Tournament winner: Epsom Girls Grammar School
Tournament runner-up: St Hilda's Collegiate
Tournament MVP: Bella Armstrong (Epsom Girls Grammar School)
Spirit of Cricket award:
Final Points: Epsom Girls Grammar School 10, St Hilda's Collegiate 8, Tauranga Girls' College 4, Christchurch Girls' High School 4, New Plymouth Girls' High School 2, Tawa College 0
ROUND FIVE
St Hilda’s Collegiate 167-6 (M Meltzer 34, G Plimmer 2-33) beat Tawa College 50 all out after 13.3 overs (K Heffernan 3-12), Fitzherbert Park 2
St Hilda’s still had a faint hope of winning the tournament, but they would need Epsom to be upset and secure a large victory against Tawa College. Tawa had struggles through the tournament to date and were still yet to register their first victory despite some outstanding individual performances. St Hilda’s won the toss and chose to bat. Significant contributions from five or the six St Hilda’s batsman including 34 from Megan Meltzer propelled St Hilda’s to an excellent 167-6. Despite none of their players going ton to score a big total they managed to maintain their momentum and score what should be a winning total. It proved to be just that with Tawa no match for the St Hilda’s bowling attack. They were well lead by Kate Heffernan who claimed 3-12 off her four overs. Tawa were eventually dismissed for 50 after 13.3 overs. The win confirmed St Hilda’s finished in second, while Tawa had a difficult week but will have taken heart from some great individual performances.
Epsom Girls Grammar School 107-7 (B Perry 3-13) beat Tauranga Girls College 63-9 (B Perry 21, B Armstrong 4-7), Fitzherbert Park 1
The outcome of the tournament lay in Epsom Girls Grammar’s hands. Win their final match against Tauranga Girls College and the tournament was theirs, lose and run rate would be considered to separate Epsom from St Hilda’s if they were to win their final match. Epsom won the toss hoping to get a big score on the board to place pressure on Tauranga Girls. Early wickets from Tauranga however put the pressure on Epsom and despite and few wobbles managed to post a competitive 107-7 with Gemma Adams and Mei Coates both scoring 23. Epsom came out on fire and other than Briana Perry scoring 23 it was all Epsom. Eventual MVP of the Tournament and captain of Epsom Girls lead the attack with 4-7 off three overs to seal the victory and claim the tournament for Epsom Girls.
Christchurch Girls High School 170-4 (S Gray 81, C Liddington 47) beat New Plymouth Girls High School 69 all out in 14.3 overs (M Rees 43, S Asmussen 3-12), Manawaroa Park
In the final game of the tournament on Manawaroa Park Christchurch Girls took on New Plymouth Girls. New Plymouth had secured their first win in the previous round while Christchurch were pushing for victory to ensure they finished in third place. Christchurch Girls won the toss and chose to bat and put on a wonderful display. Captain Sophie Gray in her last school appearance struck a magnificent 81 off just 58 balls. She was well supported by Casey Liddington in a 144 run opening partnership that helped Christchurch Girls achieve a formidable total of 170-4. That total was a bridge too far for New Plymouth and despite an outstanding individual effort by Monique Rees of 43 off 39 balls the total was always out of reach. Thanks in part to some excellent bowling from Sarah Asmussen 3-12 Christchurch dismissed New Plymouth in the 15th over with their total on 69. A well-earned victory for Christchurch.
ROUND FOUR
Epsom Girls Grammar School 144-5 (Bella Armstrong 85*, E Carson 2-15) beat St Hilda’s Collegiate 125-8 (E Carson 29*, J Patel 3-16), Manawaroa Park
This was the battle that most had been waiting for. St Hilda’s the defending championships with 10 players back from last years title team playing against Epsom Girls from Auckland who have been setting the pace. Epsom won the toss on Manawaroa Park and chose to bat first. To ensure a achievable target St Hilda’s needed to knock over the productive top four of Epsom. They managed three of those, but the key wicket of Bella Armstrong eluded them and an innings of 85* off 44 balls with 11 boundaries and 3 sixes allowed Epsom to post an excellent total of 144. In reply, despite St Hilda’s top order all getting starts they ere always behind the eight ball and despite some late hitting from Eden Caron 29* off 19 balls it wasn’t enough, and St Hilda’s fell 19 runs short. Epsom have one hand on the trophy while St Hilda’s will now need an upset in the final round to be able to retain the title they won in 2016.
Tawa College 156-1 (A Gillies 46*, R Thuraisingham 38) lost to New Plymouth Girls High School 159-2 off 19.3 overs (M Rees 73*, J Hollard 40), Fitzherbert Park 2
The two teams without a victory battled it out on Fitzherbert Park 2 both seeking to get themselves on the board. Winning the toss and choosing to bat allowed Tawa to post their highest total of the tournament to date posting 156-1. An opening partnership of 99 between Roshani Thuraisingham 38 and Anna-Leigh Gillies 46* set the tone and cameo inning of 29 from Jeneesha Maisuria helped Tawa set a very competitive total. In reply New Plymouth were in uncharted territory having not posted a total in this range during the tournament. In reply wickets were at a premium with the bat well and truly dominating the ball. An outstanding innings of 73* from Monique Rees guided the New Plymouth innings, well support by Jessie Hollard who scored 40. In what was a very exciting finish New Plymouth achieved their first victory with just 3 balls to spare. A marvellous game of cricket.
