Bracewell looks for two finals

It's already been a memorable debut season for Masterton's Doug Bracewell as coach of the Central Hinds women's cricket team but it could be about to become even better.
The Hinds go into the last round of preliminary matches in both the national one-day and Twenty20 competitions against Wellington Blaze this week with the prospect of making both finals to be played the following Saturday and Sunday.
In the one-day series they are in second place on 22ptrs , just two points behind front runners, the Blaze. Third with 18pts are Auckland Hearts, followed by Northern Spirit on 15, Otago Sparks on 14 and Canterbury Magicians on 12.
In the Twenty20 competition the Hinds have gone four matches without defeat and head the points table on 16.Then come Blaze and Hearts on 12, Spirit and Magicians on 4 and Sparks on 0.
To guarantee their place in the one-day final the probability is the Hinds will have to win one of the two games to be played against the Blaze on Friday and Saturday and even a loss in the Twenty20 game will probably not stop them from doing likewise there as their run rate is clearly superior to all other contenders.
Never one to count his chickens Bracewell himself isn't looking any further ahead than this week's matches in both competitions.His view is that three wins will seal two final spots and that's where his focus lies.
"We don't want to get into a situation where our fate depends on countbacks, three wins will do the trick and that's what we are aiming for," he said.
At the same time, however, Bracewell has healthy respect for a Wellington side led by two of the country's best-performed players in Sophie Devine and Lucy Doolan and including a former Wairarapa player in Elizabeth Perry.
"They are a very strong all-round side obviously playing with confidence and you could never take anything for granted against them",he said.
Bracewell sees the input of the their five players named in the national one-day and Twenty20 teams to play in the forthcoming series against Australia-Aimee Watkins, Sara McGlashan,Abby Burrows, Rachel Priest and Kate Broadmore- as being vital to the Hinds cause.
"We need them to lead the way, if they dominate then we've got to a great chance," he said.
The captaincy skills of the wily Watkins is also seen by Bracewell as a possible match winner for the Hinds.He has been hugely impressed by her ability to get the best out of her players and in particular her willingness to trust the younger members of the squad, like 13-year-old Maneka Singh, to come up trumps no matter the state of the game.
"A number of times she (Singh) has been brought on to bowl when games have been in the balance and invariably she has answered the call," Bracewell said. "There's no fuss or bother about her, she just keeps the ball on a good line and length and frustrates the batters into making mistakes."
An interesting development in the Hinds squad has been the decision to remove Sarah Norman from her managerial role and into a permanent slot in the playing line-up. She came up with two handy knocks when injuries meant she had to play against the Sparks in Masterton earlier in the month and has been retained in a move which Bracewell believes will bolster the middle order batting.