2025/26
There’s a new world order after the first two rounds of the 2025/26 Hallyburton Johnstone Shield — for now.
Defending champions for the past two years, the Otago Sparks got off to the worst possible start at home in Dunedin with twin losses to the team they beat in the Final last summer — Maddy Green’s Auckland Hearts.
The Hearts top the table after having picked up a bonus point and are one of two unbeaten teams after the opening weekend, alongside last summer’s third placegetter the Central Hinds who meanwhile had a smashing weekend against the Canterbury Magicians in New Plymouth.
Up north, Northern Districts and Wellington Blaze split the takings in Whangārei, earning a bonus point win apiece, and a fairly lacklustre, counter-balancing loss each as well, the Blaze mortified by one of their lowest totals.
Saturday’s first round delivered high drama at Pukekura Park, the Hinds chasing down one of their highest ever totals to beat the Magicians, with just two balls to spare — and only the one wicket in hand.
View this post on Instagram
If there’s a tinge of déja vu in that sentence, it’s because the Hinds also chased down a big Northern Districts total at this ground last summer — their record highest chase (296/5), that they only narrowly missed repeating on this occasion with 295/9.
More startling is the context: it came after opposing, new Magicians captain Kate Anderson had thumped the third highest individual score in Hallyburton Johnstone Shield history, a phenomenal unbeaten 171* off 153 balls in Canterbury’s challenging 294/7.
Power-packed Anderson led from the front, batting for the whole innings after having been sent in, which turned out not to be too bad a fate on a glorious, early season road.
She dominated every partnership, but ultimately didn’t get enough support.
Jody Dean (26) helped her to put on 77 for the fourth, the top stand and the one that the Hinds worked the hardest to break.
Both teams had new captains. Hannah Rowe has taken over the Hinds role full-time after having co-captained with (now ND captain) Jess Watkin in the past.
Rowe led a distinctly youthful, quite green (pardon the pun) team that played above their years over the weekend.
View this post on Instagram
Their sprinkling of veterans also played key roles.
Partnerships kept the Hinds in the big chase, number six Kerry Tomlinson top-scoring with a precise, chiselled 70 — going deep into the 48th, before becoming a huge wicket for Anderson herself at 279/7.
When Anderson (3/30) took the ninth wicket with four balls left to go, it looked like her storybook day was chapter and verse.
But there was a twist in this tale. Four runs were still needed off the last over, the Hinds eight down. The last batter was concussion substitute Jess Ogden (in for Ocean Bartlett) who had begun the day running the drinks.
Anderson pitched the ball full at her feet and there was a huge shout. If it were missing, it was only by a millimetre down leg.
Ogden recovered from the shock in time to run a leg bye to level the scores, before Claudia Green slammed the winning single - the last of 589 runs scored here in a cracker of a match on the first day of the season.
Still, you just don’t expect to score one of the highest knocks in history and lose the game.
•
Sunday saw another exciting contest, a more polished one from the hosts after a string of costly fielding fumbles had blotted their copybook on the previous day.
The Magicians were asked to field first this time, and held the Hinds to 219 after some tight work through the middle.
Like the Hinds, the Magicians are now a youngish side and had brought a handful of debutantes with them, including former Blaze youngster Kate Chandler playing her first games in the red and black.
Left-arm pace bowler Stella Cornelius, 18-year-old daughter of former Canterbury’s men’s rep Wade Cornelius and a product of CD’s Marlborough Cricket Association - where she was a 2025 young cricketer of the year recipient and a CDU19 rep, looked like one that has got away from the Hinds.
She produced two maidens at the top in her first weekend of Domestic cricket and she did a good job of opening the attack with the experienced and encouraging Gabby Sullivan.
Still, it was fruitless until the 15th over when Missy Bank (3/33) broke a 70-run stand between Emma McLeod (39) and Georgia Atkinson who was later run out on 38 after a calling muddle with captain Rowe — off a no ball.
The Hinds had lost a further two wickets by then to be 100/4 and the Magicians were a good chance to avenging their opening round’s loss, but Rowe kept her head for a critical half century, with late support from Kate Gaging whose position late in the order again provided valuable late runs.
Sullivan deservedly picked up three quick wickets at the end to finish with 3/25 off her nine overs.
The total didn’t feel like enough on the small ground’s good used deck, but by and large the Hinds bowled tightly in reply and built pressure.
Rowe had a huge early wicket with a peach of an outswinger than removed Anderson early.
On debut — having sped to New Plymouth after getting an unexpected phone call, Wairarapa spinner Lizzie Cohr had joined the squad to replace the concussed Ocean Bartlett, and had a day to remember.
View this post on Instagram
Cohr had a wicket with her very first delivery — trapping Dean on 27, and finished the day with 4/35 off her 10.
Left-arm spinner Flora Devonshire meanwhile took a wicket with her last ball to finish with 1/37 and the pair backed up the Hinds’ strong pace attack.
Mair had been impressive with the ball and in the field across the weekend and finished with 2/12 off her four to seal a 27-run win in the 47th over.
•
Up north, Georgia Plimmer was another stepping un as a new full-time captain, and her ‘Blazies’ got a victory first-up at a weather-affected Cobham Oval — before the tables were turned dramatically on Sunday.
