Cricket: Wanganui embrace outsiders for festival

WHS student Jessica Watkin knows she will have to give a big effort for Wanganui to be competitive at the women's under 18 tournament starting this afternoon.

While they will be wearing blue colours, a few Manawatu imports are needed to shore up the ranks of the home team when the Wanganui Festival of Cricket continues today with the women's under 18 regional tournament.

Central Districts Hinds and New Zealand A allrounder Jessica Watkin will captain the Wanganui U18 team for the 30-over tournament against Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Wairarapa and the Christchurch Metro team made up of one city club side and a couple of Nelson players.

Players hopping over district boundaries to fill out squads remains a necessity for women's cricket at this level to allow full teams to compete in these vital development competitions.

"We're looking for improvement through six games," said Wanganui cricket development officer Dilan Raj. "It's not often you get to make a mistake in the morning [game], and fix it in the afternoon."

Watkin said the three to four Manawatu players were girls who did not make their province's team.

Of the other six, two each come from Wanganui Collegiate, Cullinane College and Wanganui High School, being Year 9-11 in age.

Watkin was picking Taranaki and Hawke's Bay to be the strongest sides in the tournament.

"Each team has a least one Central Districts player, so it's spread out."

Naturally, having had another strong summer with her New Zealand selections, Hinds duties and captaining Central Districts Under 21 to the national title, the team will rely on Watkin with her top order batting and spin bowling.

"I need to score some runs," she said. "But I always struggle at these tournaments. [The bowling] is so much slower, and the wickets have had a week [of games] on them, so they're slower."

Watkin will look to follow the example of her CD Under 21 team mate Monique Rees, as the Taranaki player also struggled when dropping down to a lower level to play last week in the Under 15 tournament, but adjusted and played more off the back foot to the slower deliveries to score runs around the wicket.

The first games will be at Victoria Park at 2.15pm today, then the sides will play morning and afternoon games through to the finals on Friday.