Today the White Ferns were after revenge, however the game had been in doubt earlier due to heavy rain throughout the morning.
Luckily the rain eased off and as the start time approached the oval had mainly dried out and the weather was warm and humid. It was reassuring to hear the familiar voice of Mel Jones coming over the PA. Somehow you know it is a proper cricket match when Melanie is doing the commentary. I had watched the ABC tv coverage of the previous day's match as was mystified as to how she was commentating on live tv whilst in the background I could hear her PA announcements going out. The answer became apparent when today I saw her on the field preparing for the tv introductions and an obviously pre-recorded Mel Jones PA announcement was made.
Cloudy but brightening skies prior to the match
I must say that it is good to see the advertising free tv coverage that ABC are doing (Channel Nine are the worst) but ABC seem to be trying very hard to trivialise the matches and turning them into some sort of jokefest. Do they think their target audience are the under fives ? It seems akin to watching a football match with frequent interruptions for a Muppet Show clip.
The White Ferns had won the toss and elected to field first.
Suzie Bates asked Sian Ruck to open the bowling
S Ruck bowls the first ball of the match to opening bat Meg Lanning. Leah Poulton was the other opener.
Sian Ruck was finding it tough today and did not claim any wickets. Is that a Power Band on her wrist ? I always wonder about people that wear these.
Morna Nielsen was bowling from the southern end of the ground
With no wickets falling, Lucy Doolan was brought on to bowl from the fig tree end
Rachel Candy caught and bowled Leah Poulton on 17 runs when the Stars score was 46
Very soon after Meg Lanning was trapped LBW by Lucy Doolan for 27
With the openers having got the Stars off to a good start, the new batswomen Jess Cameron and Alex Blackwell talk tactics
Jess Cameron gets underway. Note the pink gloves.
Alex Blackwell soon gets into her stride
Candy was trying hard for another wicket
Jess Cameron was struggling to get going and then slipped on the pitch. It seemed like the fall had damaged her pink gloves. Out came some blue gloves but she faced one ball with these on before she was caught by Katey Martin from Rachel Candy's bowling for 2 runs
Lisa Sthalekar came on and was soon scoring runs
Kiwis skipper Suzie Bates decided to give Frances Mackay the ball
Alex Blackwell was building towards her 20 run total
Frances Mackay was certainly putting the effort in
Eventually Mackay got her reward as Sthalekar was stumped on 52 runs
After 20 overs the scoreboard showed 128 runs scored. That did not seem like much of a total and the Kiwi bowlers and fielders had done well
Getting ready for batting in the interval
I wonder why there are no national flags flying at the ground. They are normally there for Internationals. They are also useful to check the wind direction and speed. It is 'just not cricket' that they are absent.
The White Ferns innings gets going with Frances Mackay batting and Julie Hunter bowling.
Ooops, Frances Mackay goes lbw for 0 from Julie Hunter's bowling
Amy Satterthwaite now at the crease
Sthalekar is bowling from the fig tree end
Soon Bates is on her way out after being bowled by Sthalekar for 1 run
Satterthwaite soon follows caught Coyte, bowled Hunter for 5 with just a total of 9 runs for the Kiwis. A terrible start.
The Southern Stars celebrate 3 wickets down for just 9 runs on the board
Perry had some success with getting bat on ball
However, McGlashan fell at 2 runs scored, caught Coyte from Sthalekar's bowling
Katie Perkins comes to the crease. I have been impressed by her performance so far.
No flags ?
E Perry gets a bowl
While E Perry has a bat
Eventually Elizabeth Perry is caught by Blackwell from Jonassen's bowling for 9 runs scored
Katie Perkins heading towards her score of 19 that turned out to be the Kiwis highest individual score
Even Perkins had to go when caught by Osborne from Coytes bowling. White Ferns now just 44 runs for 6 wickets down
Katey Martin batting
Martin out for 6 runs, caught Lanning from Osborne's bowling
Nielsen swings
The shirts says 'Jonnassen' but her name is 'Jonassen', I checked. Shirtmaker must have had a bad day or cannot spell.
Lucy Doolan goes for 8 runs, caught Fields from Coyte's bowling.
Why are there no photos of runs being scored ? Answer - there were not many being scored.
Nielsen was still hanging on at the crease
Soon both Nielsen and Candy were dismissed and with the Kiwis scoring a total of 69, the Southern Stars were celebrating their second win
The final scoreboard and what a horrible sight for the White Ferns. They failed with the bat
The last two Kiwi batswomen leave the field
What happened there ?
Lisa Sthalekar is Player of the Match
Jodie Fields the skipper of the Southern Stars passes on her thoughts to the ABC tv audience. Hope the five years olds were following it
The weather had improved right through the afternoon and so there were no holdups.
It had been another enjoyable day of cricket for me to watch.
I just hope that the Kiwis can do better on Sunday when I will be back.
Peewit
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