets falling as the Hearts could afford to take some risks. Gaze was stumped off young part-time spinner Emma McLeod, who picked up her best of 2/47 when she came back for Prue Catton.
Maddy Green missed out, sending a return catch straight back to Flora Devonshire who was the only Hind to bowl her full complement of 10 overs, as Greig shuffled through her options. But when your team puts a 300-plus total on the board, these are mere quibbles.
Young pace bowler Amie Hucker picked up a brace for the Hearts | MBUTCHER
Chasing down 305 was always going to be a tough ask for the Hinds against a calibre pace attack, but they showed character.
The early loss of Georgia Atkinson for a second time was a setback, Bree Illing (2/28) continuing her good record against the team.
The experience of Greig (a second for Illing) and Newton was lost early, too, as the Hinds stumbled early to 18/3 inside the first five overs.
Josie Penfold in full flight | MBUTCHER
Fresh off her career best 84 on the previous day, Newton could do little about her dismissal: her innings was stopped dead by a stunning reflex catch from Prue Catton, taking a screamer at point.
The youngsters fought back. Opener McLeod (below), a more natural number four, plays a positive brand of cricket and led the recovery with a run-a-ball 35, that included a six off Molly Penfold, over her favoured leg-side.
She shared a 32-run stand for the fourth with Rowe (32) - but the Hinds were already slipping off the required run-a-ball rate.
McLeod's knock ended when Josie Penfold joined her sister in the wickets column at 50/4, but the Hearts still had some work to do.
Rowe dug in, anchoring the mature young Flora Devonshire (55, below) who achieved her maiden List A fifty under pressure, before falling to Amie Hucker in the 37th over.
Kerry Tomlinson had looked to continue to salvage some Hinds pride with her feisty 34, hitting young Anika Tauwhare for six before Tauwhare (3/57) had her revenge at 181/6.
But the curve was too steep for the hosts, throughout.
The Hearts finished off a well earned victory in just the 42nd over, climbing back up the ladder after a good weekend's cricket.
