NZSS Secondary School Girls cricket tournament this weekend

Tawa College captain Phoenix Williams bowling at last year's tournament. Tawa are gunning for their third straight national title win this weekend.

Six of the country’s leading schools converge on Lincoln University near Christchurch this weekend for the 2016 NZCT Secondary School Girls National Cricket finals.

The schools, each representing one of the six major association cricket provinces, play a round-robin of Twenty20 matches over three days from Friday to Sunday, with the leading team after five rounds on Sunday afternoon declared the champion.

Wellington’s Tawa College are the two-time defending champions and as such the team to beat, but will have strong competition from other schools such as last year’s runners-up St Hilda’s Collegiate of Dunedin.

Tawa won’t have the services of leading player Amelia Kerr as she’s playing in Whangarei for the Wellington Blaze representative team instead. Another player, Danielle Watson, is away this weekend too at a National kayak regatta. But they can still call upon seven players returning from last year’s win.

St Hilda’s have a balanced squad from last year’s team that finished second in Palmerston North, with just three players competing at this tournament for the first time. Captain Bella James is the side’s sole year 13 cricketer, with six year 10s also in the mix.

The other four schools competing are Cashmere High School (Canterbury), Epsom Girls’ Grammar School (Auckland), Palmerston North Girls’ High School (Central Districts) and Tauranga Girls’ College (Northern Districts) – each of whom will be playing to win their maiden title.

The Player of the Tournament is awarded the Ina Lamason Trophy, with Amelia Kerr winning this for each of the past two years. Other past winners of this have been current White Ferns coach Haidee Tiffen and other well-known internationals Rachel Priest, Suzie Bates and Kate Broadmore, and Kendra Cocksedge who is the current halfback in the New Zealand Black Ferns rugby team.

Tournament information:

What: 2016 NZSS Secondary School Girls cricket finals
Where: Lincoln University, Canterbury
When: 2-4 December (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Format: Round-robin Twenty20 matches (five matches scheduled over three days)
Coverage: Live scoring at this link here http://www.blackcaps.co.nz/community/tournaments-and-hawke-cup/nzct-secondary-school-girls/points-tables-and-leaderboards
 
Squads (as provided):
 
Cashmere High School (Canterbury) Isla McKenzie (Captain), Hannah Rose Daldry, Jodie Dean, Sydnee Edwards, Sophie Harris, Emma Hunt, Eloise Lovett, Morven MacKean, Aiyana Manson King, Rachael Pullan, Olive Topping, Jenna Waghorn, Elizabeth Whittington

Epsom Girls’ Grammar School (Auckland) Jayda Tainui (Captain), Gemma Adams, Celina Campbell
Mei Coates, Ella Drumm, Grace Evans, Annie Ewart, Amie Hucker, Phoebe Jones, Jayna Patel, Jessica Philpot, Ede Rogan
 
Palmerston North Girls’ High School (Central) Olivia West (Captain), Imogen Bos, Sarah Calkin, Elizabeth Dombroski, Janis Gordon, Kaitlin Herron, Alice Little, Grace Minnis, Molly Noema-Barnett
Jasmine Odell, Jessica Ogden, Eikam Singh, Sally Wenham
 
St Hilda’s Collegiate (Otago) Bella James (Captain), Emma Black, Eden Carson, Ella Coggan, Taylor Duffy, Olivia Gain, Olivia Hall, Georgia Heffernan, Kate Heffernan, Molly Johnson, Megan Meltzer, Laura Taylor
 
Tauranga Girls’ College (Northern) Briana Perry (Captain), Georgia Bartlam, Meila Eades
Christina Gatenby-Hinton, Shay Little, Nensi Patel, Rebecca Richard, Paris Robertson, Taylah Stack
Ella Steenson, Brooke Taylor, Holly Topp
 
Tawa College (Wellington) Phoenix Williams (Captain), Kate Fenton, Jessica Findlay, Anna-Leigh Gillies, Eithne Hunt, Rachael Lockhart, Olivia Macrae, Jeneesha Maisuria, Jamie Rawiri
Hephzibah Thuraisingham, Roshani Thuraisingham, Melissa Veale 
 

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