Christchurch Girls High School 99-7 (G Ansell 37*, C Liddington 29, G Bartlam 3-17) beat Tauranga Girls College 89-8 (B Perry 26, G Edge 2-13), Fitzherbert Park 1
In the final game in round four Christchurch Girls were taking on Tauranga Girls. Both teams were looking to chase third place in the tournament with the teams having one and two wins respectively. Christchurch Girls won the toss and chose to bat on a wicket that has been producing lots of runs. The pressure came on early from the Tauranga Girls who picked up regular wickets until the forth wicket partnership of 61 between Casey Liddington 29 and Gracie Ansell 37*. Once that partnership was broken wicket s continued to tumble and Christchurch Girls eventually ended their innings on 99-7. Georgia Bartlam was the best of the Tauranga bowlers securing figures of 3-17 from her four overs. In reply Tauranga made a strong start with some meaningful partnerships but after their second wicket fell wickets became regular with Libby Stead, Georgia Edge and Kate Hastings all picking up 2 cheap wickets. It was a tight finish but in the end Christchurch Girls held on for a 10 run victory.
ROUND THREE
Christchurch Girls’ High School 91-5 (G Edge 35) lost to St Hilda’s Collegiate 92-0 after 12overs (K Heffernan 43*, O Gain 36*), Manawaroa Park
Christchurch Girls started the second day by winning the toss and choosing to bat against unbeaten St Hilda’s Collegiate. After an excellent batting performance in their previous game Christchurch Girls wanted to put a big score on the board. St Hilda’s had a different idea bowling excellent lines and with discipline and despite an aggressive 35 off 30 by Georgia Edge, Christchurch Girls failed to post the large score they were after. Knowing that run rate could be an important factor later in the tournament, St Hilda’s proceeded to attack the Christchurch Bowlers looking to knock off the runs as quickly as possible. They did just that, with unbeaten innings from Kate Heffernan 43* and Olivia Gain 36* propelling them to the target in just 12 overs. St Hilda’s continue their efforts to defend the title they won last year.
New Plymouth Girls’ High School 110-5 (A Wisnewski 57*) lost to Tauranga Girls’ College 111-1 off 17.5 overs (B Perry 61*, H Topp 31*), Fitzherbert Park 2
Tauranga’s one previous success in this tournament came while chasing, and having won the toss they decided to bowl and put pressure on New Plymouth Girls. That early pressure told and New Plymouth lost 3 early wickets but a resolute 57* at a run a ball from Aimee Wisnewski held the innings together propelling them through to 110 from their 20 overs. After an early scare losing a wicket in the second over, Tauranga Girls used their previous chasing experience and with 2.1 overs remaining secured the victory. They were expertly lead by their captain Briana Perry 61* and by their wicketkeeper Holly Topp 31*. New Plymouth continue to search for their first victory while Tauranga look to continue their rise on the leaderboard.
Epsom Girls Grammar 161-3 (B Armstrong 72, G Adams 42) beat Tawa College 107-2 (K Fenton 33), Fitzherbert Park 1
Epsom Girls won the toss in their third match of the tournament against Tawa College and chose to bat. Epsom’s batting performances had been excellent so far in the tournament and this game was no different. Two fabulous innings from Bella Armstrong 72 off 57 and Gemma Adams 42 off 38 were just what Epsom needed to post a daunting total of 161 for Tawa College. In reply, Tawa College weren’t given the chance to get into their chase with excellent economical bowling from Epsom Girls. Having to score at more than 8 an over for the inning proved to be too much and despite some resolute batting eventually lost by 54 runs. Kate Fenton did here best to hold the innings together with 33 but it eventually proved to be in vain. Epsom set up an intriguing match against also unbeaten St Hilda’s in round four.
ROUND TWO
St Hilda’s Collegiate 164-4 (M Meltzer 46, G Heffernan 42, G Bartlam 2-25) beat Tauranga Girls College 77-5 (H Topp 29*, L Taylor 2-8), Fitzherbert Park 2
Both St Hilda’s and Tauranga had had wins in the morning round and sort to continue their momentum in the afternoon round. St Hilda’s won the toss and chose to bat first, to get runs on the board and put pressure back on Tauranga. They did just that compiling an excellent 164-4 in their 20 overs. There were several significant contribution from their top order by Megan Meltzer 46 from 52 and Georgia Heffernan 42 from 24 including two sixes. Tauranga Girls didn’t have the fire power against a disciplined St Hilda’s bowling attack which saw them manage just 77 runs in their 20 overs. Holly Topp continued her great start to the tournament with 29* while Laura Taylor had excellent figures of 2-8 off three overs. St Hilda’s move to day two with a 2-0 record.
