Hearts blog
2011/12
18 January, 2012
That's it! It's all over for 2011/2012 for the Hearts!
No doubt you've heard that we are the Action Cup One Day Champions and runners up in the Action Cup T20 competition - 1st and 2nd being huge improvements from 5th place in both formats last year. Even though we are still raw about losing on Sunday, every single one of us has to be proud of what we've achieved this season. Heads up girls!
So it was back down to Christchurch for both finals last weekend. We had a very rough flight down. Poor Lozza was beside herself but luckily team comedian and co-coach Katrina was next to her distracting her from the fact that the plane felt like it was going to drop out of the sky at any moment! We made it eventually, a bit shaken but ready to turn it on over the next 2 days. In the van on the way out to Mainpower Oval at Rangiora for the one day final, Lose Yourself by Eminem came on the radio and it was amazing that pretty much the whole team knew all of the words so that got everyone in the mood to kick some Canterbury backside!
The ground was pristine, the outfield was a carpet, the pitch was a road and there was not a cloud in the sky! It was a perfect day for cricket, and even Holly managing to spike herself in warm ups (good one Hols!!) and getting 3 stitches in her thigh didn't put a dampener on things! Captain Vic again won the toss and put them into bat, and we restricted them to 201 which was about 40-50 runs below par, in large part thanks to spin triplets Paula, Sask and Georgia.
We went out knowing we needed a good start and I guess you could say that our opening partnership between Steffy and Sam of 113 runs was "solid enough". It set us up to go on to chase down their total in 45.5 overs - Steffy with a matching winning knock of 110 and Vic in the middle order, bringing us home with an unbeaten 24. The champagne was flying, chilly bins were emptied onto coaches heads and looks on the Cantabs faces were priceless. I think to this very day, Vic still hasn't let go of that trophy! It was an awesome chase, a convincing win and we really did believe that we could make it 2 from 2 the next day.
We had an early start at Hagley Oval, playing before the men's Welly vs Canterbury game and the crowd was amazing - to see that level of support for women's cricket was awesome! The entire team had been woken at 3am that morning with the 5.1 aftershock, well except for Arlene, she was the only one who slept through the whole thing! We just hoped that we wouldn't have to contend with one during the match!
Again Vic won the toss and we put them in. They struggled through to 114 on another excellent pitch and we had a sniff of another trophy for the cabinet. Georgia and Paula again picked up economical figures of 2 for 16 and 1 for 17 respectively off their 4 overs gave us the best chance we could have asked for!
Unfortunately, the chase wasn't as good as the day before. That is really the understatement of the year - it was a nightmare. Wickets tumbled left, right and centre and no one really got going - our top seven only scoring 7 ,29 ,0 ,7 ,11 ,5 and 3. Lauren came in and tried her best to bring the game home, doing a better job than her predecessors, however, it just wasn't our day and we came up short. Although nothing went to plan on Sunday, again, we should all be proud of what we did this season.
Even though we were hurting - we got a bit of a laugh when Georgia and Katie were tapped on the shoulder for a random drug test! They were provided with numerous pump bottles and powerade and straight after the presentation, they were shipped off to go and pee into a cup in front of a complete stranger! Way to take one for the team girls! Again on a lighter note, in our debrief while waiting for the pee'ers, Deano offered to strip (don't worry - he was just joking!) although I think Trins, Maia and Suebo were all keen!
So after a long season, we ended up with one old co-coach, one new co-coach, one awesome manager, one great sponsor, one trophy, one set of silver medals, one superstar West Indian and two new White Ferns - I'd say that that adds up to a pretty great season! I can't wait until December 2012 when it'll all start over again!
Final thanks: Trins, Maia, Suebo, Dean, Steffy, Ritika, Kaushik, Rollsy, Anan, Shoruban and all the Hearts squad members (yes including Timmy, the Red Heads and Eli), Dave & Kim, everyone at Auckland Cricket and all of our friends and families who have stuck by us through the good times and the tough times - thank you so much! We wouldn't have been so successful this year without you all!
11 January, 2012
We did it! We made both the one day and the T20 finals to be played down in Christchurch next Saturday and Sunday!
The story of our season, another rain affected round, played out against Northern Districts at Seddon Park in Hamilton last weekend.
We arrived in the team minivan to rain on Saturday and sat up in the players viewing lounge watching stand up comedy by Ellen until the match was abandoned. We had a small presentation in the changing room and to explain I'll have to go back - in Wellington we found a creepy little chucky doll abandoned at the park. The team decided that Paula was its Ma-ma. Somehow Paula "lost" the poor baby doll. So in the changing room, Paula was presented with a new doll, complete with a pink stroller and she was told she had to take little Timmy with her everywhere over the weekend (although she did manage to convince the mini co-coaches Emily and Macy to take him off her hands for a night for a measley $5!).
Team dinner was at the Hogsbreath Cafe where we were just preoccupied watching the live scoring of the Welly CD game.
