The final bound Canterbury Magicians have been given a scare by the Otago Sparks in a two wicket win in the Action Cricket Twenty20 competition.
Canterbury limited Otago to just 102 in their 20 overs, but an out of sorts batting display and strong performance by the Sparks meant it took Canterbury until the last over to secure victory.
Otago were put into bat by Canterbury and got off to a strong start thanks to openers Katey Martin (30) and Suzie Bates (28) who put on 56 for the first wicket.
Next in Lisa Grant also chipped in with a helpful 19. After that Otago really struggled to establish a partnership at the crease and lost wickets regularly to fall to 102 for seven at the end of 20 overs.
Hayley Jensen had quite an effect with her two overs for Canterbury and picked up two crucial wickets for nine runs.
In reply Canterbury lost key opener Frances Mackay early and looked shaky against the Canterbury bowling attack.
Amy Satterthwaite once again provided an important innings for her side as she top scored with 40.
Janet Brehaut also made 13, but when both these two were dismissed Canterbury looked anything but in control. They lost frequent wickets, but picked up a crucial 13 from Erin Bermingham to close in on the Spark’s target.
Otago bowled well for the most part, but will be frustrated by the 15 runs they gave away in extras.
It proved to be the difference, as Canterbury managed to claim victory with five balls and two wickets to spare.
It was a tough loss for Otago, but there were many positives from the game.
One was Kate Stiven’s bowling performance, as she picked up the impressive figures of four for 16.
