The Otago Sparks have made a convincing start to their Hallyburton Johnstone title defence.
They return home with two bonus-point wins from their double-header against the Canterbury Magicians in Rangiora at the weekend.
The Sparks won by 170 runs by the DLS method on Saturday and backed that up with a 177-run win yesterday to top the competition.
Yesterday, the Sparks opted to bat first and finished at 247 for seven at the end of their 50 overs.
Captain Felicity Robertson top-scored with 43 runs, Caitlin Blakely chipped in 42 and Hayley Jensen finished not out on 38.
Melissa Banks was the best for Canterbury, taking four for 39 in her eight overs.
Sarah Asmussen, Jess Simmons and former Sparks player Kate Ebrahim all took three wickets each.
Sparks newcomer Anna Browning stood up with the ball and collected her best list-A bowling figures.
She took three for 34, surpassing her previous best of one for 28, to help dismiss Canterbury for 133.
White Fern spinner Eden Carson was equally impressive with her three for 23 in her 10-over spell.
Laura Hughes top-scored for Canterbury with her knock of 31 but Canterbury’s middle order otherwise failed to get going.
On Saturday, Sparks opener Bella James posted 63 and Caitlin Blakely made a telling contribution as well with 49 not out.
The visitors got through to 198 for six from 39 overs.
Canterbury chased a revised target of 231 but slumped to be all out for 60.
Ebrahim was nicked off for six.
Her opener partner, Frankie Mackay, holed out for seven but still created history.
The 34-year-old needed just three runs to snatch the national record for the most list-A runs for a single domestic team in the men’s or women’s competition.
She eclipsed former teammate Amy Satterthwaite’s tally of 5147 runs.
But the day belonged to 19-year-old Otago seamer Louisa Kotkamp. She ran through the Canterbury middle order, snaffling four for 17 in just her second game for the team.
The Wellington Blaze won by 25 runs against the Central Hinds yesterday. But White Fern Rosemary Mair was the story, taking her best list-A figures with six for 21.
Central beat Wellington by 41 runs on Saturday, where Central bowler Ocean Bartlett took six for 27 in her maiden five-wicket haul and best List A figures.
The Auckland Hearts beat Northern Districts by seven wickets in Mt Maunganui on Saturday.
Despite White Fern Maddy Green finishing 118 not out for Auckland, Northern Districts won by one wicket in yesterday’s game.
- Additional reporting Adrian Seconi.
