Elizabeth Cohr will play her first game of the season for the Korus. PHOTO/FILE
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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The Southey Sayer Wairarapa Korus will have their Central Hinds players for a rare appearance for this weekend’s Shrimpton Trophy double header in Wairarapa, involving four teams.
The Korus will play Nelson at Greytown today and Hawke’s Bay on the Queen Elizabeth Park Oval tomorrow in 40-over games. Taranaki will also play Hawke’s Bay today at the Oval, and Nelson at Greytown tomorrow.
The experienced Melissa Hansen, victorious Central Districts under-19 captain Ocean Bartlett, and wicketkeeper-batter Gemma Sims will fly back early today to line up for the Korus after playing in this yesterday afternoon’s Super Smash game against the Northern Brave at Mt Maunganui.
One player keen for some time in the middle will be Hansen, who surprisingly has been given limited opportunities with the Hinds. The all-rounder has been languishing in the lower order in the Hinds’ batting line-up and has often had only one or two overs in the team’s disappointing Super Smash campaign, which has resulted in just one win from eight games.
Hansen has previously opened the batting for the Korus, but with Sims and Emma McLeod having developed a fruitful combination, including two century partnerships over the past year, she is likely to slot in the middle order. She will also relish the chance of getting a full quota of eight overs.
Elizabeth Cohr is another player making her first Korus’ appearance of the season, after missing the early part of the campaign with concussion. The all-rounder has had some recent cricket, performing well in Central Districts win at the National under-19 tournament this week in Christchurch.
Korus coach Simon Roseingrave is confident of good showings against Nelson and Hawke’s Bay, who will both be without their White Ferns stars – Claudia Green [Nelson] and Rosemary Mair [Hawke’s Bay.]
“The team had been starting to perform well, and I would suggest that with the Hinds coming in to strengthen the team, we’ll be very, very competitive,” said Roseingrave.
“We’ve got a good balance, our batting depth is improving with the Hinds coming back in, and we’ve got strong bowlers in terms of seam and spin, and I’d be disappointed if we didn’t perform strongly over the weekend.”
Nelson are somewhat of an unknown quantity, having only entered the Shrimpton Trophy this season, although there is one familiar face – Hinds and former Korus seam bowler Monique Rees, who is now based in the South Island.
Roseingrave is anticipating a tougher battle against Hawke’s Bay.
“We always have good games against Hawke’s Bay. They’ve won the Shrimpton Trophy the last couple of years and even without Rosemary [Mair] they will be a strong team.”
Today’s game against Nelson starts at Greytown at 11am, while Sunday’s clash with Hawke’s Bay at the Oval starts at 10am.
The Southey Sayer Wairarapa Korus team:
Ocean Bartlett [captain], Gemma Sims, Emma McLeod, Elizabeth Cohr, Melissa Hansen, Tahlia Jones-Dennes, Macy Lyford, Caitlin Elliott, Jessica Roseingrave, Olivia Clark, Olivia Roseingrave, and Courtney Olson.
