By Jake Beleski
Some excellent running between the wickets ensured the Wairarapa under-18 girls’ cricket team made a great start at the Central Districts regional tournament in Whanganui this week.
The tournament is contested by Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Taranaki.
The teams play a round-robin of 40-over contests alongside a knockout twenty20 competition.
The first day of action on Tuesday was rained off, but Wairarapa capitalised on Wednesday, beating Hawke’s Bay in their twenty20 fixture before accounting for Manawatu in the afternoon’s 40-over clash.
Their victory over Hawke’s Bay secured a place in the twenty20 final against Taranaki, to be contested today.
Coach Simon Roseingrave said some quality running was a feature of their performances.
“In the morning against Hawke’s Bay Georgia Atkinson (29 off 40 balls) and Kayarna Jones-Dennes (36 off 46 balls) batted fantastically.
“Their running between the wickets was great.”
Their partnership allowed Wairarapa to cruise to an eight-wicket win, chasing down their target of 89 with five overs to spare.
Jones-Dennes was feeling the effects of her efforts after the innings, Roseingrave said.
“It was a fantastic innings – she ran herself into the ground.
“She actually ran herself so hard she had to have a sleep after the game.”
Wairarapa batted first against Manawatu on Wednesday afternoon in their first 40-over match, compiling 154 all out on the back of Sinead Barrell’s 39 off 64 balls.
Olivia Roseingrave produced a match-winning performance with the ball, the opening bowler taking 5-22 from 7.1 overs as Manawatu lost their last five wickets for just one run, eventually finishing on 119 all out.
“Olivia’s five wickets and Sinead’s innings were both great – there were some really good individual performances,” he said.
Around half the side has had experience with the Wairarapa Korus senior women’s team, which was a direct result of their success at last year’s under-18 tournament.
“We came to this tournament last year and that was the genesis of where the Wairarapa women’s team came from, because we had a bit of success last year.”
Yesterday’s matches were reduced to 30 overs a-side to accommodate the rescheduled matches from Tuesday, and Wairarapa suffered their first loss to Taranaki in the morning.
A solid bowling effort restricted Taranaki to 88-9, with Kate Sims taking 4-10 from her six overs.
It proved too much for Wairarapa to chase down as they were eventually bowled out for 68 in 23.5 overs.
Only Barrell (13) and Caitlin Elliott (11) made it to double figures.
The loss meant Taranaki advanced to the 40-over final, with the winner of yesterday’s final-round match between Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay also set to advance.
Roseingrave was optimistic they could get the job done.
“Fingers crossed… Things change pretty quickly in cricket, but we’ll see how we go.
“It’s a long day [yesterday] and another long day [today].”
The finals for both competitions will be held today.
