Shrimpton Trophy
The rotation roundabout continues for the Southey Sayer Wairarapa Korus heading into their final game of the season against Manawatū tomorrow.
There are five changes from the side that suffered a heavy loss to Hawke’s Bay in Napier last weekend, with in-form Central Hinds players Georgia Atkinson and Ocean Bartlett coming into the team with no Hallyburton Johnstone Shield commitments. A third Hind, Emma McLeod, remains unavailable because of a NZ under-19 trial at Lincoln.
The return of Atkinson and Bartlett is offset, though, with the loss of Olivia Clark and Macy Lyford from the Central Districts A side. St Matthew’s trio Dina Morrison, Fran Wells, and Sophie Sweeney, who is making her debut, come into the playing 12.
Bartlett had career-best List A bowling figures of 4–33 in the first of the doubleheader with the Wellington Blaze last weekend, and Atkinson scored a useful 44 opening the batting in the second game.
Getting the pair back into the Korus to work alongside the younger players is exactly what is needed, according to Roseingrave.
“It’s been a struggle of a season because we’ve used so many players,” he said.
“There hasn’t been consistency, and when I look at Taranaki, they’ve only used 15 players across the season, and now we’re up to 26, and I would challenge other districts to even have that depth to put 26 players out on the field, but its’ a sign of the growth we’ve got here.
“Without the consistency, we’ve had some pretty average results because we make so many changes.”
Roseingrave is uncertain who will front for Manawatū, with White Fern pace bowler Hannah Rowe and top order batter Mikaela Greig unlikely to take the field.
Manawatū crushed the Korus when the sides clashed in Palmerston North three weeks ago, the second of three heavy defeats suffered by the Korus this year.
All three losses were blighted by ill-disciplined batting efforts, and Roseingrave wants to complete the competition on a high note.
“Regardless of the result, we want some positivity in performance to finish off the season,” he concluded.
Plays starts at 10.30am tomorrow at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval.
Wairarapa Korus
to play Manawatū:
Ocean Bartlett [captain], Georgia Atkinson, Sally Booth, Madison Brown, Caitlin Elliott, Melissa Hansen, Dina Morrison, Jess Roseingrave, Olivia Roseingrave, Sophie Sweeney, Vanessa Taylor, Fran Wells
Coastal Challenge
The litmus test! That is how Burger King Red Star captain Jeremy Anderson views this afternoon’s Coastal Challenge match with defending champions Levin Old Boys at Rathkeale Oval.
The two teams share the lead in the combined Wairarapa, Horowhenua-Kapiti, and Whanganui one-day championship, although Levin Old Boys have played an extra game and come into today’s fixture on the back of a loss to Paraparaumu, whereas Red Star are unbeaten.
Red Star impressed in their only outing, a 182–run thumping of Whanganui Marist. That was built on a solid batting effort with half-centuries to Trey Bidois [84] and Mark Steventon [85], followed by consistent bowling.
Anderson, who will miss the game, believes his team will need to take another step up to match a side he rates as the best in the competition.
“We’ll have to be at our best to beat them. Their batting is pretty strong, and looking at the results and some of the names they’ve got, a couple of guys like Dion Sanson and Matthew Good who are ex-Horowhenua-Kapiti and have scored a lot of runs over the year,” Anderson said.
“It will put a line in the sand to see where we stand, but we have to be a little bit confident after that first round, and we’re a good side, and everyone who is playing is in good form, batters and bowlers, so it’s a pretty well-rounded side at the moment.”
Red Star have good reason to be confident, as 10 of the 11 have had senior representative experience, with only young medium pacer Zac Anstis yet to represent Wairarapa at senior level.
Play is scheduled to get underway at 12 midday at Rathkeale Oval.
Red Star team to
play Levin Old Boys:
Robbie Anderson [captain], Nathan Elliott [wk], Jake Jonas, Trey Bidois, Mark Steventon, Jaco Vorster, George Deans, Ethan Childs, Zac Anstis, Peter Sigvertsen, Patrick Wootton
