CRICKET - It was all White despite a fright

A fine lower order fightback saw the New Zealand White Ferns win the opening match of the Rosebowl series against at Cobham Oval in Whangarei.
Chasing a paltry 151 for the win, the White Ferns were in the box seat but nobody told the Australian bowlers who dismissed the Kiwi top-order for next to nothing. At five wickets down with 28 runs on the board, Australia had regained the upper hand.
Enter Sarah Tsukigawa and Amy Satterthwaite, whose partnership of 28, while not exactly abundant in runs, settled the batting side down.
After Tsukigawa departed for 18, Satterthwaite, the Canterbury left-hander, started scoring freely and almost single-handedly began to turn the tide for New Zealand.
Sophie Devine joined her for a seventh wicket partnership of 18, but it was the partnership with Wellington's Lucy Doolan of 74 that got the white Ferns to within three runs of victory.
Satterthwaite ended up stranded on 49 runs - increasing her highest international total by just one run - while Rachel Priest hit the winning runs in the 45th over.
Ferns captain Haidee Tiffen said the win wasn't pretty but they would take it.
"It wasn't an ideal start to the campaign but we started with a win and that's what counts really," she said.
"It was a bit of a weird game, both teams were 40/6 or something like that and I don't think that was a reflection on the track, it was poor shot selection and some good bowling."
Tiffen is well aware that New Zealand hasn't won the Rosebowl in 10 years and finding themselves one game on top was a good feeling. "I'm absolutely rapt, it's a great start. We'll spend time working on our shot selection and our defence before the next game and we'll also focus on building our partnerships," she said.
She said Satterthwaite's innings had been fantastic and selected debutante Abby Burrows, who took 2/15 off seven overs, and Kate Pulford as the most impressive bowlers in a tidy effort.
The Australian batting effort was also dismal until Jodie Fields started a middle order revival, going on to top-score with 58runs.
Rene Farrell finished with the best bowling figures for the visitors with three wickets for 26, while Suzie Bates also collected two wickets for the Kiwis with 2/38. The second game of the five-match series is at the Cobham Oval today.