St Matthew’s Collegiate and Takapuna Grammar School both returned strong performances at day one of the 2023 Venus Cup, claiming two wins from two Twenty20 matches.
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GILLETTE VENUS COMPETITION CENTRE
ROUND ONE:
St Matthew’s Collegiate 99/3 (V Taylor 52, A Register 3-16) beat Wellington Girls’ College 98/9 (K Chandler 32, F Larsen 1-9), Bert Sutcliffe Oval
St Matthew’s Collegiate opened their Venus Cup campaign in style this morning with a 7-wicket victory over Wellington Girls’ College.
Bowling first, SMCS stuck early through Ava Register (3-16), who was able to remove both openers and give her side early momentum. Kate Chandler (32) was the sole WGC batter to reach double figures as St Matt’s continued to take regular wickets through Vanessa Taylor (2-6) and Sophie Sweeney (2-21).
Despite an early wicket to Jessica Robinson (1-6), SMCS gained control thanks to an 85-run partnership between Vanessa Taylor (52*) and Sally Booth (31). The Central Districts regional champs eventually cantering home in the 17th over.
St Hilda’s Collegiate 130/1 (C Deerness 63*, S Deerness 4-26) beat Christchurch Girls’ HS 128/7 (Sacha Arnold 58*, P Ussher 1-22), Lincoln Green
St Hilda’s Collegiate produced a strong performance to take home their first tournament victory on the Lincoln Green.
Electing to bowl first against CGHS, Hannah J O’Connor (1-10) opened the account with a wicket in her second over. CGHS captain Sacha Arnold (58*) then got into her work, scoring an unbeaten half-century to guide as wickets fell at the other end. SHCS leg-spinner, Sophie Deerness, had a day to remember – claiming four important wickets and stemming the runs through the middle overs.
After losing opener Megha Senthilkumar in the first over of the innings, SHCS found success through top order batters Ella Gibson (45*) and Chloe Deerness (63). Both looked well in control, batting sensibly and putting away the bad ball. Contracted Otago Spark, Chloe Deerness, completed a fine day for the Deerness sisters – clouting nine fours and seeing her side to victory in the 17th over.
Takapuna Grammar School 126/9 (S Hallman 24, R Jaswal 3-10) beat Tauranga Girls College 118/7 (E Archer 60 & 4-19), Lincoln No. 3
In what was potentially match of the round, Takapuna Grammar held their nerve to secure a victory over Tauranga Girls College.
After being sent in to bat, Takapuna found themselves in some trouble – losing two early wickets, and a further two in Elle Archer’s (4-19) first over of her spell. Maia Scott (23) and captain Scout Hallman (24) put together a valuable 41 run partnership – well supported by four other TGS batters who contributed in double figures. Captain Archer and Brooke Valois (3-15) bowled economically for good reward while opening bowler, Stella Hoskin (2-34), picked up two important wickets at the top.
Elle Archer (60) continued her good form into the TGC batting innings – scoring a classy half-century to give her side every chance of chasing down the total. Unfortunately for Tauranga, wickets kept falling at the other end, and the side eventually pulled up just eight runs short.
Spinner Rishika Jaswal (3-10) returned the best figures for Takapuna, bowling two maidens and taking three important wickets for her side.
ROUND TWO:
Takapuna Grammar School 182/4 (R Jaswal 73, A Melhuish 2-14) beat Christchurch Girls’ HS 112/6 (S Arnold 20, H Clouston 2-23), Bert Sutcliffe Oval
A fantastic batting innings capped of a fantastic day for Takapuna Grammar, seeing them to two wins from their first two matches.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, TGC openers Rishika Jaswal (73) and Izzy Fox (28) wasted no time getting their side off to a positive start. The pair put on a whopping 89 runs for the first wicket, before Fox was removed by CGHS captain Sacha Arnold (1-22). Captain Scout Hallman (28) and Jaswal continued the momentum – putting together a 76-run partnership and seeing TGS to a whopping 182/4. Auckland Hearts representative, Jaswal, looked in full control – taking the innings deep and dispatching 13 boundaries along the way.
In response, the CGHS innings struggled to get going – with Takapuna’s bowling unit producing very economical spells. Sacha Arnold (20) looked in good touch, but the bad balls were few and far between. Seam bowler Audrey Melhuish (2-15) and Jaswal (2-26) returning the best figures for TGS, eventually winning by 70 runs.
St Matthew’s Collegiate 166/5 (E McLeod 101*, A Register 3-30) beat St Hilda’s Collegiate 160/8 (H E Wilson 51, HK Wilson 2-29), Lincoln No. 3
St Matthew’s Collegiate and St Hilda’s Collegiate met on Lincoln No. 3 this afternoon after both winning in round one – supporters of both sides given a treat as this one went down to the wire.
After being sent in to bat, St Matthew’s openers, Emma McLeod (101*) and Sally Booth (23), put together an outstanding display – totaling 102 runs before the loss of a wicket. SMCS captain Emma McLeod played a magnificent knock, swatting eighteen fours, and batting the innings to finish with an unbeaten century. Seeing that their skipper was on fire, the SMCS batters did a good job of rotating strike and playing the supporting act.
Both Hannah K Wilson (2-29) and namesake Hannah E Wilson (1-12) performed well for St Hilda’s, fighting hard to get reward late in the innings.
Despite two early wickets to Ava Register (3-30), St Hilda’s would not go down without a fight. Chloe Deerness (28) and Hannah E Wilson (51) combined for a crucial 61-run partnership before the loss of Deerness. Wilson continued on her way with the support of Hannah O’Connor, putting together 47 runs – and getting their side to 129 runs and in position to potentially win the match.
Enter Vanessa Taylor (2-19) and India Bartlett (1-20), who took the valuable wickets of O’Connor and Wilson in consecutive overs and so swinging the momentum back in St Matt’s favour. St Hilda’s kept fighting until the end – requiring 18 off the last over, but agonisingly fell six runs short.
Wellington Girls’ College 122/7 (N McCrystal 35, K Chandler 4-10) beat Tauranga Girls’ College 98/10 (B Valois 14, E Archer 3-13), Lincoln Green
Wellington Girls’ College bounced back strong this afternoon to secure their first victory of the 2023 Venus Cup.
After electing to bat first, WCG’s batting unit all chipped in – with four of their top five reaching double figures. Nell McCrystal’s 35 runs the most important of these contributions, batting with the middle-to-lower order and seeing her side to a respectable 122/7. Elle Archer (3-13) again proved a handful with the ball for TGC, taking three wickets and bowling economically.
In the bowling innings it was again a team effort for Wellington – five of their bowlers taking at least one wicket. Wellington Blaze representative, Kate Chandler (4-10), then spun her side to victory with four wickets to tidy up the Tauranga innings.
