NZCT Secondary school Girl's finals Day 2

Hillcrest High School versus St Hilda’s Collegiate

Hillcrest High School 251/5  – Felicity Leydon-Davis 76*, Heidi Arndt 75, Haley Brown 42 BEAT St Hilda’s Collegiate 121/9 Caitlin Blakely 45, Paige Whiting 3-10 by 130 runs.

Hillcrest decided to bat after winning the toss and were one down after the first over.

Sydney Crocker and Heidi Arndt then steadied the innings with combined for an important 54 runs before Crocker was bowled by Olivia Waldron for 22.

Two more impressive partnerships followed. Haley Brown and Arndt put on 43 for the third wicket then Brown’s dismissal brought Felicity Leydon-Davis to the crease. Arndt and Leydon-Davis, two Northern District Spirit players, built a great partnership through smart running between the wickets and punishment of the bad balls. They shared a stand of 108.

St Hilda’s picked up five wickets as Hillcrest High School got through to 251 off 40 overs.

An energetic Hillcrest High School took the field keen to put pressure on St Hilda’s right from ball one.

St Hilda’s struggled to keep up with the high run rate but Hillcrest High School also struggled to break through only picking up wickets towards the end of St Hilda’s innings.

Opener Caitlin Blakely carried her bat through the entire innings and towards the end had good support from the lower order as her team mates cheered her on to reach her 50. Unfortunately she ran out of balls to face and ended up on 45 not out. A great effort against a tidy bowling outfit.

A convincing win to Hillcrest High School but a great effort by St Hilda’s players to value their wicket and bat the 40 overs.

Wanganui Collegiate versus Epsom Girls’ Grammar School

Wanganui Collegiate 95 all out – Georgie Blackwood 33, Hester Nesbitt 25, Maddy Green 3-23, Leanne Gray 2-11, Rose Tynan2-19 BEAT Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 74 all out – Maddy Green 25, Charlotte Haggas 5-32 by 21 runs.

Wanganui Collegiate elected to bat first after winning the toss and got off to a good start putting on 37 before Millie Holden was bowled by Leanne Gray.

Wanganui Collegiate were looking good at 82/4 but then Maddy Green came back into the attack and cleaned up the lower order finishing with tidy figures of 3-23 off seven.

Hester Nesbitt and Georgie Blackwood stood out scoring 25 and 33 respectively during Wanganui Collegiate’s innings of 95.

Defending 95 Wanganui Collegiate were determined to put the pressure on knowing 95 runs on the board could be enough with the pitch becoming slower and lower.

Epsom Girls Grammar got off to a similar start losing their first wicket with the score at 33. Maddy Green did her best to hold up one end but with wickets continuing to fall around her the pressure started to build.

At 43/5 after 11 overs it could go either way but when Millie Holden dismissed in form batsman Maddy Green for 25 Epsom Girls Grammar started to collapse.

Charlotte Haggas had a great spell of five for 32 and Wanganui Collegiate eventually had Epsom Girls Grammar all out for 74 after 21 overs.

Christchurch Girls’ High School versus Havelock North High School

Havelock North High School 69 all out – Elise Yule 22, Hana Mauafu 3-12, Camille Hughes 3-13 LOST to Christchurch Girls’ High School 70/5 – Emma Hartland 29* by 5 wickets

Christchurch Girls’ High School won the toss and elected to field first at Kaimanawa Reserve.

The immaculate line and length from the Christchurch opening bowlers put pressure on Havelock North early on and led to the run-out of Elise Yule’s opening partner.

Yule, together with Megan Harrison looked to resurrect the innings and put on 28 for the second wicket.

Hana Maufu’s damaging second spell started a collapse of the Havelock North middle order and they lost their last seven wickets for only 11 runs to be dismissed for 69.

Christchurch Girls’ High started their reply positively with a 28 run stand for the first wicket between Emma Hartland and Laura Hughes.

Hughes’ dismissal started a mini collapse and Havelock North sensed a come back was on the cards. However, Emma Hartland showed remarkable composure under pressure and carried her bat to be 29 not out.

A five wicket victory to Christchurch Girls’ High School.

Avondale College versus Wellington Girls’ College

Wellington Girls’ College 55 all out – Hannah Austin-Smellie 17, Julia Vito 3-11, Amy Dalzell 3-19, Shannen Elliott 2-4 LOST to Avondale College 56/2 Shannen Elliott 40* Kate Southorn 2-15 by 8 wickets.

Avondale College had Wellington Girls’ College on the back foot after opening bowlers Julia Vito and Shannen Elliott got them off to a great start.

Tight bowling through out the innings meant Wellington Girls’ College struggled to get momentum, especially with wickets falling regularly. 

Using only four bowlers Avondale College dismissed Wellington Girls’ College for 55 in the 28th over.

In reply Avondale College came out positively and thanks to a suburb innings of 40 not out by Shannen Elliott they knocked off the runs in the 14th over.

Tomorrow’s matches include:

Group A

St Hilda’s Collegiate versus Wanganui Collegiate

Epsom Girls’ Grammar School versus Hillcrest High School

Group B

Havelock North High School versus Avondale College

Christchurch Girls’ High School versus Wellington Girls’ College