The Sparks beat Wellington by six wickets at the Basin Reserve on Saturday. But the home side reversed the result yesterday, dealing out a six-wicket defeat of its own.
With leading players Suzie Bates and Leigh Kasperek and captain Katey Martin away on international duty, Otago had its depth tested.
Coach Nathan King named a young side for the back-to-back one-dayers, which included three current St Hilda’s Collegiate pupils.Two of that trio came through yesterday. Olivia Gain top-scored with a fine knock at the top of the innings.
She scored 60 from 92 balls to help her side post what was a below-par 201 for nine.
Wellington slumped to 61 for four, in which St Hilda’s pupil Eden Carson grabbed two for 32. But Liz Perry (63 not out) and Thamsyn Newton (62 no out) put on an unbroken stand of 144 to seal the victory.
"It was really satisfying to see some of the performances," King said, despite having to share the honours with Wellington.
"With the group of players we’ve got, and the opposition we were up against, one from two was a really good achievement."
Wellington’s Lucy Doolan took three for 35 in the match and is now Wellington’s leading wicket-taker in the format. She has 117 wickets and has eclipsed Amanda Cooper’s career haul of 114.
On Saturday, Alice Davidson-Richards made a fabulous impact in her debut game for Otago.
The English professional took three for 48 with the ball to help dismiss Wellington for 212.
The 24-year-old then put in a wonderful shift with the bat to help the Sparks post a win.
She swatted 78 from 85 deliveries and combined in a monster 142-run partnership with the captain Polly Inglis.
Inglis dug in for a career-high 83 from 115 deliveries, and survived through to the end.
Ella Brown had a fine match for Otago as well, with a career-best three for 34.
In the other games, Auckland won both its games against Canterbury at Hagley Oval, while Central Districts beat Northern Districts by nine wickets on Saturday.
