Satterthwaite shows her class
Amy Satterthwaite again showed just what the White Ferns will be missing out on at the T20 World Cup this month as she blazed away for Canterbury against Otago.
Snubbed for a NZ Cricket contract last year, which prompted her to go into international retirement, Satterthwaite’s dazzling 85 off 60 balls for the Magicians against the Sparks in Dunedin yesterday underlined both her class and what a dumbfounding loss she is to the White Ferns.
The Canterbury skipper’s highest score of the campaign wasn’t enough to earn her side the win, however, as the Otago Sparks chased down the target of 167 with a ball to spare to win by four wickets and clinch second spot in the final Super Smash standings.
That means Canterbury, who finished third, will tackle the Sparks again in Dunedin in Thursday’s 2 v 3 elimination final, with the winner to play the table-topping Wellington Blaze in the final.
Satterthwaite was at her usual best, striking boundaries all around the wicket and picking gaps for fun. She strode to the crease with her team in early trouble at 13-2 but combined with the red-hot Kate Anderson (59 off 52) for a 152-run third-wicket partnership that took the Magicians through to 166-4 off 20.
Her 85, which included 12 fours, took her to 346 runs for the Super Smash, second only to Anderson who now has 441.
Ordinarily Canterbury’s total would have been enough to win but the Sparks paced the big chase superbly.
Openers Bella James (23 off 15) and Olivia Gain (28 off 15) got them off to a flyer, with 50 runs inside the first four overs. The rate was therefore always manageable and No 3 Polly Inglis, with 47 not out from 43, steered them home with help from Linsey Smith. Their 52-run partnership for the sixth wicket clinched the match.
■ In the men’s match, the Canterbury Kings rolled over the Otago Volts to snare top spot in the standings and a berth in the final on Saturday.
Otago, who had held pole position heading into the final regular season match in Dunedin, will host the Northern Brave in the 2 v 3 elimination final on Thursday.
Canterbury, by virtue of a crushing eight-wicket win, leapt from third to first to earn a final at home in Christchurch on Saturday.
While it will be their third successive Super Smash final, they still only have one title to their name after winning the first edition in 2005/06.
The Volts made a super start, rocketing to 69-1 in seven overs, but the match turned on its head when they lost 5-19 in the space of 27 balls as veteran legspinner Todd Astle (3-24) was at his best for the visitors.
In-form opener Jake Gibson dragged the Volts through to 166-8 on the back of an unbeaten 75 but on a good University of Otago Oval track that was always a subpar score.
And when Chad Bowes and Ken McClure got going at the top of the order, scoring 71 off the first six overs, it was essentially game over.
Bowes hammered 52 off 32 balls while McClure hit 68 off 42 before Leo Carter and skipper Cole McConchie finished it off with a whopping 19 balls to spare.