Canterbury snatch Super Smash win off Otago at the death
The Canterbury Magicians snatched an extraordinary threerun victory in the final over to claim top spot in the women’s cricket Super Smash.
Millie Cowan was guiding the Otago Sparks to an upset win with her 50 from 37 balls but her departure in the penultimate over inspired a stunning collapse at Hagley Oval yesterday.
Canterbury skipper Frankie Mackay’s off-spin in the last over, with Otago needing six for victory, stunted the Sparks and she finished with 2-23 after conceding two runs in her final six balls in Christchurch.
After losing Gemma Adams with three balls left, Olivia Gain needed to hit four from the last delivery but she chipped one cheaply into the outfield.
The Magicians are already among the competition’s three confirmed finalists, as well as the Wellington Blaze and the Auckland Hearts, and are on course to host a finals match. Otago are out of contention and will be wondering how they managed to throw this game away.
Otago restricted Canterbury to 132-8, with White Ferns batter Amy Satterthwaite’s 36 the highest score in a stop-start
innings. But runs were hard to come by for both sides.
The Sparks could not cash in on wayward early bowling. The Magicians bowled 11 wides after seven overs, including six from Kate Sims’ opening two-over spell, and were grateful for White Ferns quick Lea Tahuhu’s control and pace limiting Otago’s batters. Tahuhu finished with excellent figures (1-10) and her opening three overs yielded just three runs.
Otago’s chase hinged on White Ferns veteran Katey Martin, who was in excellent form for her 42 from 36 balls, but she edged through to the wicketkeeper, Laura Hughes, at a crucial time when the Sparks were on top with seven overs left, the score then 89-3.
Jacinta Savage’s medium pace removed Martin. Her second wicket from her next over accounted for Caitlin Blakely for a duck, tipping the scales in Canterbury’s
favour. However, Cowan was hitting the ball sweetly and accelerated to a decisive 50 but she could not finish the job because of an unfortunate stumping when the ball deflected inadvertently back off Hughes and hit the stumps for Kate Ebrahim’s first wicket.
That led to Otago losing three wickets for three runs in eight balls and the match with it.
Otago bowled first after winning the toss and that looked like a brilliant decision when Savage’s middle stump was knocked over by Molly Loe off the first ball.
Emma Black then had Natalie Cox trapped lbw in the next over and Canterbury, at 13-2, had to rebuild when Satterthwaite walked to the middle at four.
The Magicians, who are assured of contesting the finals, shuffled their batting order and Satterthwaite’s 60-run partnership for the third wicket with Ebrahim swung momentum their way, although they were fortunate Cowan’s dreadful drop gave Satterthwaite an early life.
She took advantage, hitting five fours in an innings that was otherwise smooth, until
Otago struck with two quick wickets, including the prized dismissal of Satterthwaite, who was caught off Eden Carson’s bowling after pulling sharply but straight to Sophie Oldershaw in the 12th over.
Ebrahim departed for 22 the previous over, caught by Carson for Loe’s second wicket, and Otago reduced the Magicians to 93-5 in the 15th when Polly Inglis’ stunning, one-handed grab for Oldershaw’s first scalp sent Kirsty Nation back to the pavilion
for 13. Canterbury kept losing wickets, with Laura Hughes (9) and Tahuhu (3) out cheaply to Gemma Adams and Oldershaw respectively, but they maintained a scoring rate just above a run a ball throughout, reaching 132 after 12 from the last over and a handy 26 from 20 balls for Mackay, who later bowled her side to victory.