Three out of three for Tairawhiti women

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Three matches, three wins — that was the record for Tairawhiti Women’s Cricket Club (TWCC) when they hosted a secondary school girls’ 11 from Waikato Valley on Friday and Saturday.

In Game 1, on Friday afternoon, Waikato Valley (WV) won the toss and elected to bowl on a green-looking pitch.

Grace Levy and Kayley Knight opened the innings for TWCC and took the score to 39 before Levy was run out for 15 runs.

After two more wickets fell without any addition to the score, Knight was joined at the wicket by Grace Kuil. They had a 60-run partnership before Knight was caught on 46 trying to increase the run rate in the last few overs. Kuil scored 26.

Northern Districts (ND) age-group representatives Erin Hunt and Ruby Makeham were the pick of the WV bowlers, taking 2-17 and 2-22 respectively as TWCC posted 116-5.

Waikato Valley lost two early wickets before Aria Mischewski (39 runs) and Hunt (22) got ahead of the required run rate.

Tairawhiti’s ND players Knight (0-4 off four overs) and Levy (0-10) put the brakes on the run rate in the last few overs to restrict WV to 112-6.

Maddie Ashworth, leading wicket-taker at last year’s ND tournament, took two crucial wickets for 20 runs. Run-outs accounted for the other dismissals.

On Saturday morning, TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl.

Mischewski anchored the WV batting effort with a classy innings of 62 not out, and Emma Wynen scored 18 in a total of 114-4.

Ashworth and Kuil were the pick of the TWCC bowlers, taking 1-18 and 1-20 respectively. Ashworth took a brilliant diving catch at midwicket to dismiss opener Tayla Fredriksen.

In reply, TWCC were in early trouble at 19-3 in the fifth over. However, Knight (39 not out) and Rubi Perano (37no) built a match-winning partnership of 96.

On Saturday afternoon, WV won the toss and elected to bat.

Kate Peddie was top-scorer in a total of 83-9.

Tegan Hayward’s 3-19 featured a fantastic caught-and-bowled off a hard-hit drive from Mischewski.

Loan player Laura Hunt’s two wickets for five runs included the prized wicket of elder sister Erin Hunt.

Amy Thomas (20 runs), Kuil (19) and Knight (19no) took Tairawhiti to 86-8 and the clean sweep.

Bowling for WV, Fredriksen took 2-3, Mischewski 2-11 and Erin Hunt 2-9. Hunt took her younger sister’s wicket, ensuring the ride back to Waikato would be interesting for the sisters’ mother.

The matches were played on a ground well prepared by greenkeeper Rowan Clark, and were well controlled by volunteer umpires Jason Trowill and Luke Fisher.