The Northern Spirit have won a tight contest in Canterbury against the Otago Sparks thanks to some late heroics by Heidi Arndt.
Chasing 146 for victory Northern batted well to win in the last over with four wickets in hand.
Otago got off to a solid start thanks to newly appointed BLACKCAPS’ Captain Suzie Bates. Bates made 32 from 29, but struggled to find decent help from the rest of the top order.
Luckily for the Sparks they found a hero in the form of Victoria Abott. Abott played brilliantly to make an unbeaten 53 from 37 deliveries. Her performance helped Otago reach the very respectable score of 145 for seven.
Felicity-Leydon Davis did the most damage for the Spirit and picked up three for 21 from four overs.
Hannah Trollip got Northern off to the perfect start by making a quick 36 and was helped by Nicola Browne who played sensibly for her 40.
Unfortunately in between these fine innings the Spirit were losing wickets regularly. Just when it looked like Otago were going to secure victory Arndt came in and played fantastically to lift Northern to victory. Arndt finished with 24 and secured victory with three balls to spare and four wickets in hand.
The Sparks bowled well, but couldn’t peg down the Spirit batsmen at critical points in the match. Northern will be happy with the win, but will be looking to improve with the ball in their next game.
