Gisborne won the toss and elected to bat on what looked like a flat, well-used track. It didn’t look so good when Tayla Hollis was trapped second ball, leg before wicket, by a delivery that struck the bottom of the pad, having skittled through low.
Mel Knight joined daughter Kayley at the crease and they set about slowly laying a platform. They had to be watchful as the bounce was slow, low and sometimes non-existent.
Kayley Knight scored 17 before she was out, caught, with the score at 61.
From then on, wickets fell regularly. Rubi Perano reached double figures in a 34-run sixth-wicket partnership with Mel Knight.
The younger girls in the team did their best to stick around and create small partnerships, and Gisborne reached 159-9 when Knight took a single off the last ball of the innings to bring up her undefeated century for a solid captain’s knock.
Kayley Knight opened the bowling with tight line and length and managed to get some bounce, too.
Mel Knight’s off-spin brought the first wicket, Katrina Mairs, trapped lbw in the second over.
Cate Pedersen and Sophia Pyott patiently set about building the Hastings innings before they were both caught standing in the middle of the pitch after a mix-up that ended with wicketkeeper Rubi Perano whipping off the bails from a Hollis throw.
Jayxena Piwari, in only her second game of the season, bowled extremely well and was unlucky to have a couple of chances go begging off her bowling. She ended with figures of 0-24 off seven overs.
Gisborne made regular changes in the bowling as Hastings made steady progress with wickets in hand.
Courtney Hayes picked up the key wicket of Pyott (58), caught by Mel Knight on the boundary just as Pyott was looking to accelerate and take the game away.
With eight overs to go and with Hastings needing only 24 runs to win, Hollis took a crucial catch off Mel Knight’s bowling and backed it up with two more wickets of her own to take the game to the 39th over.
The Hastings lower order managed to get one through the infield for a well-deserved victory by three wickets with nine balls to spare.
Mel Knight finished with figures of 2-20 off eight overs, while Hollis took 2-23 off seven.
The next fixture for the Poverty Bay women’s team is against Palmerston North at Cornwall Park on Sunday.