We woke up to rain the next day and had an indoor net session and lunch at the ground before the game was abandoned early afternoon. While the rain was frustrating, it also reached the Welly CD one dayer which was also abandoned meaning that we were through to the one day final against Canterbury next weekend!
That afternoon, some of us hit the casino and some went to the movies. Katrina attacked Katie's hair with foils and then teased her own (photos on Facebook).
Finally we had sun on Monday and the equation was simple: to ensure we made the T20 final we had to win! And thank goodness for Stafanie Taylor!
She really showed us exactly why she is the number 1 player in the world at the moment. In ND's total of 133, Steffy produced bowling figures of 2 for 14 of her 4 overs and then with the bat, with wickets falling all around her, she anchored the ship smashing an unbeaten 86 off 63 balls, blasting us into a second final against Canterbury for the season. Paula also had a great game with the ball, after her first over she had figures of 2 wickets for 0 runs off 1 over!
With the odds against us and everyone picking Canterbury as favorites, we've got nothing to lose and all of the Hearts are 100% focused and ready to bring everything we've got this weekend! We're not going to leave anything out on the park and we all know that we can do it!
5 January, 2012
In such stark contrast to the last round - what an awful few days of cricket! Well to be fair, the cricket we did get to play was pretty good but the windy and wet Wellington weather was not good!
So we turned up to Kelburn Park in Welly (after catching an 8am flight on New Years Day!!! No partying for the Hearts - although we did have a quiet team BBQ at Maddys the night before) and the pitch was literally under water!
The groundsmen were optimistic but we knew they were dreamin'. So the match was finally abandoned at about 3ish and we had the rest of the afternoon off. A couple of us went off up the hill and discovered an astro turf for a fielding session while the rest of the team hit the hotel gym. We then went out for a team dinner at Monsoon Poon - yum!!!
We hoped for a better day for the one dayer. Again we arrived at the ground and the pitch was still fairly wet. There was no way we were starting on time at 10.30 so we went up on the cable car to the botanic gardens in search of a decent coffee. A trim flat white and a bit of time killed later, the umps decided that we were starting at 12.30 still getting in a full 50 over match.
With the pitch an absolute mud cake, it was the single most important toss that Vic would ever have to win!!! And she did. We obviously put them into bat and they successfully worked through to 219 for 5. Unfortunately, down at Lincoln, we missed a pretty amazing milestone for Paula "the Great" Gruber - she has played 100 matches for Auckland (!) so she led us out onto the park - good stuff Grubs!
Again, Vic worked her magic behind the stumps creating 2 stumpings and young Laurenzo with tight bowling figures of 1 for 36 off her 10 overs was the best of the bowlers. Unfortunately while we were out fielding - some low life snuck into our changing room and stole three of the girls wallets. If anyone was around Kelburn Park on the 2nd of January and saw anything suspicious - please let us know!
Despite the theft our openers still had to get on with it and finish the job. So after padding up they went went out for throw downs only to discover it had started raining again and the covers were being put on. And that was it for the one dayer - match abandoned.
That night to celebrate Paula's achievement we cracked open a couple of bottles of Champagne and the oldies ordered room service for dinner. It was a great night just sitting around and talking rubbish while watching the Big Bash in the background.
The next and final day brought sun and we knew we'd finally get a full match in. Again we put them into bat and we restricted them to 108 for 7 in their 20 overs. Everyone bowled well with Megan and Paula picking up 2 wickets each. We managed to chase it down in the last over with Maddy Green scoring 40 and Katie Perkins scoring 26 not out off just 17 balls again securing a win for the Hearts.
Maddy and Katie have both been in superb form this season and have been well rewarded - both have just been selected in the White Ferns squad to play Australia at the end of January! Great work you two - it'll be great to see Auckland represented at NZ level and we can't wait to see you in action wearing black!
Next weekend we're off to Hamilton to play ND and again we'll be looking to take our winning form into those matches. If we're successful down there - it'll be off to play Canterbury in the finals. Come on girlies - We can do it!
31 December, 2011
Well what an awesome three days of cricket! As mentioned last time, all 6 teams travelled to Lincoln University in Christchurch to play the third round with co-coach Katrina Keenan and our superb Manager Suebo steering the ship while we were away.
Canterbury played Wellington, Northern Districts played Otago and we took on Central Districts in two T20s and a one dayer.
Coming off our high after the clean sweep against Otago, we were positive going in but also knew that CD were going to be tough competitors. After the usual Lincoln cafeteria meal of rice and some sort of sloppy meat dish, we headed out to Lincoln No. 3 to get the first T20 underway.
We threw them into bat and they clawed their way to 114 for 5 off their 20 overs. The wickets were shared with Sask the pick of bowlers with figures of 1 for only 10 off her 4 overs. This really put the pressure on CD and all of our bowlers never really allowed them to get going. Also have to mention the ripper of a ball that Paula turned square to clean bowl the always dangerous White Fern, Sara McGlashan.
