Melissa Hansen hits out on her way to 59 against Nelson. PHOTO/AMANDA McLEOD
Korus stay in running for honours
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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Southey Sayer Wairarapa Korus all-rounder Melissa Hansen sent a clear message to the Central Hinds coaches with two outstanding batting efforts in Shrimpton Trophy wins over Nelson and Hawke’s Bay over the weekend.
Hansen started her first-class career as a top-order batter and a consistent medium pace bowler but has slipped down the order, often batting as low as nine or 10 for the Hinds and has been given limited bowling opportunities in the Super Smash.
The 25-year-old scored 59 in the 80-run win over Nelson at Greytown on Saturday and backed that up with an outstanding 78 against Hawke’s Bay at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval on Sunday.
Korus coach Simon Roseingrave said Hansen was out to prove a point.
“It shows mental strength too because … there are players who say they’re not getting opportunities and they’ve got to perform, and quite often that pressure is so much they won’t perform. But Mel did exactly the opposite,” Roseingrave said.
Hansen’s effort was even more meritorious given that she and fellow Hinds Ocean Bartlett and Gemma Sims had travelled back from Tauranga after the team’s Super Smash victory over the Northern Brave on Friday.
“They were up before dawn on Saturday morning travelling back for three-and-a-half hours to get to the ground and that shows massive commitment from Mel, Gemma and Ocean to actually do that for us.
“They were shattered on Saturday. I turned up at the ground and Ocean was asleep in the car, Mel was trying to sleep on one of the park benches, Gemma hadn’t quite got there, and they were tired, and that puts it into context how well they played.”
Against Nelson, Hansen came to the crease with the score at 13-2, and when she was dismissed for a patient 59 from 87 balls, the Korus were well-placed at 151-5.
The key partnership was the 87-run stand for the fourth wicket with Bartlett before she retired hurt. Bartlett returned later in the innings to be the last wicket to fall at 179 off their 40 overs.
The Nelson batters failed to gain any momentum in their innings and were bowled out for 99, with Courtney Olson taking 3-9 and Olivia Clark 2-11.
The Korus were also in early trouble against Hawke’s Bay at 14-2 when Hansen strode to the pitch. A 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Bartlett [21] and a seventh-wicket stand of 47 with Macy Lyford were the highlights of the innings.
Hansen’s 78 came from 92 balls and featured four fours. Lyford aggressively dispatched the Hawke’s Bay bowlers all around the Oval, hitting seven fours in her 46 runs off 33 balls.
Hawke’s Bay looked set to win at 164-4 in the 35th over, but the runout of Marjorie Kirby sparked a batting collapse of five wickets in five runs. Hansen and Elizabeth Cohr each took three wickets.
The two wins keep the Korus in contention for the Shrimpton Trophy with four wins from six games, behind Manawatu, who have dropped only one game.
BRIEF SCORES
Wairarapa Korus 179-9 [Melissa Hansen 59, Ocean Bartlett 33; Anna Gaging 3-26, Kate Gaging 2-28, Eden Pettigrew 2-26] beat Nelson 99 [Courtney Olson 3-9, Olivia Clark 2-11] by 80 runs.
Wairarapa Korus 195-8 [Hansen 78, Macy Lyford 46no; Aniela Apperley 3-12, Kirsty Dawe 2-26, Flora Devonshire 2-28]; Hawke’s Bay 176-9 [Cate Pedersen 55, Apperley 41; Elizabeth Cohr 3-16, Hansen 3-33] by 19 runs.
