Shannon cricket player Mikaela Greig was awarded two top honours at the annual Central Districts Cricket Awards held in Napier this week.
The 28-year-old, who made her debut for the White Ferns New Zealand women’s team against England last month, was named Central Hinds Hallyburton Johnstone Shield Player of the Year and Central Hinds Players’ Player of the Year.
A popular player and team member, Greig also received the latter award last season.
Greig played in seven Hallyburton Johnstone Shield provincial matches this season batting six times for a total of 260 runs at an average of 52, including a career-best score of 82 not out, along with two half-centuries.
Mikaela Greig made her White Ferns debut against England last month on the back of a vintage season with the Central Districts Hinds. Photo / Photosport
Her strike rate in Hallyburton Johnstone Shield matches saw her ranked in the top four batters and saw her make her debut with the New Zealand A team before a call up to the White Ferns for a game against England in Dunedin last month.
White Ferns pace bowler Rosemary Mair took home the premier Central Hinds Player of the Year trophy and the Hinds’ Super Smash Player of the Year award.
The 25-year-old seamer from Hawke’s Bay went from strength to strength across the season, highlights including the rare feat of taking four wickets in four balls at List A level (sometimes called a double hat-trick) in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield.
It was the Hinds’ first ever hat-trick, and Mair went on to star for her team in the Dream11 Super Smash as well with a brilliant return of 4/5 (four wickets for the cost of five runs) off four overs in the national Grand Final against the champion, Wellington Blaze — earning her White Ferns recall.
Fellow seamer Blair Tickner was named Central Stags Player of the Year for the first time, after having shown his class and heart in all three men’s formats across the season — even as he worked his way back to top gear with a remodelled bowling action.
CD bowler Blair Tickner in full flight. Photo/file
Tickner also provided valuable lower order and career-best contributions with the bat in the Plunket Shield and Dream11 Super Smash, and came within just one run of a List A one-day career best as well.
The big paceman was also named The Ford Trophy Player of the Year and, for the first time, the Central Stags Players’ Player of the Year - an award decided by player votes after each game, taking into account both on-field and off-field contributions to the team.
Other major awards saw Wairarapa’s Emma McLeod, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday, awarded both the John Turkington Forestry Central Hinds Emerging Player and the CD Women’s Under 19 Player of the Year trophies.
McLeod captained Masterton’s St Matthew’s Collegiate to the national Venus Cup title during the summer, and scored the first two centuries in the history of that NZC tournament, a season in which the dashing batter also made her Dream11 Super Smash debut.
Meanwhile, Doug Bracewell (Hawke’s Bay) was awarded the men’s Super Smash Player of the Year while Plunket Shield captain Greg Hay — who last week announced his retirement during the Stags’ final match of the season — was a popular winner of the Plunket Shield Player of the Year trophy.
The Nelson batsman finished as one of the top three first-class run-scorers nationally in his swansong season, scoring 643 runs from eight matches, at an average of almost 50.
Hay’s two first-class centuries this season included a brilliant 176 in his final, 10-hour innings, and both of those hundreds led to innings victories for the Stags.
Had the Stags won just one more game, he would also have become the first Stags captain to lift the Plunket Shield three times — the only line missing from the fairytale ending.
Batting: 13 innings, 643 runs, high score 179, 49.46 average, 2 x 100, 3 x 50
Nationally: Top 3 Plunket Shield run-scorers, top 3 individual score, equal most centuries, top 6 batting average (minimum 3 innings)
Career: Second player in history to reach 7,000 first-class runs for Central Stags, second highest first-class appearances for Stags (104), second highest tally of first-class centuries for Central Stags (18)
