2022/23 HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
Round 8
Sunday, 19 February 2023
University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
OTAGO SPARKS lost to AUCKLAND HEARTS by 28 runs
All images: PHOTOSPORT
The Auckland Hearts backed up their resounding bonus-point victory from the previous day with another win against the defending champion Otago Sparks - but it still left their qualification hopes hanging by a thread, in the middle of the table with the Central Hinds and their fate now out of their control.
The Hearts or Hinds could still make the Grand Final if the Canterbury Magicians suffer two shock losses in the final two rounds next weekend, but they won't be counting their chickens.
Hearts captain Prue Catton (above) won the toss and batted in Dunedin, on another standout day for Hearts veteran Katie Perkins.
After her big century the previous day, this time she top-scored for her side with 94 off 107 balls in a golden patch at the tail of her career.
Perkins has announced that this will be her last season for Auckland, and she looked determined to make the most of it as she underpinned a total of 300/7.
Opener Saachi Shahri meanwhile did her bit with a half century as the pair piled on 79 for the second wicket, broken when Chloe Deerness (below) finally had her caught at 128/2.
But strong Bella Armstrong (44) quickly formed another good stand with Perkins and the Hearts pottered along to 206/3 before the Sparks had a chance to smile again in the 36th over.
That was Armstrong's dismissal, and Perkins wasn't going anywhere - batting into the last over of the Auckland innings, when even a desperate dive couldn't save her from being run out going for a second run - a chance of a second century for the weekend snuffed out.
But the total was the thing, and the Sparks could not match it despite a good fightback from their middle order.
The big wickets of Kate Ebrahim and Bella James had fallen early, leaving Olivia Gain (48) and Caitlin Blakely (51, below) to do the repair work.
They took the hosts through to 105/3 when young Amberley Parr-Thompson had a hand in her second wicket, this time with a runout at Gain's expense.
The next two batters, Felicity Leydon-Davis (59 off 55 balls) and Polly Inglis (54 off 51 runs, below) both got half centuries, but more was needed from someone to get Otago across the line against at challenging attack.
Leydon-Davis was run out off a Huddleston over, and three balls later the hat-trick heroine of the previous day made it seven down as she had Gemma Adam caught.
Huddleston struck again to finish with 3-44 as the Sparks crumbled to 272/9, stung twice by a team that had started the weekend at the wrong end of the table.