Christchurch Girls High School 193-2 (S Gray 59*, J Hull 44*) beat Tawa College 111-9 (A Gillies 37, L Stead 3-10 including hatrick), Fitzherbert Park 1
Christchurch Girls had struggled in their round one game against Epsom Girls and had the opportunity to make amends and after being put in by Tawa College that is exactly what Christchurch Girls did. 193-2 was a marvellous team total with all four batsman making significant contribution and the best of those were captain Sophie Gray with 59* and Joey Hull with 44*. All of Tawa’s bowlers suffered at the hands of the Christchurch batsman and had a massive task ahead of them to chase down Christchurch Girls total. Tawa lost some early wickets but even a great partnership of 73 runs where Anna-Leigh Gillies scored 37 wasn’t enough to stay in the game. Christchurch Girls continued to pick wickets including four wickets in four balls during a Libby Stead over. The first wicket was a direct hit run out to Sarah Asmussen followed by three wickets for Libby Stead giving her a hattrick. An exciting finish to the game where Christchurch Girls won by 82 runs.
Epsom Girls Grammar 132-9 (M Coates 23*, K Mackle 2-15) beat New Plymouth Girls High School 49 all out off 16.2 overs (L Battin 2-9), Manawaroa Park
The team from Epsom Girls made a very impressive start to the tournament with a dominant victory in round one and sort to continue that momentum in round two. Epsom won the toss and chose to bat. The excellent start they had in game one didn’t repeat with New Plymouth Girls doing a great of restricting and picking up regular wickets. Mei Coates batting at 6 came to the rescue with a needed 23* keeping the tail of the batting line up in check and guiding them through to 132-9 from their 20 overs. This would prove to be enough with the young New Plymouth Girls dismissed for just 49 in 16.2 overs. Epsom showed their experience and applied the pressure to ensure New Plymouth never got into the game. Lydia Battin was the leading bowler for the Epsom with 2-9. Epsom complete day one with two wins while New Plymouth have some work to do in day two.
ROUND ONE
St Hilda’s Collegiate 164-5 (E Carson 37*, S Roberts 2-42) beat New Plymouth Girls High School 61-8 (M Rees 20, K Heffernan 2-5, E Black 2-5), Fitzherbert Park 1
In the first game on Fitzherbert Park 1, the defending champions St Hilda’s Collegiate of Dunedin played New Plymouth Girls High School. St Hilda’s won the toss and chose to bat first, on an excellent looking pitch. St Hilda’s built well into their innings with most of the top order making contributions, with the most significant coming from Eden Carson scoring an exciting 37* off 34 balls to drive St Hilda’s to their total of 164. In reply New Plymouth struggles to get on top of a disciplined St Hilda’s attack. Both opening bowlers Kate Heffernan and Emma Black returned the excellent figures of 2-5 from their four overs. They never allowed New Plymouth into the chase and after their 20 overs New Plymouth had compiled 61-8. The defending champions had made the perfect start to the tournament while New Plymouth have work to do before their afternoon game against one of the other tournament favourites Epsom Girls.
Epsom Girls Grammar 194-4 (G Adams 55, B Armstrong 55) beat Christchurch Girls High School 88-8 (C Liddington 29, A Hucker 3-6), Fitzherbert Park 2
Epsom Girls Grammar School of Auckland took on Christchurch Girls High School on Fitzherbert Park 2. Both teams were looking to get their tournaments off to a good start and Christchurch Girls won the first contest of the game putting Epsom into bat. They may look back and regret that as Epsom enjoyed the opportunity to get a big total on the board. Despite an early wicket Epsom pushed the run rate through an excellent 131 run partnership between Bella Armstrong 55 and Gemma Adams who also scored 55. Some late hitting propelled Epsom to a commanding total of 194-4. Christchurch Girls made steady start to their innings but when their batman looked to accelerate towards Epsom’s total wickets fell. Outside of opening batsman Casey Liddington’s 29 there were few contributions and at the end of their 20 overs they only had 88 runs on the board meaning a win to Epsom by 106 runs. Epsom’s leading bowler was Amie Hucker with a very economical 3-6 off her four overs. A great start by Epsom and some work to do by Christchurch Girls.
Tawa College 121-4 (R Thuraisingham 44, K Fenton 34, A Cotter 2-19) lost to Tauranga Girls College 122-4 off 19.2 overs (H Topp 57*, B Perry 32, G Plimmer 2-38), Manawaroa Park
In the final round one game, Tawa College of Wellington played Tauranga Girls College on Manawaroa. While the other two games in the round were one sided, this game was a wonderful contest. Tauranga won the toss and chose to bowl first, inserting Tawa. Tawa made an excellent start to the games with an 82-run partnership between opening batsman Roshani Thuraisingham 44 off 52 balls and Kate Fenton 34 off 37 balls. After the opening partnership way broken Tawa struggled to make the most of their start and Tauranga managed to restrict Tawa to 121-4 from their 20 overs. In reply Tauranga paced their reply expertly achieving the target with four balls remaining. Tauranga have two players to thank for their successful chase, Holly Topp their wicketkeeper batsman scored a fantastic 57* off 53 balls and captain Briana Perry who scored 32 from 36 balls. Tauranga start with a win and move to the afternoon games with some confidence.
