ROUND 7 of 10
CANTERBURY MAGICIANS defeated OTAGO SPARKS by 8 wickets
Mainpower Oval | Rangiora
1 February 2020
Still in contention, the Canterbury Magicians were out to keep southern rivals the Otago Sparks winless in the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
Sent in on a scorching Canterbury country afternoon, the youthful Sparks got off to a good start thanks to Caitlin Blakely's 61 in a 41-opening stand with Olivia Gain. But after Gain became the first of Sarah Asmussen's four victims for the day, the visitors struggled to build another handy partnership.
Blakely watched on as nine of her teammates were dismissed at the other end, before becoming the last to fall with the tally at 118 in the 46th over. Nineteen-year-old Asmussen finished with a standout career best of 4-23 off her 10 overs, including two wicket maidens.
A career best four-fa for Sarah Asmussen | PHOTOSPORT
The Sparks bowlers had little to work with as the Magicians showed them how it's done, coasting home for a bonus point victory in the 28th over.
Jacinta Savage (52*) hit the winning boundary off Marina Lamplough to reach her well deserved half century off the same delivery, while Allie Mace-Cochrane contributed 38.
Emma Black had picked up Kirsty Nation in the first over, but there was little else for the Sparks to savour from another tough day in Rangiora.
