North Island have beaten their southern counterparts in the second match of the North/South series to tie things up at 1-all, setting up tomorrow’s Twenty20 match as the decider.
South won the toss and elected to bat with captain Suzie Bates dominating with a blistering 70 off 57 balls.
However, North fought back strongly towards the end of the innings, taking regular wickets and keeping the score to 126 for eight.
Lucy Doolan, who was North’s best bowler in the first match, stepped up again – taking two for 35 while fellow spinner Morna Nielsen returned tidy figures of one for 13 off her four overs.
The North Island reply got off to a horror start when Lea Tahuhu ripped out Aimee Watkins but Natalie Dodd and Sara McGlashan steadied with a 46 run partnership for the second wicket.
Dodd hit four boundaries in her 25 from 27 while McGlashan was all class with 44 from 39 deliveries in a knock studded with five fours and a six.
North teetered after the loss of McGlashan with Liz Perry and Katie Perkins falling cheaply but Nicola Browne got them home with a bullish 28 from 19 balls.
For South, spinner Frankie Mackay impressed with two for 20 off her full complement of four overs while Amy Satterthwaite returned the same figures from three overs.
The five wicket win highlights the closeness of the sides with South winning by the same margin in the first match.
South Island 126-8 (Suzie Bates 70, Sarah Tsukigawa 18, Lucy Doolan 2/35) lost to North Island 131/5(Natalie Dodd 25, Sara McGlashan 44, Nicola Browne 28*, Frankie Mackay 2/20, Amy Satterthwaite 2/20, Lea Tahuhu 1/15) by 5 wickets
Saturday 04 December
1st T20 at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln University
10.00am start
Result: South won by 5 wickets
2nd T20 at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln University
3.00pm
Result: North won by 5 wickets
Sunday 05 December
3rd T20 at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln University
10.00am
