Three wins out of three for Bay girls

RUNNERS-UP: Poverty Bay finished second, on run rate, to Hamilton at the Northern Districts secondary schoolgirls’ cricket tournament in Tauranga. The Bay girls are, back (from left): Maddie Ashworth, Josie Baxendale, Mia Reeves, Grace Kuil and Alyssah Swann. Front: Rubi Perano, Grace Levy, Kayley Knight, Alessandra Evans and Margot Dymock. Picture supplied

Poverty Bay won all three of their games in the Northern Districts secondary schoolgirls’ cricket tournament in Tauranga this week.

With play rained off on Monday and Tuesday, all games were played on Wednesday. Teams played three games of 10 overs a side.

The Bay finished runners-up to Hamilton, whose run rate was 0.24 better than that of Poverty Bay.

Bay bowler and skipper Kayley Knight was the tournament’s top wicket-taker, and in the first game — against Waikato Valley — took tournament-best figures of four wickets for six runs.

The Bay batted first against Valley, aiming to attack and run everything.

Knight and Grace Levy opened, but Levy was out early. Rubi Perano (33) and Knight put on 35 for the second wicket as Poverty Bay set a target of 69..

Knight knocked over the stumps of Valley danger batter Vici Green with the fifth ball of the first over.

Megan Keeley and Jess Russell shared a 35-run partnership for the Valley’s second wicket before Knight and Perano combined to run out Keeley.

Margot Dymock, in her first secondary tournament, bowled well and took Emma Keeley’s off stump as reward.

With the Valley total at 50, they needed 19 off the last over. Knight was the bowler, and she sent the bails flying three more times as Valley fell 15 runs short, and Knight finished with 4-6.

Poverty Bay won the toss and elected to bowl against Northland, who had quality in Northern Districts under-21 representative Makayla Templeton.

She scored 31 from 29 balls and her opening partner, Bayleigh Mounter, scored 40 from 30.

Knight was the pick of the bowlers, taking 1-8 off two overs, and the Bay neded 84 to win.

Mia Reeves (47) opened with Alessandra Evans, their quick-fire 30 off three overs setting up the chase.

Nuhaka Year 8 student Grace Kuil, who took up cricket last season following an in-school session from Bay coach Mel Knight, scored 13 from 14 balls and finished the chase off with a boundary in the ninth over.

Poverty Bay chose to bat against Counties Manukau. By now the Bay girls knew that if they and Hamilton won their final games, the tournament would be decided on run rate.

Rubi Perano (55 not out) and Grace Levy (22) smashed the ball to the boundary with ease and had 53 runs on the board before the wicketkeeper ran out Levy as she tried to steal a bye.

Mia Reeves (28no) was in next and the boundaries kept coming.

The Bay amassed a healthy total of 124-1 in their 10 overs.

Poverty Bay’s bowlers were in no mood to be generous, and wickets fell fast and cheaply.

Levy, Evans, Maddie Ashworth, Kuil, Josie Baxendale, Alyssah Swann and Dymock all picked up a wicket, and Kuil had a direct-hit run-out.

Counties’ last wicket fell in the final over.

Unfortunately for the Bay, Hamilton thrashed Bay of Plenty, and ended with a run rate of +3.03, to Poverty Bay’s +2.79.

It meant Poverty Bay were runners-up for the second time in three years.

Coach Mel Knight said it was pleasing to be unbeaten.

“We beat Hamilton in an indoor game the previous day so we’ll take bragging rights from that,” she said.

“Our team included three girls — Dymock, Levy and Kuil — still at Intermediate, and we had lost five players from last year’s team.

“We had great performances from Reeves and Perano with the bat, and Perano was exceptionally tidy behind the stumps. Knight, Dymock, Ashworth and Kuil all had batters in trouble with their consistent line and length in difficult conditions (wind and rain).

“We hope to see a few girls named for higher honours.”