Cricket: End of a summer of success for Bay Oval

Player of the Match Amy Satterthwaite smacks another boundary at Bay Oval against the Windies. Photo / Photosport

As the brilliant floodlights were switched off at Bay Oval on Friday night it was more than the end of the White Ferns v Windies women's Twenty20 international.

It was the end of a golden summer of cricket at the oval with the Black Caps playing Pakistan, England and the Windies plus pool games and the final of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup before last week's two matches featuring the ever-improving White Ferns.

At no stage over the hectic schedule was there a complaint about the standard of the cricket pitches prepared, the players' facilities or spectators' entertainment value.

Stakeholders of the ground's rapid development from an unused wasteland to a world-class cricket stadium must be pinching themselves it all went so well.

On Friday night the White Ferns players made use of another good batting surface to make 185/3 before holding the world T20 champions to just 79/8 off their 20 overs.

Amy Satterthwaite (71no off 42 balls) and Katey Martin (65 off 42 balls) piled on 124 runs in 73 balls for the third-wicket to set the highest partnership for any wicket against all teams for the White Ferns. It also equalled the record partnership in women's T20 cricket by any nation.

They guided the White Ferns to an imposing total of 185/3 under the lights before the bowlers took four wickets within the first five overs to limit the Windies to 79/8.

All-rounder Sophie Devine followed her 27 with the bat with 3-12 while Tauranga off-spinner Amy Peterson took 1-11 off two overs opening the bowling.

Satterthwaite, who looks a replica at the crease of Black Caps record run scorer Stephen Fleming, continued her great form over the last 18 months. In February last year against Australia, she became the first player in WODI and second overall after Kumar Sangakkara to score four consecutive hundreds.

The inaugural ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year was delighted the White Ferns were 2-0 up in the five-match series.

"It was nice to get the win after such a close win in the last game. From our point of view, we are pretty excited and pleased with the fact that we came out and improved on a couple of areas and really executed," she said.

Satterthwaite and Martin together hit 20 boundaries and two sixes in a fine display of strokeplay.

"We helped each other get through some tight patches and play bowlers slightly differently which probably helps as well," Satterthwaite said.

"We knew we wanted to get a big total in this series and to do that we knew it would take a big partnership with the top order doing the bulk of the runs. It was pleasing to execute that."

Satterthwaite is excited to be part of equalling the highest partnership in women's T20 cricket.

"It is not every day you achieve something like that. We know the longer we are out there and the more runs we score the better off we are going to be."

Game three in the series is in New Plymouth on Tuesday.

White Ferns 185-3 (KJ Martin 65, AE Satterthwaite 71no, SFM Devine 27) defeated Windies Women 79-8 (Devine 3-12, LM Kasperek 2-13)