2023/24 HBJ Shield: Round Three Notebook (Leigh Kasperek, Saffron Wilson, Rosemary Mair)
HBJ Shield cricket will take a break for Super Smash as Wellington sit on top of the ladder as the only team with four wins. Wellington had two wins over Auckland in the latest round of action, while Northern Districts had two wins over Canterbury which pulls them level with Auckland on 3-2 records. Central Districts and Otago had their Sunday game washed out after rain impacted their Sunday game, although CD did enough to snare a win via DLS.
Wellington's trip to Auckland saw them skittle the hosts for 90 runs and 129 runs. Leigh Kasperek (73 runs) and Kate Chandler (56 runs) cashed in as batters on Saturday before Auckland were rolled for 90, with five Wellington bowlers taking wickets. Kasperek then took 5 wickets @ 1.6rpo on Sunday to set up a fairly easy run-chase, with Jess McFadyen (54*) and Caitlin King (44*) leading Wellington to their target.
Kasperek is averaging 40 with the bat and 16 with the ball so far in HBJ shield. Six batters have two 50+ scores this season and Wellington are the only team with two batters in this group with Kasperek joined by McFadyen. These six batters with two 50+ scores contain a splash of intrigue..
McFadyen and Otago's Polly Inglis are both wicket-keepers. Inglis hit 60 runs in the loss to CD and the form of these two bolsters Aotearoa's wicket-keeping depth at a time when White Ferns wicket-keepers aren't scoring many runs. Bernadine Bezuidenhout and Izzy Gaze didn't register 50+ scores in HBJ Shield before joining White Ferns, both have one score over 30 in their last 10 games.
Of the six batters with two scores over 50, Inglis and CD's Mikaela Greig are the only batters yet to play for White Ferns. Kasperek and McFadyen are joined by Maddy Green and Frances Mackay in this group. Mackay is in a similar all-round zone as Kasperek with a batting average of 40 and a bowling average of 27 this season.
There are lots of talented youngsters in domestic cricket right now. Wellington are still producing fantastic talent and 17-year-old Chandler is among the best youngsters in Aotearoa. Chandler's knock of 56 runs was her second consecutive score over 40 and while she didn't take a wicket in the two games against Auckland, Chandler is offering efficient mahi in a strong Wellington bowling unit...
Leigh Kasperek: 9w @ 16avg/3.1rpo
Nicole Baird: 8w @ 23avg/4.5rpo
Natasha Codyre: 7w @ 18avg/4.6rpo
Xara Jetly: 6w @ 24avg/3.6rpo
Kate Chandler: 4w @ 20avg/4.2rpo
Codyre is a notable youngster in that list with wickets in every game so far, while Jetly continues to command attention with her offies and dynamic fielding. Baird is also building a potent record in HBJ Shield with a bowling average of 23.4 and four of the five bowlers listed above are spinners, continuing Wellington's proven record of developing spinners.
ND had knocks of 46 runs from Nensi Patel and Caitlin Gurrey on Saturday, before Gurrey hit 86 runs on Sunday with Jess Watkin offering 56 runs in support. The bowling unit for ND is just as intriguing as Wellington's though as it features a bunch of young seamers...
Kayley Knight: 9w @ 19avg/5rpo
Marama Downes: 7w @ 23avg/4.4rpo
Nensi Patel: 7w @ 26avg/3.7rpo
Jess Watkin: 7w @ 27avg/4rpo
Jesse Prasad: 6w @ 22avg/4.5rpo
Lucy Boucher: 4w @ 29avg/6rpo
Knight, Downes and Boucher are emerging seamers to watch out for in Super Smash. Prasad made a move from Auckland to ND for this season she took 3w on Saturday, followed by 1w and 16* on Sunday. Also not-out with Prasad in ND's Sunday game was Downes who hit 22* @ 122sr.
One innings of Otago vs CD offered a century and 6 wickets. Saffron Wilson hit 109 runs @ 112sr for Otago and this was the second century of the season after Georgia Plimmer went large for Wellington. Like Plimmer, Wilson's century was her first score over 50 in List-A cricket and Otago's sneaky batting power makes them an Super Smash team to keep close tabs on.
While Wilson was hitting her century, Rosemary Mair took 6w @ 4.5rpo. Mair took 1w in the first game of the season and didn't take a wicket in her next HBJ Shield outing, then taking no wickets in her two games for NZ 11 vs the touring Pakistan team. Mair's 6w in the one game is more than the combined 4w from her eight innings bowled prior.
CD also have Georgia Atkinson in a groove. Atkinson hit 43* in a shortened batting innings for CD and this was her fourth 30+ score in six innings. 23-year-old Atkinson is the best young batter in HBJ Shield right now and her tally of 202 runs, makes her the only young batter who has scored 150+ runs this season.
Notable young batters to tap in with...
Georgia Atkinson: 202 runs @ 50avg/68sr
Izzy Sharp: 137 runs @ 27avg/69sr
Kate Chandler: 129 runs @ 32avg/80sr
Saffron Wilson: 123 runs @ 30avg/97sr
Jodie Dean: 111 runs @ 27avg/60sr
There are lots of young bowlers making waves in HBJ Shield this season. The latest addition to this group is Yssabel Cullen who offers another lefty-seam skillset, along with Auckland's Bree Illing and Otago's PJ Watkins. Cullen snared 3w in her debut and Illing has taken wickets in most games, while Watkins has had a slow start after moving from England to Aotearoa..
Bree Illing: 8w @ 25avg/5.2rpo
Yssabel Cullen: 3w @ 12avg/4.7rpo
PJ Watkins: 1w @ 97avg/5.3rpo
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