Chasing a modest total, we made it look easy needing only 4 batters and 15.5 overs - Maddie top scoring with an impressive 37 not out off 29 balls and superstar Stafanie also chipping in with 33.
The next day brought the one dayer on the Bert Sutcliffe Oval. This time they put us into bat and we struggled through on a slow wicket to 140 all out - Katie the only batter getting into the twenties with 26 before being run out by a direct hit.
We knew we had to come out firing if we were going to defend our total and that's exactly what we did! Steffy took 4 wickets for 17 runs off her 10 overs (including 4 maidens) and Georgia and Megan took 3 wickets each to wrap the game up and bowl them out in the 33rd over for 83. Sara McGlashan top scoring for CD with only 14.
Vic had an awesome game behind the stumps with two stumpings and a catch. Unfortunately, Vic flew back to Auckland after the one dayer for her grandmothers funeral. Our thoughts and prayers were with Vic and her family over this sad time.
For the last game CD decided to bat first and really took it to us. They came out swinging on small boundaries at Lincoln Green and we did well to contain them to 136 for 7 off their 20 overs. Again, the wickets were shared with a couple of awesome run outs and Sarah Carnahan as wicket keeper on debut took a great stumping but Paula was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 18 off her 4 overs.
We knew that we'd need to keep on top of the run rate right from ball one and again that's what we did. Needing only the top four again, Steffy and first time Captain of the Hearts Katie put on a brilliant and exciting display of batting smashing the winning runs in an unbeaten partnership of 97 runs, securing victory for the third day in a row for the Hearts with the three wins cementing our second place positions in both T20 and one day formats. Great stuff girlies!
The next round is against Wellington in Wellington on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January. They came off 3 losses in a row to Canterbury so they'll be hurting but we will be looking to just keep improving and building on our recent performances and take it to them!
12 December, 2011
So far this season we've played Canterbury and Otago and have come away with mixed results - losing two games to Canterbury and sharing the points in the washed out third game, and then completely annihilating Otago with the perfect weekend with three convincing wins from the three games played.
But you've probably read all the reviews on that stuff so let's fill you in on some of the back story of the Hearts pre-season.
A few months ago we found out that the Hearts coaching staff had procured the best women's cricket player in the world right now, West Indies international, Stafanie Taylor. The Hearts were told that we had to fundraise $6,000 to bring Stafanie over and things got kicked off with a few donations of match fees from a few of the umpires - thanks a lot umps! We also tried an Adidas sale night in which we received a percentage of the total sales. We were hoping to raise the whole lot that night, but unfortunately we came up miserably short.
Thank goodness for our very own knight in shining armour, former Auckland Cricket coach David Windler who these days runs a successful mortgage and insurance business, and who came on board to support the Hearts this year to provide us with the funding that we needed to bring Stafanie over. Thanks Dave! I'm sure I speak for all of the Hearts and the coaching and support staff when I say that we are all looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you.
Stafanie Taylor's cricketing stats and achievements speak for themselves, but what about the Stafanie Taylor aka Steffy or Usain (as in Bolt!) off the field? When Steffy arrived at our first training, the day before our very first game, Melville Park was inundated with camera crews all wanting to get a look at our very own super star! A rare occasion sparking some interest in Women's cricket which is great for the sport! She casually shrugs her shoulders and says that she's used to that kind of attention - that when she walks down the street in her hometown of Jamaica, people recognise her and stop her for autographs and photos.
Despite her super sports star status, Steffy has settled right in after a few weeks with us and is just another one of the Hearts girlies. Steffy is always moaning that it's freezing - even when it's 27 degrees (yes that's warm for us Steffy!), but she insists that she wants to go to Snow Planet! Steffy is staying with our "Under 21 Sensation" Maddy Green, and apparently there is an ongoing Master Chef competition between the two. I think Maddy has a narrow lead with her amazing butter chicken (made from scratch!).
This week, the Under 21's are down at Lincoln competing in the national tournament (and winning it yesterday - congrats girls!) and so last week at training it was just the six "oldies" (and Steffy - who is only 20 years old!). Seven of our Hearts players are in that Under 21 side and I think it should be noted here that none of them were even born when our "most experienced" (i.e. oldest) current Hearts team member made her first class debut! So the oldies went to the Cadrona for dinner after training where the chef whipped up something special for Stafanie, although it wasn't as good as her "rice n peas" - her signature dish which she is going to cook for the team. We managed to introduce a reluctant Steffy to Calamari and she absolutely loved it!
The next Hearts round is against Central Districts on the 27th, 28th and 29th of December down at Lincoln University in Christchurch. All six provinces will be down there for this round and the Hearts will be looking to carry our form against Otago into this next round so we can hopefully come away with another three from three.
Hearts schedule
Hearts results
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