Rowe to captain Hinds
Manawatu¯ ’s White Ferns allrounder Hannah Rowe is one of three captains who will share leadership duties for the Central Hinds this summer.
Rowe and Jess Watkin, from Whanganui, will together captain the team during the twenty20 Super Smash, while last year’s skipper Anlo van Deventer will continue to lead the side in the 50-over Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, which the Hinds won. They came last in the twenty20 competition and didn’t win a match.
Coach Jamie Watkins said the move would allow van Deventer to concentrate more on her batting as she pushes for higher honours.
Rowe led the Hinds once last year, against India in Napier when van Deventer was unavailable.
The Palmerston North-based 22-year-old has played 37 internationals since 2015 and said she was looking forward to her new role. ‘‘I’m really excited to learn off Jess as we captain this T20 season together,’’ she said. ‘‘She is a very smart cricketer and will bring a wealth of knowledge to her new leadership position.
‘‘Anlo has done an incredible job over the last two seasons.
‘‘Taking over such a young group of players and leading us to a Hallyburton Johnstone Shield title is testament to a lot of hard work she puts in, both on and off the park.’’
In the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield last season, van Deventer, 25, scored 514 runs from 11 matches at an average of 85.66, putting her in the topthree run-scorers in New Zealand.
A member of this year’s New Zealand Cricket Emerging Players winter training programme, van Deventer said she was looking forward to a new season in which the Hinds play six Super Smash double headers with the Stags, and four Hallyburton Johnstone Shield home matches. The one-day campaign begins at Levin’s Donnelly Park, on November 16 and 17 against Otago.
The Hinds don’t play in Palmerston North this season, but the Stags play Canterbury in a one-day match on November 17 at Fitzherbert Park.