Australian import Laura Harris made a stunning debut for the Sparks as she led them to a six-wicket victory over the Canterbury Magicians in Alexandra yesterday.
Harris smote the equal-fastest half-century, off just 15 balls, in the history of women’s T20 cricket.
The Sparks, who like the Volts men are playing this format of the game without an "Otago" prefix that apparently made Southlanders feel left out, chased down a target of 146 with consummate ease inside 15 overs.
Opener Felicity Robertson (22 off 20) and Caitlin Blakely (22 off 16, including consecutive reverse sweeps to the boundary) played handy roles as the Sparks pushed to 42 for one from five overs.
From there it was all about Harris, the hard-hitting veteran filling the sizable hole left by the injured Suzie Bates.
Harris set the tone when she thrashed the second ball she faced for six and also cleared the ropes with her third.
When she belted a third six, she was 22 off six balls; an outrageous reverse club off Lea Tahuhu made it 26 off seven; and a brutal blow over backward point made it 32 off eight.
By this point, the Sparks were miles ahead of the run rate, and Harris could afford to laugh when she fell over while hitting another boundary.
She lifted the bat for her 15-ball 50 then walked off, the job done, for 52 off 17 when she was caught in the deep.
New Sparks captain Polly Inglis saw her side to the finish with an unbeaten 20.
Harris smiled when she was asked if she was in a particular hurry to end the game.
"I’m always in a hurry, and I’m always trying not to run," she told TVNZ.
Her batting approach was not complicated, she said.
"Just watch the ball and hit it where it should go. It’s a very simple philosophy.
"You’ve just got to enjoy days like today when it pays off."
Inglis had won the toss, asked the Magicians to bat, and entrusted left-arm spinner PJ Watkins with handling the first over.
Watkins immediately applied the clamps, while Emma Black had the ball hooping as much as ever at the other end.
Black got the first wicket, encouraging Natalie Cox to hit straight to Bella James at midwicket, and youngster Louisa Kotkamp — one of four debutants — nabbed the second, following a wide with her first Super Smash delivery, by trapping Kate Anderson lbw.
The Magicians limped to 27 for two after six overs and should have been three down soon after.
Kotkamp beat Izzy Sharp with a short one, and while Inglis did well to pouch the ball above her head, she really should have brought it down to effect the stumping.
Sharp made the Sparks pay as she and Jodie Dean set about building a partnership based on solidity rather than splash.
They nudged the tally to 62 for two from 10 and had formed a partnership of 75 when spinner Chloe Deerness, also on debut, got one under the advancing Dean (34 off 30), and Inglis got her stumping.
Instead of being rattled by the loss of her partner, Sharp only lifted her game.
She was smart and creative, twice unleashing the reverse sweep to hit boundaries, and hit another four to raise her half-century off 39 balls.
Batters came and went at the other end — English debutant Eva Gray bowled Kate Irwin, Tahuhu hit a wide Watkins delivery to point, and Missy Banks became Black’s second wicket — but Sharp held firm.
Sharp was unbeaten on 65 (47 balls) as the Magicians posted their respectable total of 145 for six.
The Sparks and Volts remain in Alexandra to play Central teams tomorrow.
— The Wellington Blaze beat the Central Hinds by 18 runs in Palmerston North on Saturday.
Opening batters Georgia Plimmer (39 off 29) and Melie Kerr (34 off 34) gave the visitors a nice platform before the Blaze signed for 136 for five from their 20 overs.
The Hinds lost early wickets in the chase, and while Flora Devonshire cracked 34 off 28, the Hinds were dismissed for 118 off the penultimate ball of the innings.
MAGICIANS
K Anderson lbw b Kotkamp 10 (17)
N Cox c James b Black 2 (5)
I Sharp not out 65 (47)
J Dean st Inglis b Deerness 34 (30)
K Irwin b Gray 9 (9)
L Tahuhu c Robertson b Watkins 4 (4)
M Banks c James b Black 5 (6)
A Gerken not out 2 (2)
Extras (14w) 14
Total (for 6wkts, 20 overs) 145
Fall: 1-14, 2-15, 3-90, 4-111, 5-121, 6-143.
Bowling: PJ Watkins 4-0-28-1 (2w), E Black 4-0-19-2 (1w), L Kotkamp 4-0-32-1 (2w), E Gray 4-0-28-1 (1w), C Deerness 3-0-25-1, A Browning 1-0-13-0.
SPARKS
F Robertson b Banks 22 (20)
B James c & b Banks 9 (8)
C Blakely c & b Sullivan 22 (16)
L Harris c Cox b Sullivan 52 (17)
P Inglis not out 20 (19)
A Browning not out 8 (9)
Extras (5lb, 8w) 13
Total (for 4wkts, 14.5 overs) 146
Fall: 1-17, 2-46, 3-95, 4-122.
Bowling: A Hotton 2-0-20-0, L Tahuhu 3.5-0-34-0 (4w), M Banks 3-0-23-2 (2w), G Sullivan 3-0-31-2 (1w), S Asmussen 3-0-33-0.
Result: Sparks won by six wickets.
