Big double header weekend in store for Bartercard Taranaki women
The Bartercard Taranaki women head to Napier for a double-header clash with Hawkes Bay this weekend.
Coming into their second and third round Shrimpton Trophy matches off the back of a convincing first up win over defending champions Manawatu, the Taranaki women will be looking to back up and cement their status as a competition front-runner.
Head coach Doug Proffit has been able to name a settled side for the match, with just Natalie Dodd missing from the side who beat Manawatu by six wickets at Pukekura Park three weeks ago.
Dodd’s absence, with the CD Hinds, sees youngster Zoe Ellerton-Kelly get an opportunity to impress.
Captain Amy Foreman will again be looking to her big guns with players such as Christabel Chatonzwa, Emily Cunningham, Jessie Hollard and Grace Foreman key to a successful trip.
The Hawkes Bay side currently tops the table having kicked off with a win over Wairarapa, while their second game was washed out giving them two points for the lead.
The matches are scheduled to start at 11am at Nelson Park on both days.
Match details including live scoring is available here at Play HQ: Tournament competition fixtures | PlayHQ
Whitaker Civil Taranaki’s Furlong Cup hopes in trouble
A disappointing first innings loss to Whanganui has left the Whitaker Civil Taranaki mens’ Furlong Cup campaign hanging by a thread.
The 11-run loss has left Taranaki still in second place on the table, after Manawatu picked up maximum points over Horowhenua Kapiti to move to the top, but Hawkes Bay is close behind in third a game in hand.
With games against Horowhenua Kapiti and Manawatu to come, Taranaki will need strong victories in both, preferably outright wins, to stay in the hunt for the trophy.
Taranaki had won the toss and sent Whanganui into bat in bitterly cold conditions at Marton’s Centennial Park. But right from the outset, the side struggled for penetration as Whanganui batted patiently and slowly built their score. When Taranaki had the home side 3/91 they had the opportunity to start making deep inroads into the batting lineup, but a 148-run Whanganui partnership put paid to that and eventually they declared at 8/343. Jarrod Ritson picked up 3/52 in his return to the side, while Mattie Thomas’ two wickets saw him move past 150 career wickets for Taranaki.
With plenty of time up their sleeves and an outright victory all but out of reach, Taranaki was able to take their time looking to overhaul the target and got off to a strong start. Openers Bailey Wisnewski (87) and Dean Robinson (59) put on 137 for the first wicket and with Sam Fastier also making a tidy 74, Taranaki was in the box seat at 4/237.
From there though, the wickets fell with depressing regularity and despite the tail taking the game deep to a tight finish, in the end the side was dismissed for 332 at which point the captains shook hands and Taranaki had to head for home without the points they had desperately needed.
The other milestone of note for the side was Dean Robinson moving past 5000 career runs for Taranaki, the first player to achieve the feat.
The side’s next game is back home at Pukekura Park on December 16 and 17 and a big improvement will be needed to keep now slim hopes alive.
Full competition details including scorecards, draws, and live scoring is available here at PlayHQ.
