2022/23 HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
Round 10
Sunday, 26 February 2023
Sir John Davies Oval, Queenstown
OTAGO SPARKS beat CANTERBURY MAGICIANS by 37 runs
Selected milestones:
Emma Black: 50th List A match (Otago Sparks)
Olivia Gain: List A career best score
Kate Ebrahim: 7th List A century; 2nd for Otago Sparks
Run machine | PHOTOSPORT
They were the defending Hallyburton Johnstone Shield champions and, although out of the running now for the defence of their title, the Otago Sparks were determined to end their season in style.
Canterbury, who had qualified for the Grand Final with a win against the Sparks on the previous day, won the toss and bowled in the final round of the regular season.
Amy Satterthwaite was in the action early with both a catch to help dismiss Bella James off Jacinta Savage at 28/1, and by trapping Felicity Leydon-Davis just shy of the 15-over mark.
But a big threat remained resolute at the other end, and Kate Ebrahim - the Sparks other opener - wasn't about to let her last innings of the season go begging.
Fast forward to the end of the Sparks innings and she's still there, sweat dripping, having carried her bat for a masterful unbeaten 106* off 140 balls.
With eight boundaries included in her three hours' toil, she had anchored the Sparks to 265/4.
In tandem with Olivia Gain (above), Ebrahim had also slathered on 129 runs for the fifth wicket - Gain having cashed in at the death with a six to go with her six boundaries in a run-a-ball, unbeaten 67*.
Ebrahim would have a ripper of a game with the ball, as well.
Among her haul of 3/33 at fourth change was the big wicket of Amy Satterthwaite, completing deceiving the star Cantabrian to bowl her on 66.
Molly Loe had done the damage at the top of the innings with 3/34 off her 10, fellow opening bowler Emma Black (3/45) chiming in with the other key wicket of Kate Anderson for just 3, before helping Ebrahim mop up.
The Magicians had been 169/6 at Satterthwaite's fall in the 36th over and they couldn't recover.
It was one last laugh for the Sparks in their final match of the season as they bowled their quarry out for 228.
