2024/25 HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
Round 6
Sunday 15 December 2024
Pukekura Park, New Plymouth
CENTRAL HINDS defeated CANTERBURY MAGICIANS by 7 wickets
- Bonus point win -
Points in this round:
Central Hinds 5
Otago Sparks 5
Wellington Blaze 5
Northern Districts 0
Auckland Hearts 0
Canterbury Magicians 0
SELECTED MILESTONES
Emma McLeod: career best List A score
Aniela Apperley: maiden List A wicket and career-best bowling
SNAPSHOT: Two bonus point victories at Pukekura Park put the Central Hinds right back in Hallyburton Johnstone Shield contention.
Having started the weekend in the bottom half of the table, they jumped to second, with a consecutive win against the frustrated Canterbury Magicians, and now just four rounds to go - including twin showdowns with the only team ahead of them, the unbeaten Otago Sparks, in the back end of the season.
Asked to bowl by visiting skipper Laura Hughes, the Hinds kept a lid on the Magicians' innings, restricting them to just 170 at Pukekura Park.
It was a blow to the Magicians who knew they had a prime opportunity with Rosemary Mair left out of the Hinds' playing XI, Mair's bowling loads managed ahead of the upcoming WHITE FERNS ODIs against Australia next week after shin problems earlier in the year.
That opened the way for another Hawke's Bay pace bowler, youngster Aniela Apperley, to get a start in the Hinds' attack - and she walked off Pukekura Park with her first two List A wickets, figures of 2/45.
Aniela Apperley | MBUTCHER
Apperley had got a good breakthrough at 40/2, getting first drop Jodie Dean caught before she could entrench herself to anchor the team.
Hannah Rowe had already made the initial breakthrough with some impressive swing, and went on to prove a point with a tidy 3/19 from her 8.2 overs as she led the attack.
Jodie Dean | PHOTOSPORT
The Hinds attack performed well as a unit, with the wickets shared around, while the Magicians struggled to grow a partnership.
Veteran Kate Ebrahim top-scored with just 25 at the top, in an innings fattened by 30 extras as the Hinds tried too hard to extract the swing on offer.
The hosts got home in just 36 overs after young top order talent Emma McLeod again chalked up a new career best - this time with the bat, gliding and sweeping to an unbeaten 68* off 99 balls in a sensible chase.
After the loss of fellow opener Georgia Atkinson; a calling mix-up that cost the wicket of Thamysn Newton, and the quick loss of captain Mikaela Greig, someone had to stay with her, however.
That someone was Rowe (above, PHOTOSPORT), who calmly constructed an unbeaten 41* to put together a match-winning 84*-run partnership for the fourth wicket as the pair stepped it up for the bonus point.
All teams now switch to Dream11 Super Smash mode for the holiday season, before the final four rounds of the one-day regular season that will determine who makes the 1 March Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in Dunedin.
