And that decision is pretty easy. She plans to niggle away on a good line and length and use her natural angle as a left-armer to create doubt.
It is going to be a big day for the rookie and the rest of her Otago Sparks teammates.
The Sparks unexpectedly slipped into the final of the twenty20 tournament and will play Canterbury in Rangiora for top honours at noon.
The 17-year-old year-13 St Hilda’s Collegiate pupil has made a good impression since joining the team. In three twenty20 games for the province she has picked up three wickets at an average of 18.66 and an excellent economy rate of 4.66.
She has not had a bat in the competition yet but showed what she is capable of with an undefeated 20 in a one-day match against Northern Districts.
Kate used her long leavers and clobbered a wonderful six back over the bowler’s head. She is quite an athlete and that is where the Sparks might have a problem.
You see Kate and her identical twin sister Georgia are good at more than just cricket. They are both very promising netballers as well. And Kate was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools squad last week.
Sooner or later, the 1.81m-tall midcourter will need to pick a direction and stick with it.
Netball is her first love and her mother, Annette Heffernan, played netball for the Silver Ferns from 1985-90), as did her aunt, Maxine Blomquist, from the late ’70s to early ’80s. Her father Noel played representative rugby for Canterbury Country and brother Matthew (20) is on a rugby scholarship at Lincoln University.
When she does have to make a decision, who better to go to for advice than Sparks teammate Suzie Bates. She faced the same dilemma when choosing between basketball and cricket. Eventually cricket won out but not before Bates played for the Tall Ferns at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Kate plans to do both as long as she can and for now that is cricket in the summer and netball in the winter.
Her brother Matthew is responsible for getting the twins into cricket initially. He would lure his sisters out to the yard at the family farm near Tapanui and get them to bowl at him.
"We were never too keen on it but I remember him saying you should play cricket when you get to high school.
"And we were like, ‘Cricket, noooo’," Kate said.
The twins went to Blue Mountain College but in year 11 transferred to St Hilda’s Collegiate. The school’s cricket coach, Neil Rosenburg, helped to further foster their talent.
He led the team to glory at the national secondary school tournament late last year. St Hilda’s won all five matches and Kate and Georgia played starring roles.Kate was the second-leading scorer with 155 runs at 38.75 and the joint-leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at an average of six, while Georgia took six wickets at 8.17.
"We are more supportive than competitive," Kate said when asked about any rivalry with her twin.
"We don’t really want to beat each other. We want each other to do well.
"I find it hard and weird to do stuff without Georgia when it comes to sport. In netball we are always together and always in the same team."
Georgia is on the fringe of the Sparks team but has a shoulder injury at the moment.
And in netball she has chosen a harder path as a shooter.
Canterbury has named a strong line-up for the final, which includes hard-hitting all-rounder Amy Satterthwaite. Her duel with fellow White Fern Bates shapes as a defining clash. Satterthwaite has been at the top of her game while Bates is established as one of the world’s best players.
Canterbury beat Otago in a last-ball thriller at Molyneux Park during round-robin play so the final promises to be close.
Women’s twenty20 final
Otago v Canterbury
Mainpower Oval, Rangiora
Today, 12pm
Otago: Suzie Bates (co-captain), Caitlin Blakely, Leigh Kasperek, Katey Martin (co-captain), Polly Inglis, Megan Gibbs, Millie Cowan, Victoria Holden, Kate Heffernan, Beth Langston, Georgia Clarke, Ella Brown.
Canterbury: Frances Mackay, Amy Satterthwaite, Erin Bermingham, Thamsyn Newton, Kate Ebrahim, Rachel Candy, Lea Tahuhu, Kirsty Nation, Laura Hughes, Meddy Hyde, Jacinta Savage, Emma Kench, Natalie Cox.
Key players
• Canterbury opener Frances Mackay is the leading scorer in the competition with 211 runs at a strike rate of 102.42. She is an obvious threat but Amy Satterthwaite presents and even bigger challenge. The hard-hitting all-rounder has been in formidable form and her duel with White Ferns team-mate Suzie Bates could determine the outcome.
• Bates has carried the Otago team for more than a decade but Katey Martin has been more influential with the bat this season. Spinner Leigh Kasperek can make an impact with both the ball and bat, while England international Beth Langston bowls with good heat at the top of the innings.
