“The selections are the result of the commitment and hard work the girls have shown, and are well deserved.
“Rubi (Perano) played at the same tournament last year with an invitational team. This year the move to wicketkeeper paid off.
“She’s good behind the stumps, with quick reactions and safe hands, and her batting is improving. In her most recent games she’s passed her previous highest scores in consecutive matches.
“The more cricket she plays, the better she gets.”
Perano recently made her Northern Premier League (NPL) debut.
Knight said Perano was working on her batting, which needed to become more important in her game for her to go further.
Colbert, like Perano, was part of the invitational team last year.
“Bayleigh (Colbert) has great potential with bat and ball,” Mel Knight said.
“She hits the ball very hard and has the ability to score a lot of runs.
“Bayleigh bowls medium pace and is working on her action to improve her consistency. When she gets it right, she’ll trouble even the best batsmen.”
Knight said that Reeves showed at the Northern Districts regional tournament she was “very capable” with the bat.
“Opening against Bay of Plenty, Mia posted 70 runs in quick time, dominating the bowlers and punishing anything loose.
“Mia is quick between the wickets and a good judge of a run. In the field, she has some of the safest hands you will see.
“And being about six feet tall (and only 13) she covers a lot of ground and is hard to hit over.
“Paige (Bentley) has been picked for her leg-spin bowling to add balance to the side but she also has potential with the bat.
“At this age, spin bowlers of any variety are an asset to a team, as many batsmen have not yet mastered the ability to play against spin.
“Paige often picks up two or more wickets in a match. With the bat, she has a unique style and hits the ball hard. Her squash-court skills show in her excellent hand-eye co-ordination. She’s also a good runner between wickets.”
Kayley Knight is in her second year with the under-15 side.
She has proved to be a useful opening bat for both the Poverty Bay secondary schoolgirls and the women’s team, consistently giving her side solid starts and making the opposition work hard to get her wicket.
“With her experience as captain of the Poverty Bay u14 girls’ team for the past two seasons, we’d expect Kayley to be in the leadership group for this team,” Mel Knight said.
Kayley is also a promising pace bowler, having played two rounds at Northern Premier League level, where she was economical while picking up wickets.