Round one saw Plimmer bank an eight-wicket win against Northern Districts whose top and middle order failed to fire, six down before the 20-over mark and struggling from 76/6 to 133 before they were dismissed in the 36th over.
It was obviously happy days for the Blaze bowlers, Tash Codyre’s hooping pace a handful and creating a very good caught and bowled to remove key batter Nensi Patel for no score.
Codyre finished with a career best 4/28, Jess Simmons with 2/14 and WHITE FERN Jess Kerr maintaining the stranglehold with her tight 1/17. The trio bowled five maidens among them.
The Blaze were 19/1 in reply by lunchtime, but rain interrupted the afternoon play.
Plimmer was on 14* at the time and had to wait a couple of hours to resume the modest chase.
Finally the northern weather cut the Blaze a break, and the Wellington captain pushed on to a careful 48 before she was caught and bowled by opposing captain Watkin with a heart-stopping juggle.
At 72/1 it was too little too late for the hosts, and Xara Jetly (an unbeaten 38* at three) and Kerr (23* off 19) made sure of a bonus point win in the 29th over before any more weather interference.
Sunday’s second round couldn’t have been much bigger of a contrast, the Blaze rolled for the equal fifth lowest total — 78.
They were chasing a target of 215 after Watkin had elected to bat, first drop Tash Wakelin getting in and top-scoring with 62.
Her 84-run partnership for the second wicket with Yaz Kareem got Northern on top until the Blaze fought back with a torrent of late wickets to bowl out ND for 214 with three balls to go.
But it proved more than enough, the Blaze despatched for just 78 in 33.5 overs in reply — injured skipper Plimmer had been unable to bat.
The chase quickly became becalmed after opening bowler Lucy Boucher had a brilliant day up top, dismissing the top four all for single digits.
Figures of 10-3-21-4 rewarded her cunning variations with a new career best — just her second four-for.
Kayley Knight was on fire too, finishing with 2/6 off her four overs as Northern levelled the ledger with a bonus point win of their own at home.
•
In Dunedin, the season opened with two ‘Grand Final rematches’ between the Otago Sparks and Auckland Hearts at the same ground where, earlier this year, an under-the-weather Eden Carson had shaken off a bug to chase down the winning runs — even after Hearts captain Maddy Green had set up a nice Auckland total with a record-breaking third century in the season.
But in Dunedin, as The Clean said, anything can happen, as the Sparks soon found out on a winless opening weekend that left the defending title-holders at the wrong end of the ladder, as they embark on a threepeat quest.
Saturday saw the Hearts claim a rain-reduced chase, winning by seven wickets (DLS).
Conditions weren’t easy and, sent in after a short ground delay, the Sparks had managed 185 before they lost their last wicket in the 42nd over.
It was an innings propped up by Saffron Wilson’s gutsy 79 at four, with late support from Emma Black (23) before Green (2/13) stooped for a good return catch as she brought herself on.
Fran Jonas, with a fresh-look action that seemed to catch batters by surprise, had meanwhile taken 3/27 and the Sparks were in trouble.
With weather on the radar, the Hearts needed to ensure they got runs on the board early, and Prue Catton (25) and Lauren Down (39) took care of that with an opening stand of 48 before Louisa Kotkamp broke through.
She had another wicket almost immediately with Green caught behind fishing for no score, but Down carried on as chief ship-steadier as Brooke Halliday came in and took control with an unbeaten 52*, rain dancing in between.
The Hearts won the match with a score of 155/3 in 34 overs, enough for a bonus point as well.
Suzie Bates had suffered a duck earlier in the day and was missing when the teams returned for Sunday’s second round.
The Hearts again sent the Sparks in, and again the hosts were patchy with the bat — this time reaching 172, after having been in trouble at 112/6.
Jonas’s new slinger action got two big wickets in the middle while the Penfold sisters had a good day out, Josie taking 3/28.
The Hearts made an even strong start to their chase and ticked it off in 25.1 overs just one wicket down, Down an early wicket for Emma Black.
But after that it was Hearts trumps, Catton (87 not out) and Green (74 not out) bringing home a second win with their 162-run unbroken partnership really putting the exclamation mark on the Sparks’ misery.
The Hearts claim official frontrunner status with a one-point lead over the Hinds after two rounds; in a fortnight’s time rounds three and four will see the action move to Palmerston North and Rangiora while ND remains at Cobham Oval in Kauri country.
All images: PHOTOSPORT
Round One Saturday 16 November 2025
Round Two Sunday 16 November 2025
• University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
Otago Sparks 185 lost to Auckland Hearts 155/3 by 7 wickets DLS
Otago Sparks 172 lost to Auckland Hearts 175/1 by 9 wickets
• Pukekura Park, New Plymouth
Central Hinds 295/9 beat Canterbury Magicians 294/7 by 1 wicket
Central Hinds 219 beat Canterbury Magicians 192 by 72 runs
• Cobham Oval, Whangārei
Northern Districts 133 lost to Wellington Blaze 120/2 DLS bonus point
Northern Districts 214 beat Wellington Blaze 78 by 136 runs, bonus point
View this post on Instagram
