Hattie Vincent has Kelsey Husband caught by wicketkeeper Gemma Sims. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED
CRICKET
CHRIS COGDALE
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The Southey Sayer Wairarapa Korus made the most of bowling first to easily beat Taranaki in a Mike Shrimpton Trophy one-day match at Victoria Park in Whanganui on Sunday.
Taranaki won the toss and decided to bat but were immediately made to pay when key batter Jess Hollard was caught behind by wicketkeeper Gemma Sims off medium pacer Kate Sims for one.
The Korus’ bowlers flourished with the ball swinging prodigiously in the humid conditions and getting some assistance from the tricky pitch.
The only Taranaki batter to threaten was Aimee Wisnewski, who scored 16 off 18 balls before being run out.
The Korus shared the wickets around with Ocean Bartlett and Emma McLeod grabbing two each, and Olivia Roseingrave, Kate Sims, Hattie Vincent, and Macy Lyford one each.
Openers Gemma and Kate Sims played with a mixture of patience and aggression in the Korus’ chase.
The pair defended the good balls and put away the bad balls, as they collected 28 for the first wicket in 7.4 overs, with Gemma Sims dismissed for 16.
Kate Sims dominated the rest of the innings, finishing 30 not out, and along with Kayarna Jones-Denness steered the Korus through to a comprehensive victory.
Korus coach Simon Roseingrave praised the bowling effort.
“The girls bowled very well. The ball swung a lot, and the wicket wasn’t the greatest. It took a lot of spin, and Ocean [Bartlett] was pretty much unplayable” he said.
“We knew we had to get Jess Hollard early and once we did that, we were confident we could run through them.”
The win moves the Korus into second-equal place with Manawatu behind Hawke’s Bay in the Mike Shrimpton Trophy, Central Districts’ premier trophy for women’s cricket.
Both teams went into the fixture minus three key players, who were part of the Central Hinds’ squad at the Super Smash T20 series at Lincoln, near Christchurch.
The Korus were missing captain and allrounder Melissa Hansen, allrounder Georgia Atkinson and medium pacer Monique Rees, while Taranaki were without opener-wicketkeeper Natalie Dodd, opener Emily Cunningham, and medium pacer Kate Baxter.
The Korus play Hawke’s Bay on January 12 in Napier, in a game which could decide the trophy.
“It will be the crucial game and another game without the Hinds.
“Hawke’s Bay only have [seam bowler] Rosie Mair in the side and they have a lot of depth, so it will be tough” Roseingrave said.
BRIEF SCORES
Taranaki 64 [Ocean Bartlett 2-9, Emma McLeod 2-1] lost to Korus 65-1 [Kate Sims 30no] by nine wickets.
