Maddy Green's maiden one-day century set up an impressive win for the Auckland Hearts over the SBS Bank Otago Sparks, taking them to two-nil in the one-day doubleheader over the weekend.
Aside from Green’s impressive batting, the Aucklanders then also overwhelmed the Sparks with the ball, rolling the southerners at Eden Park Outer Oval for 109 as they chased 239.
In her 100th one-day game for her team, Victoria Lind won the toss for the Hearts and elected to bat.
Unfortunately the skipper wasn’t able to capitalise, as she was undone early by Suzie Bates and a great slip catch. However, that saw Sara McGlashan come to the crease and she was in a run-scoring mood.
The classy veteran scored her first 30 runs entirely through boundaries. However, she and Sam Curtis weren’t able to build up a partnership, both losing their wickets after getting starts.
But the loss of Curtis and McGlashan meant that Katie Perkins and Green were united in the middle. The pair looked assured from the outset, and built a strong 50-run partnership that featured some fine running between the wickets, for a new sixth wicket record against the Sparks for the Hearts.
After looking so settled, Perkins was then trapped by Bates. However, the wicket didn’t slow Green down, as she continued to control the pace of the innings. She was supported to the end of the innings by handy contributions from Anna Peterson, Holly Huddleston and Arlene Kelly. Green finished on 105 off 117 balls and had easily passed her previous top score for the Hearts of 51.
In reply, the Sparks got off to a tough start as Auckland claimed the big wicket of Bates, bowled by the ever-hardworking Kelly for six. After that big shock, the Sparks never got going and regular wickets fell.
Leigh Kasperek offered some resistance with 25. But after spinner Georgie Guy picked up her wicket in a double wicket maiden, the Sparks really started to slide. Spin continued to cause some trouble as Anna Peterson bowled impressively to claim 3-4 to finish off their innings. Peterson’s four overs included two maidens.
Guy meanwhile finished with the very useful figures of 2-19. A sharp fielding effort from the Hearts had helped them put pressure on the Sparks all day, and contributed to them being dismissed in just 34 overs.
