Halliday, Richardson headline Northern Districts big win; Jess Watkin thumps Auckland Hearts in HBJ Shield

Chasing a target of 215, Halliday shared a 126-run partnership with Caitlin Gurrey for the opening wicket from 24.2 overs to put Northern Districts in a very dominant position.

Once Gurrey was dismissed for 82-ball 55, Halliday added another 76 runs for the second wicket in the company of skipper Felicity Leydon-Davis. Even though she lost the skipper near the finish, Halliday brought up her century and the win with a boundary in the 39^th over.

Earlier, Wellington got off to a good start once again with their in-form opening pair of McFadyen and Rebecca Burns putting on 75 runs in 16.5 overs. Once Burns was dismissed by LH Heaps, Northern Districts struck in regular intervals to deny Wellington an opportunity to build on the start gave by the openers.

29-year-old McFayden batted through the innings even as wicket fell at the other end and got to her 100 from 130 balls before she was eventually dismissed in the 49^th over.

Ireland’s Eimear Richardson was the most successful bowler for the Northern Districts, taking 3 for 34 from her spell of six overs.

Elsewhere, Canterbury Magicians routed Otago Sparks by 133 runs in yet another dominant performance at Centennial Park in Oamaru.

Electing to bat, Magicians got off to a bad start losing in-form Frances Mackay and Allie Mace-Cochrane inside the first ten overs to be reduced to 23 for 2.

However, Emma Kench and Kate Ebrahim put on 48 runs for the third wicket to stage a recover of sorts for the Magicians. Once Kench was dismissed, Ebrahim found an able partner in Jacinta Savage. The pair took the score to 131, with Ebrahim bringing up her fifty from 64 balls to go with the century she made on the opening day.

ALSO READ: Mackay, Ebrahim tons headline Canterbury’s resounding win on opening day of Hallyburton Johnstone Shield

Post Ebrahim’s dismissal, 25-ball 30 from wicket-keeper Laura Hughes took Magicians to a competitive total of 222 for 8 from their 50 overs.

For Sparks, Emma Black was the most successful bowler, taking three wickets.

In reply, Sparks never got their footing and found themselves in trouble right from the start with KM Sims wreaking havoc against the top order. They lost top five batters- including Caitlin Blakely who top scored on Saturday- for single figures and were in dire straits by the 15^th over with the score reading 56 for 6.
Once the top order fell away, Sparks were never in the chase and leg-spinner Sarah Asmussen finished off the lower order taking three wickets in an over to skittle them out for 89 runs to register a 133-run win.

Sarah Asmussen had the most impressive numbers among the bowlers, with her figures reading 4 for 9 while Sims took three wickets.

In Pukekura Park, Central Hinds continued their domination over Auckland Hearts on the second day in succession hammering them by 10 wickets.

Put into bat, Hearts got off to a terrible start losing two early with only 11 runs on the board. Once again Claudia Green was wrecker-in-chief, she first dismissed Saachi Shahri in the seventh over before trapping Bella Armstrong in front of the wicket for a duck.

Monique Rees then ran through the middle order Regina Lili’I, Jesse Prasad and Tariel Lamb for single figures. When Jess Watkin had Yasmeen Kareem caught and bowled Hearts were staring down the barrel at 30 for 6 in 18.5 overs.



In the company of Roz McNeill, Skye Bowden tried to offer some resistance and put on a partnership of 45 runs. But once McNeill was dismissed Hearts folded for a meagre 86 runs from 35.3 overs. Bowden top scored with 27, while Rees took 3 for 15.

In the chase, Watkin gave Hinds a whirlwind start attacking the bowlers from the get go. She was particularly severe on Molly Penfold and Prasad, taking the solitary over bowled by the later for 18 runs.

Watkin reached her fifty from 26 balls in the eighth over, then proceeded to smash McNeill for 17 in the next over to finish the match within no time.

Brief Scores:

Wellington Blaze 214/9 in 50 overs (Jessica McFadyen 107; Eimear Richardson 3/34, Charlotte Sarsfield 2/34) lost to Northern Districts 215/2 in 38.3 overs (Brooke Halliday 101*, Caitlin Gurrey 55; Thamsyn Newton 1/38) by eight wickets.

Canterbury Magicians 222/8 in 50 overs (Kate Ebrahim 62, Laura Hughes 30; Emma Black 3/50) beat Otago Sparks 89/10 in 46 overs (SR Wilson 23*; Sarah Asmussen 4/9, KM Sims 3/25) by 133 runs.

Auckland Hearts 86/10 in 35.3 overs (Skye Bowden 27; Monique Rees 3/15, Georgia Atkinson 2/7) lost to Central Hinds 91/0 in 9 overs (Jess Watkin 68*) by ten wickets.