Watkin leads Central to win over Northern - December 2015

Jessica Watkin's Central Districts Under 21 team picked up another 50-over victory against Northern Districts, winning by 14 runs in the national tournament in Auckland on Saturday.

After Watkin won the toss at Lloyd Elsmore Park, Central went into bat and scored 211, being bowled out in the 49th over.

The skipper, who had been hunting some runs, made a good start with a six and a boundary in the first over she faced, but was then caught out for 10.

After wickets fell regularly, Manawatu's Mikaela Greig controlled the innings with a steady score of 40.

Greig was well-supported by Wairarapa's Melissa Hansen (30), Hawke's Bay's Rosemary Mair (28) and Taranaki's Emily Cunningham (21).

In reply, Northern were pinned down and restricted to 197-7 from their 50 overs.

Mair and Taranaki's Mel MeGaw shifted the momentum towards their team with two key run outs, removing the danger women in Northern captain Brooke Halliday (52) and Kate Anderson (51).

Those No3 and No4 batters had scored steadily but not quickly, and when Anderson went in the 45th over Northern were at 176-4.

Central then turned the screws with Hansen getting two wickets, while Manawatu's Hannah Rowe also picked up her second, as Northern could only add 21 more runs in the final overs slog to finish 14 runs short.

While wicket-less, Watkin was measly with her spinners, conceeding only 22 runs from her 10 overs with one maiden.

Yesterday, play switched to the Twenty20 format, with Central playing Wellington in the morning and Otago in the afternoon.