New Plymouth Old Boys’ Cricket Club defend their Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Taranaki Women’s Premier series

A big performance from New Plymouth Old Boys’ Cricket Club saw them defend their Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Taranaki Women’s Premier series against Stratford Cricket Club at Pukekura Park on Saturday.

Winning the toss and choosing to head into bat, NPOB quickly found themselves in trouble as Stratford shone with the new ball. But from 3/11 in the fourth over a crucial 68-run partnership between veteran Kate Baxter (45 off 35 balls) and Kiara Scott (18 off 35 balls) laid a platform for NPOB to set a competitive total of 128/9 off their 20. Opening bowlers Maddie Mackenzie (3/19) and Rheanna Mack (2/11) were the pick for Stratford, while McKenzie Zame also took 2/23.

With a strong bowling contingent to call on, including rep bowlers Baxter, Taranaki captain Lucy Mitchell, and spinner Emily Cunningham it was always going to be a big chase for Stratford’s young side.

Captain Jessie Hollard made a game of it with a well-hit 41 off 41 balls, which featured standout running between the wickets, but when she was dismissed by Cunningham with the score at 54, the game was all but over and eventually Stratford was dismissed for 76 in the 18th over.

Baxter backed up a big performance with the bat with figures of 3/4 off three overs, and Cunningham took 3/16. Youngster Emma Taylor took 2/8 off three overs.

Congratulations to NPOB, who finished the series ahead three matches to two, defending the inaugural title they won last year.

While a number of senior and other representative players weren’t available for the final match it was awesome to see so many young faces coming through, and hopefully they will go on to become regulars in seasons to come.

A big thank you to Baker Tilly for your support of the series and women’s cricket in our region.