Ella Brown to captain Otago Sparks

Ella Brown will take over from Bella James as captain of Otago Sparks for the third and fourth rounds of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield this weekend. This will be the 21-year-old’s first time leading the side as they prepare to face Northern Spirit in Dunedin.

Brown, who was recently handed a domestic contract by Otago, alongside eight other teammates, did not make the best start to the tournament with a spell of 0 for 25 and a score of 2 against defending champions Central Hinds. However, with James unavailable— due to a pre-arranged break— she will take up the captaincy.

Otago crashed to a 73-run loss in their opening match of the season against Hinds. Their second match was washed out, which meant they secured two points from the clash.

Despite his team’s loss, Nathan King, head coach of Otago, said his young side— which is missing the experience of Suzie Bates and Katie Martin (off on Women’s Big Bash League duty)— showed many positive signs in their match against the defending champions.

"When you lose it is never the result you are hoping for," King said. "But it is about showing signs of improvement and if we still don't win you have to take that on the chin. The bowling and fielding was a really good effort first up, I thought. To keep them under 200 was a good result."

Otago will be hoping to bounce back and put on a better show against Northern Spirit who managed a win in their opening game against Canterbury Magicians on the back of an incredible century from Katie Gurrey. However, a loss in their next game has set them back slightly.

Aside from the change in leadership, Otago have made two personnel changes with Millie Cowan and Marina Lamplough replacing James and Bridget Thayer respectively.

Squad: Ella Brown (c), Emma Black, Caitlin Blakely, Eden Carson, Georgia Clarke, Millie Cowan, Olivia Gain, Sophie Gray, Bhagya Herath, Hayley Jensen, Marina Lamplough, Sophie Oldershaw.