Anlo van Deventer on the way to her maiden century for the Central Hinds. PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
Milestones aplenty in domestic one-day competition
CRICKET
JAKE BELESKI
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Two former Wairarapa residents achieved special milestones in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield women’s one-day cricket competition at the weekend.
Central Hinds captain Anlo van Deventer – a former St Matthew’s Collegiate student – celebrated her 50th cap in a seven-wicket win over the Canterbury Magicians in Christchurch on Saturday, and scored her maiden List A century in a seven-wicket loss against the same opponent on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Wellington Blaze captain Elizabeth Perry – a former White Fern and former Chanel College student – scored 114 in a 104-run win against the Northern Spirit in Hamilton, and in the process passed 2500 List A runs.
Van Deventer was thrilled to secure her first century for the Hinds, but was more pleased with the fact her team has won five of their six matches to date, to sit second on the points table behind the Auckland Hearts.
“I think it’s been a pretty big shock for most people,” she said.
“We came from winning two or three games last season and this year we were five from five, before the loss on Sunday.
“The girls have really worked hard and stepped it up in the off-season, and it just shows we’re here to compete now and not just participate.”
Van Deventer arrived at the crease with the score at 47-1 on Sunday, and batted the rest of the innings to finish on 100 not out from 99 deliveries.
She began the final over on 91, and still had plenty of work to do to reach the magic number.
“We did cut it a bit close . . . I went into the last over on 91 and was handed a couple of freebies from half-trackers,” she said.
“I didn’t think I was going to get there at the start of that over.”
Unfortunately for the Hinds, Canterbury captain Frances Mackay was in equally impressive form in the run chase, and her 140 off 152 balls helped the Magicians get home with seven wickets and 10 deliveries to spare.
Van Deventer said the Hinds’ strong performances this season was due to several factors, but plenty of hard work in the off-season had certainly helped.
“Last year we spoke a lot about the work we were putting in individually, and there needed to be a bigger stress on the accountability that we were putting on ourselves.
“We had a big push on our fitness and being self-sufficient with our training, which is something CD players are always having to do . . . the girls responded really well to it.”
She said the team had featured plenty of young players for several years, and those players were now reaping the benefits of the experience they had acquired.
“They’ve had time at the crease and overs bowled, and there has been a lot of girls stepping up which is really valuable,” she said.
“We’re not one of those teams that has a big superstar, but we tend to contribute well across the board.
“We’ve got a really well-rounded team, and a unit that works together really well.”
The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield will now take a two-month break before continuing in February, with the Hinds resuming their Burger King Super Smash T20 campaign on December 27.
The Hinds will take on the Northern Spirit at Bay Oval in Tauranga that day, before matches against the Auckland Hearts [December 29] and the Wellington Blaze [December 31].
The Hinds are winless after five T20 matches.
